Ready for stress-free travel? 10 tips for flying with children

Before the flight 

1. What kind of ticket should I buy for a child? What about a child travelling alone?

On most of our ticket types, child tickets are 25% off the basic adult fare excluding fees and taxes. Child discount applies to children between 2 and 11 years of age. To get the discount, the child must travel with an adult. 

An infant ticket costs 10% of the adult's ticket fare. An infant does not have their own seat on board. If you would like to purchase a seat for your infant (a child under 2 years of age), please contact our customer service. The ticket price is equivalent to a child ticket.

If your child (5–11 years) will be travelling alone, you need to book an unaccompanied minor service for them in addition to the flight ticket. 

When booking, remember to register your child as a Finnair Plus member. Finnair Plus Junior membership for 2–17-year-olds costs nothing, and junior members earn Avios and tier points on scheduled Finnair and other oneworld flights. Additionally, junior members can collect entries about air travel in the Logbook. For ten entries, we will send a prize as a thank you.

2. How do I make sure my family sits together on a plane? Which seats do you recommend for families with children?

Take the stress out of your departure day by anticipating: With help of the Finnair's app,  you can take care of many things well in advance. Secure adjacent seats on the plane and purchase your preferred seat, check in quickly and easily, and pre-order tasty food for the whole family. 

When booking seats, families with children prefer spacious front row seats, back row seats near toilets and diaper changing points, as well as seats with the option for a baby bassinet found on long-haul flights. A321s, which are frequently used on European flights, have baby bassinets available for two front row seats.

The baby bassinet can be booked in advance and is suitable for babies under 6 months of age. The seats are marked on the seat map, and you can book them through Manage booking. Pre-booked seats are subject to a fee. 

If you are travelling with children (under 12) and you don’t purchase seats in advance, the system will assign each child a seat with at least one adult from booking. If the system fails to give the child a seat next to a familiar adult, we will change the seats at customer service or airport check-in. 

Please note that children under the age of 12 cannot sit at the emergency exit and children over two years old must be able to sit in their own seats with a seat belt on. An infant under two sits on an adult's lap in a baby seat belt that is fastened to the adult's seat belt. We recommend that all passengers wear a seat belt whenever seated.

3. What carry-on baggage is included in a children's ticket? What should I bring on board?

In busy family life, the rule often applies: the more you have, the more you lose. So, make sure to pack light. 

The carry-on baggage allowance is the same for children’s tickets as it is for adults’ tickets. However, infants without a reserved seat do not have their own carry-on baggage allowance, except for a foldable pushchair and a safety seat.

Small passengers will surely enjoy snacks on board, and it is also worth checking out the delicious selection of our Nordic Kitchen Onboard menu in advance. 

In addition to travel documents, pack the most important medicines, water bottles and snacks, change of clothes and diapers, your child's favorite toys, books and activity books. We offer blueberry juice and water free of charge on all our flights (excluding Tallinn). 

You might also want to bring your own pillow and blanket with you. On long-haul flights, all passengers get a blanket, on European flights there is a limited number of them. Don't forget to pack your child's own headphones as well, as the earbuds handed out onboard our long-haul flights can be challenging for the little ones. Place your hand luggage under the seat in front of you so everything you need is at your fingertips during the flight.

4. Can I bring a stroller on a plane? What about an infant car seat?

You can bring a folding stroller or pushchair as carry-on if your stroller with its wheels fits within the size and weight limits set for carry-on baggage (55 cm x 40 cm x 23 cm).

Please clean the wheels before boarding. Especially in winter, melting snow from your baggage placed in the overhead bins may surprise fellow passengers. 

If your child is under 7 years old and you have reserved a seat for them, you can bring their own car seat in the cabin. Please note that the seat must be age-appropriate for the child and meet our safety requirements. If you want to take an infant car seat for your infant under two years old, you must buy a separate seat for them.

5. Can I bring my baby's own food, milk and purees on board?

We recommend having your own baby food for infants,  as we only have a limited amount of baby food available on our long-haul flights. You can bring baby food and infant formula through security at Helsinki Airport. Therefore, keep milk and baby food in original, unopened packages. This is usually the case at other airports as well, but it's always a good idea to check the airport-specific rules of your departure airport before travelling. 

When travelling from Helsinki Airport departures the size of liquid packages in hand luggage is limited to 100 millilitres and the maximum amount of liquids is 2 litres per passenger. Please check the airport-specific instructions before travelling. 

At Helsinki Airport, you will find several water points where you can fill your water bottle for your flight.

6. Are children's meals available on Finnair flights?

Dining on board is a great way to pass the time, and you don't have to start your holiday with a hungry kid. 

