Air

Practicalities Getting There Air Boarding 

Pre-Boarding

Assuming that you have arrived in good time for check-in, you will have some time to kill at the airport. As these become more and more like shopping malls there are a growing number of ways to spend your money doing this, notably with video arcades but also shopping.

If you prefer not to spend your holiday budget on this sort of thing you might like just to park yourselves somewhere near a window (probably near the embarkation gate) to watch planes land and take off.

There may be a children's play area but these are not particularly widespread, especially not outside peak holiday periods. However, at peak periods larger airports such as Gatwick may lay on children's entertainers - great for 20 minutes to half an hour's distraction - and free.

Getting on to the Plane

Buggies are not always welcome on board aircraft. If your child is small enough a sling is much more manoeuvrable.

A small survey for Harden's London Baby Book (unbiased by advertiser pressures) found the best for babies to be the Wilkinet, which takes two to three days to learn to use. For an older child capable of sitting on a hip, the choice was a sling such as the Huggababy. Alternatively fathers, particularly of older children seem to prefer a backpack, those from backpacking shops being generally the better designed.

Airlines generally allow those with children to board first but in practice this depends on the airport crew and they don't always offer this.

If you would like early boarding you will probably be permitted if you ask. The advantage is that you are able to stow your on board luggage somewhere convenient.

The alternative is to board among the last. This means that your children get as long as possible to run around but may mean your on board bags ends up somewhere less accessible.