Best Airline for Traveling with a Toddler?

I think it truly depends on the staff of the airline... I have always had good luck with United.

Southwest...no question whatsoever.

And I totally agree with you. Bringing on the car seat is a life saver. Its like the kids know they have to stay in the seat. I have traveled often with 4 kids...and made the mistake ONCE not to bring on a car seat for a toddler. Never again. It was horrible time trying to keep him in the seat and when he fell asleep there was no where for his head. bringing on the car seat is worth every bit of effort.

Also stay away from Northwest. They don't allow family pre-boarding, so we had to install a car seat while loads of people were trying to board. HORRIBLE. They also questioned whether our Britax seat was approved and thankfully it had some sort of approval stamp on the side of it. I can't see how it makes any difference at all which brand of car seat is used. I think they just don't want car seats on there at all, frankly.

Put your foot down on the car seat. It's the safest way to travel. If you wouldn't let your child sit freely in car, don't do it on a plane, either.

I was going to suggest you NOT fly American! Hmmmm, seems to be a theme here! Seriously -the only miserable time we've ever had flying with our kids occurred with American, and it wasn't because of the kids!

They haven't been getting very high customer service marks lately, but Delta has always really been accomodating and nice for us when traveling with children.

I had my best experience with American. But I also had great experience with Southwest and USAirways. Southwest only has family boarding after the A group boards. My problem with Southwest is they don't have assigned seating, which can make it difficult. Personally, I board last with my 19 month old. This gives her an extra 20-30 minutes of running around before getting on the airplane where she has to sit for 3 hours. Also, I don't have to worry about getting bumped or holding up the line of other passengers while I get situated with my daughter. USAirways was extremely nice and extra helpful. They played with my daughter and went out of their way to make sure we were doing okay on the flight.

I mostly fly internationally (LOVE British Airways)... BUT I just had to chime in:

American has a nickname in our family: The Hell Tube

SOUTHWEST!!! We fly California to Ohio about 4 times per year, and it's just the best hands-down! Festival seating means you can pick your own seat, and if the plane isn't full, that means you get an extra seat to move around in. Add to that no baggage fees, friendly flight attendants, family boarding between A & B group (if you're an A, then you don't have to worry; check in 24 hours before your flight), quick & easy gate check, and liberal baggage requirements (50lb, 2 free bags per flier), and you have one great airline! We don't fly ANYONE else! No one else stacks up!

We've never used a car seat on the plane, though, because both sets of grandparents have their own for our kids (because we visit so often). I understand the safety issues, but we don't drive around all that much, so car seats for us = screaming matches. My 4yr old knows the rules, and I've never had a problem with me jumping around, wanting to get out of his seat, etc. THe flight attendants are really good about kids usually, and we always have a great flight :)

I agree with Southwest!! They are the friendliest I've seen and have no problem with you brining car seats aboard. Most of them also don't have an issue wtih gate checking a car seat or stroller, but I did have an issue with the car seat, but that was only one time. I agree that using the seat helps them stay in the seat and may even encourage sleep. You CAN'T preboard with SW, which sucks, but you do get to board after the A's and before all the B boarders. I suggest getting your pass EXACTLY 24 hours before your flight and you'll probably get an A pass, but you have to be on the minute! I have tried using their advanced boarding/pay extra option and I don't recommend it. I thought it was a waste b/c I still didn't get an A pass.

Plus, SW has awesome snacks and always give my kid lots of extras. YOu can each take on 2 bags with no extra charge (to check) which is really great if you happen to need a pack-n-play or various other bulky kids stuff.

Of course there will be people with horror stories from each airline I'm sure, but SW has always been the best for me especially when flying with kids.

I have always had good luck with United. I have a 3 year old who did 10 roundtrips before she was 2 and a 22 month old who has done about 5 roundtrips. Always on United. We never brought a carseat though because my mom always has ones we can use. However, I have seen tons of carseats on the flights and never saw anyone have a problem. I have also gate-checked my stroller about 5 or 6 times without trouble (and the baggage handlers usually bring it pretty early on to the gate to help me out as I am usually traveling alone with the 2 kids and a double stroller).

Good luck with future travels!

A. F.
Local Childcare Coordinator
Cultural Care Au Pair
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I have to say Southwest. I have also had trouble with American and Delta, ick!

Not sure if they fly where you are but SouthWest is truly the best. We flew from Dallas to Tulsa (short 45 minutes) and they were awesome with our 2 year old.

Southwest! You can pre board and they are very helpful to families!!!

I have had good experiences on Southwest adn Delta - of the two I preferred Southwest. The flight attendants were more helpful and stopped by during the flights to make sure I did not need anything for my daughter - they have these really cute wings and coloring activity book they give out as well.

PS - I have a travel bag for my car seat and checked it with both airlines - no problem. Also no problems with gate checking the stroller, but you do need to let them know in advance that you are doing it.

Do *not* fly Southwest. I have a horror story. My husband and I were planning to fly with our toddler to visit family in Maryland and Ohio from Nevada last May. I purchased an "advanced boarding" pass for my husband on the leg between MD and OH so that he could get an early start on installing our Britax car seat for our son. Unfortunately, my husband's father passed away just before our trip, and my husband could not accompany my son and I to Ohio. When we tried to transfer the advanced boarding to my ticket, the agent on the phone said it was too late. So there I was, **visibly pregnant,** toting a toddler and a car seat and a diaper bag... and I asked the ticket agent if I could board early (they have early boarding for senior citizens) in part because I would need to install the car seat in a window seat because it is the requirement. The man at the gate said, "oh, you'll be fine," and shooed me away.

So, I struggled to get my car seat and son and diaper bag on to the plane entrance. The stewardess who greeted me at the plane door looked nonplussed when I explained to her that I would need to leave my son at the entrance of the plane so that I could lift the car seat over all the airline seats to get to the back of the plane so that I could install the car seat in a window seat (all the window seats at the front were taken, and I wouldn't be able to hold my son's hand to prevent him from running around because I had to install the seat). My son started to cry. A male steward, seeing what was going on, and seeing the huge line behind me, ran to the front of the plan and took the car seat for me and installed it in the back of the plane. At least that guy was nice. But the other staff people were completely useless and insensitive to the toddler/pregnancy situation.

We flew United a couple of years ago with my then 3 and 5 year old and they were awesome. We had no problems with our carseat, gate checking our stroller etc. We had priority boarding. The flight attendants even took the kids off to meet the pilot while we were getting situated in our seats, they then took them back down to the cockpit after we landed to aid us in organizing our belongings. We could not have asked for a better family friendly service. I would absolutely recomend them to anyone travelling with small children.