Emirates Airlines & Dubai Airport
I have had the opportunity of travelling alone, once a year with my 3 year old son since he was just five months old. This thought overwhelms most of my friends but I simply don’t have a choice as I live more than 9000 kilometres away from my family in Johannesburg and going to them is the easiest way to see everybody, at the same time.
The first thing people always ask me is: How do you manage? (or sometimes: Are you crazy?)
So far I’ve flown British Airways, Turkish Airways, KLM and most recently Emirates Airlines.
I must admit that all the airways are very attentive to families travelling with young children and more especially parents travelling alone with children. In the past I have been offered every imagineable service from priority boarding, a seat in the business lounge (when I wasn’t even travelling business class), the baby bassinet bed, free diapers, homogenised food and baby milk, hostesses have held the baby while I’ve used the bathroom and on one flight I got two seats even though we paid for one, so I can honestly say I have had many positive experiences.
A flight with Emirates this past January tops my list of the easiest, most considerate and child-friendly flights.
The hosts/hostesses were so attentive from the second we boarded, making an effort to learn my son’s name and chat with him, helping to also put him at ease ahead of our flight. A few minutes into the flight he was handed a colourful personal blanket and a bag full of toys that kept him occupied for more than 80% of the flight and was especially handy while we waited for our connecting flight because he was concentrating very deeply on his new puzzles and colouring books.
The real magic happened when we stopped over in Dubai International Airport, my son was sleepy and grumpy already and I was thinking of ways to keep him entertained for three hours when suddenly, like an oasis in the desert, I saw a parking bay of red Maclaren strollers, they were available for use inside the airport building and they were free! I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy to see a stroller, it saved my life, I soon had my son sleeping comfortably while I explored the airport.
It’s unfortunate that my son was sleeping and our stop-over was only 3.5 hours, but the play area at the boarding gate is a fantastic site, maybe next time!
Pro’s
- Preferential treatment for parents with children on Emirates
- Many family bathrooms on every floor at the airport terminal in Dubai
- Great games and good small portions of food for children on the flight
- It was my son’s birthday on our return flight and the staff not only sang happy birthday to him, but they took him on a tour of the entire plane AND they gave him a fantastic birthday cake and a birthday card signed by the cabin crew in a range of different languages, this was the best birthday experience a 3 year old could wish for…
Here’s the video 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlmUlvmk8BA )
* It was a comfortable and easy flight!
Con’s
- we couldn’t do an online check-in on our return flight so we didn’t get a children’s meal on one flight, that was a bit inconvenient because my child doesn’t have a big appetite and I was saddened to have to waste food like that
M.O.M approved: family friendly (BO) 