Mini Passengers: How Airlines Can Better Acomodate Children

When striving to provide exemplary service to all airline passengers, it is essential to remember that your passengers will include flyers of all ages. And when it comes to the flight’s smallest passengers, it is always best to keep them entertained. When kids are happy on planes, the rest of the passengers are generally happy, too. From your airline’s policies to your IFE systems, you can take steps to make your airline as kid-friendly as possible.

Kid-Friendly Policy
Before you customize your airline’s in flight entertainment system, consider how your company policy affects child passengers and their parents. One of the main concerns is how you handle unaccompanied minors. By accommodating these children and going above and beyond to ensure their safety, you will display impressive customer service and even encourage their parents to book again.

It’s also important to consider how young children fit into your booking system. Your company might consider offering discounts for minors or ticket packages for families. By keeping families seated together on planes, you will keep both children and parents at ease. Plus, when families sit together, parents can keep an eye on their children instead of your flight attendants. Finally, consider whether your boarding process is family friendly.

Kid-Friendly IFE Systems
Once you improve your airline’s policy to better accommodate children, it’s important that you give them the best possible experience once they are on board the plane. This is where aircraft display systems come in. Take a look at your IFE offerings. Does your IFE system offer cartoons and kids movies? About 41% of airline passengers watch movies on planes, and this entertainment option can be especially soothing for children. By including a wide range of childhood shows and movies, you will keep children content and parents happy as well.

For flights without IFE systems, it is still possible to help young children access age-appropriate entertainment. Remember that some children will also bring their own devices, so in seat power is crucial. Most parents will relax their screen time rules during flights, and offering electrical outlets and/or USB charging stations in the seats can ensure passengers of all ages can safely access mobile devices. This will allow children to play games on their tablets or play a hand held video game. And ideally for the parents, they will get a nap in as well.

By making your airline a safe and entertaining place for children, you can satisfy parents and keep these families as returning customers. These family friendly airline policies should also help improve the customer experience of everyone else on the plane as well.

Brand loyalty is key for airlines, and accommodating passengers of all ages can often do the trick. Families tend to book multiple tickets at once, which makes them very attractive frequent flyers. And of course, if you are unsure of how you can improve your IFE systems and policy, send out a survey. This information can be highly valuable.