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British Airway reports that it invests an
extensive amount of time and resources in developing
services for children "to make flying more enjoyable
and less stressful for children and their
parents".
For details of policies and services
offered by British Airways - Click Below:
ON THE FLIGHT
UNACCOMPANIED MINORS
CONTACT
INFORMATION
Skyflyers
First introduced in 1988, Skyflyers is a
service dedicated to children and is available on any flight
of over two hours. Since then the service has been regularly
updated, most recently in 1999.
Skyflyers offers the following services:
Meals
Appetizing children's meals are served in
bright activity picnic boxes. British Airway's
"Feed families first" policy ensures that children
are served first.
Children's Packs
There are a wide range of games and
activities for children of all ages in the packs, which they
receive when they board the aircraft.
Inflight Entertainment
British Airways offers a special children's
comic and a dedicated children's radio channel called "
Adult Free Zone". A dedicated children's TV channel and
a family movie are now available on the personal televisions
which are gradually being introduced in World Traveller
throughout the long-haul fleet.
Travelling with babies and infants
British Airways provides a number of special
services for babies and infants.
Infant seats
Globetrotting toddlers will no longer have
to sit on their parents’ knees or lie in an in-flight
carrycot, but can travel in safety and style with British
Airways in their very own Infant seat - at no extra charge.
It has been designed by Britax, the UK’s leading
manufacturer of children’s car seats. Over the past year,
Britax has worked with the airline’s own engineers to
guarantee maximum comfort and safety for British Airways’
tiniest travellers at 35,000 feet, with the end result
rigorously tested on the ground and in-flight.
These brightly-coloured Infant seats are suitable for babies
from birth up to two years old. They fit directly onto the
bulkhead.
A maximum of 12 Infant seats can be fitted on each British
Airways Boeing 747. They are bookable in advance on a
first-come, first -served basis. See British Airways Introduces Toddler Seats
for more information.
Alternatively, passengers travelling with infants from the
age of 6 months - 36 months are allowed to bring with them
their own car seat for the infant to sit in. The seats are
restrained by a normal aircraft lap strap. Passengers who
use the car seat will be using a seat and will therefore be
required to pay a child fare. A child fare varies but is
normally between 50% and 67% of the normal fare.
Passengers who wish to carry the infant with them on their
seat will be charged the infant fare. (10% of the fare or
free if travelling within the UK).
Carry-cots
Globetrotting tots will now be able to fly
completely flat in the carry-cots securely attached to
bulkheads in the aircraft. For infants aged 0-6 months the
cots have been developed by Coronet of Blackpool.
The airline has ordered nearly 1,000 to be fitted to its
longhaul fleet of aircraft including Boeing 747s, 767s and
777s. The cot has been rigorously tested on the ground and
in-flight and has been cleared for take-off from March 23.
The cots cannot be used during turbulence and are bookable
in advance on a first-come first-served basis. They are
available in all classes.
Bassinets and Changing facilities
Bassinets are available for infants up to 6
months old and passengers will again be charged the infant
fare of 10%.
From the age of two a child is required to have its own
seat. If the child is under two on the date of the outbound
flight, but has its second birthday before a return on their
inbound flight they are required to book a seat for their
return journey, but will still be charged the infant fare.
Although it is not possible for parents to pre-book seats,
requests can be made at the time of booking and where
possible it is the airline's policy to seat families
together.
In addition to bassinets and changing tables in the toilets,
British Airways provides nappies on selected flights. These
are available from the cabin crew. Parents are advised
however to carry their own supply of disposable nappies.
Baby and infant meals
All infant meals must be requested, but
tinned baby foods are available. However, mothers are
advised to bring their own usual brand of baby milk.
Preparation and heating facilities are available on board.
Our children's meals are suitable for children between the
ages of two and 12, and are available for all children
travelling with their parents on longhaul and shorthaul
flights with the exception of UK Domestic and services
to/from Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels.
Pre-Flight and Boarding Procedures
British Airways staff will make every effort
to support the needs of family passengers, and to ensure
staff are ready to help passengers British Airways
recommends that passengers travelling with small children
make it know that they may made assistance at the time of
ticket reservation.
Mothers and children have priority on boarding the aircraft
in order to give them time to settle in before take-off.
They will also be given priority to disembark upon arrival
at their destination.
British Airways will allow passengers to take their buggy
through to the departure gate, however due to limited
stowage space on board - and the type of buggy used - it may
be necessary for the buggy to be loaded into the aircraft
hold, rather than stowed on board the aircraft.
Baggage Allowance for under 2s
On US routes, an allowance of one bag is
allowed. (Adults can carry two pieces of up to 32 kilos each
piece). On all other routes, there is no baggage allowance
for children under 2.
Children's Fares
Children under two years of age (infants)
are charged 10 per cent of the adult fare on all flights.
Child fares are charged for all children between the ages of
two and twelve with a 33 per cent discount.
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Skyflyers Solo
This is a fully escorted service available
to unaccompanied minors travelling on British Airways. The
service ensures that children are looked after from check-in
until they reach their destinations. Skyflyers Solo is
available to children from 5 to 17 years old on single
sector flights and 6-17 on multi-sector flights.
The journey starts with a dedicated team of Skyflyer Solo
Ground Escorts (affectionately known as 'aunties') looking
after the children in the newly designed Skyflyer lounges
located in Terminal 1 and Terminal 4 at Heathrow; London
Gatwick and Birmingham International Airport*. Here children
can relax in brightly coloured surroundings, enjoying
computer and videos games, watch TV and eat snacks.
* Lounge at Birmingham Airport due to reopen, after
refurbishment, mid-July
The children are escorted to the aircraft and introduced to
the cabin crew who will look after them inflight. On arrival
at their destination, passenger service agents will escort
them to the arrivals hall and ensure they are safely met.
British Airways will provide an inflight "flying
auntie" to look after groups of children. This service
is provided free of charge for groups of more than 8
children to Hong Kong, 10 to Africa, 12 on North Atlantic
flights, and 15 on International flights,
If parents wish to have the same service on
an individual basis they can request it at the time of
booking and a charge for the service is calculated based on
miles flown.
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To Contact British Airways
in Canada and the United States Call
1-800-AIRWAYS
WEB SITE:
BA.com
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any experiences visitors to www.hotelfun4kids.com
have had. Go to Contact Us and
let us know. We look forward to hearing from you and
will be adding a parent's airline experiences page shortly.
Note: These
policies may change without notice and we suggest that you
contact the airline directly for more information.
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