The Best Airlines for Traveling With Kids

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Flying together as a family with kids can be an ordeal. Booking with a kid-friendly airline may help. Find out which airlines are best for traveling with kids. [[{“value”:”

Traveling can be fun and exciting, especially when you get to do it with the people you love. But traveling as a family with kids takes extra effort and planning. You may be looking for insight on the best airlines to book when flying with your kids to make future trips less stressful and more enjoyable. I’ll share some of the best airlines for traveling with kids.

American Airlines

American Airlines is one of several airlines that have committed to seating kids under 15 and an accompanying adult together without extra fees when available.

American Airlines has an online system that detects you’re traveling as a family. If you can’t choose seats, are flying on basic-economy tickets, or want to avoid paying for seats, the system will search for seats together before the day of departure.

The airline will try its best to seat everyone together, but if seats are limited, children under 15 will be next to at least one adult traveling on the same reservation.

If traveling with children under 2 years old, you can ask the gate agent to board early. Because of these policies, families may feel more confident booking their airline tickets with American Airlines.

Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines also does its best to accommodate families with kids. The airline guarantees that children 13 and under will be seated with one accompanying adult at no extra cost. This service is available when booking tickets on the same reservation and is subject to a few other conditions.

Even better, Alaska’s system is built to detect when families are traveling together, so it will automatically attempt to assign seats together during the booking process.

Southwest Airlines

Unlike other major U.S. airlines, Southwest doesn’t provide assigned seats. Instead, fliers are assigned boarding groups (A, B, C) and positions (1–60) at check-in. The group and position on their boarding passes reflect their boarding order.

After getting on the plane, passengers can choose whichever seat they want. Passengers with earlier groups and positions board first. Your boarding order is determined by when you check in for your flight. Checking in as soon as possible will improve your odds of getting an earlier boarding group.

Some travelers dislike Southwest’s no-assigned-seat policy. However, this policy can be beneficial for families traveling with children. How? Families who check in earlier for their flight may receive an earlier boarding group, so they have more flexibility when choosing their seats on the plane. This way, the whole crew can sit together.

Plus, Southwest has a generous pre-boarding policy for eligible families. Up to two adults traveling with kids age 6 and under can board the plane after the A group but before the B group starts boarding. Since each group has 60 passengers, families with young kids can feel more confident that they can sit together.

Finally, every ticket includes two free checked bags. If you’re traveling with your crew, you can avoid the added expense of pricey bag fees by flying with Southwest. Most other airlines have recently increased their checked bag fees, so this perk can offer significant savings.

Try to book a direct flight

This tip could improve your family’s travel experience no matter which airline you use. Booking a direct flight can result in everyone spending less time at the airport in between transit. Less time wasted equals less stress and more smiles.

Direct flights tend to cost more, so purchasing this ticket type will impact your checking account. However, the added convenience of not dealing with the frustration of lengthy layovers may be well worth the added expense.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Natasha Gabrielle has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Alaska Air Group and Southwest Airlines. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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