You can order a children's meal free of charge for children over 2 years old on all our long-haul flights to Asia, North America or the Middle East, as well as in Business Class on our European flights.  It is also possible to pre-order special diet meals for our long-haul flights.

For longer European flights, you can pre-purchase a delicious children's meal in Economy Class. You can place your order as you book your flight,  via Manage booking or the Finnair app or through your travel agent. Please note that pre-order meals vary depending on flight routes. 

You can order tasty snacks and beverages from our Nordic Kitchen Onboard menu on most of our Economy Class flights. We have also taken children into account on our onboard menu.

7. What is there to do for children at the airport?

Rush is a big reason for travel-related stress when going on a trip. Children also quickly sense their parents' tensions. So, arrive at the airport on time, the magnificent, renovated Helsinki Airport offers a lot to explore for children. Let the child release energy before boarding, of course while being mindful of other passengers. Children can climb and play in the free play areas near gates 16 and 20.

If you want to add a moment of peace and quiet to your trip, make time to visit Finnair Lounges. Children are welcome in Finnair lounges when accompanied by an adult. Did you know that the lounge reception has colouring sheets, games and books for children?  Finnair Plus Platinum and Gold members can bring their children under the age of 18 to the lounge free of charge. In other cases, children over 2 years old need their own admission. 

A visit to the airport toilet can be an experience for a child: birdsongs in the toilets, or a small toilet seat in the childcare room next to a big one! It is a good idea to visit the airport toilets before boarding, as sometimes the departure of the flight may take some time and you might need to sit in your seat belts for longer than expected. Of course, we do our best to accommodate our small passengers on board.

During Flight

8. How can I keep my child entertained on the plane?

There are plenty of new things for children to see and explore on the plane, and staying still can be challenging. Before the flight, go through the rules of conduct on board the aircraft, the use of seat belts and safety instructions with your child.

In addition to electronic devices, books and colouring books, maybe you have your children’s favourite stickers or lollipop ready in your back pocket for a tough situation? Our cabin crew is happy to help you with the little ones, and sometimes a rule told by a uniformed person instead of mom or dad is more effective. So don't hesitate to ask for help when needed.

If you forgot your cartoon-filled tablet at home, don't worry, on long-haul flights, our inflight entertainment system offers children a wide range of movies, TV shows, music and games.

If you did not buy an internet connection already at the time of booking, you can also buy it during the flight via the Nordic Sky portal. Wireless internet access is available on all long-haul flights and on European flights operated with Airbus aircraft.

As a Finnair Plus member you get a complimentary Message package for your flight on Airbus narrow-body flights  within Europe. Message package supports sending text-based messages in WhatsApp, Viber, Kakao Talk, WeChat and iMessage.

9. Can my child also travel in Business Class?

Children are also welcome in Business Class, and you can change your Business Class meal to a children's meal in advance.

In Business Class on our long-haul flights, it is good to consider the child's ability to sit independently, as the fixed frame of the reburfished AirLounge seat makes it impossible to reach the child from another seat when the seat belt sign is on.

The redesigned seats also do not support child seats, so children must be able to wear a regular seat belt. In addition, only one person is allowed in each seat, excluding infants under 2 years of age. On long-haul flights, you can also pre-book a baby bassinet for your infant in Business Class. Please reserve a seat suitable for a bassinet via the Select Your Seat service.

Our Premium Economy Class is also a good choice for long-haul flights when travelling with small children.

10. What do I do if my child falls ill on a flight? Can you fly with a little flu?

The golden rule of air travel is: don't fly when you're sick. Even a small flu can take on greater proportions on an airplane where the air pressure is different from the ground and there is less oxygen and moisture in the air. 

"Air travel with a common cold carries a risk of pressure injuries to the middle ear and sinuses. At its mildest, ear barotrauma causes a feeling of ear locking or minor pain, while at its most severe it can lead to severe pain, dizziness and even damage to the inner ear. A barotrauma to the sinuses, on the other hand, can lead to severe pain in the forehead, eyes and cheek area and various mucosal damage," says Kimmo Ketola, Finnair's Chief Medical Officer. 

However, if your child happens to fall ill on board, don't worry, our cabin crew can provide you with help if needed, and we can even contact a doctor remotely. However, we recommend that you bring the most common medicines in your carry-on. It is also a good idea to discuss possible fear of flying with our cabin crew. 

Ear pains may be scary for the little ones. It is good to give children something to eat and drink during landing and breastfeed or feed babies from a bottle. Your child may experience mild pain or discomfort during descent due to changes in air pressure, and sucking and swallowing usually alleviates this discomfort.