This spring we had the opportunity to take our very first family trip to Europe and the UK, with our four-year-old daughter. Living in California, we knew we were in for a long-haul flight. And so began the research and deep dives as to how to best plan for this trip. We knew we would visit at least two countries since we had a 9 day trip planned but we wouldn’t be exploring further than that. We weren’t sure what to expect with a jet-lagged kiddo traveling with us. We knew one thing- London and Paris would be our travel destination.
There really is so much to uncover here, like flight times, seating, luggage, airport parking and well just our overall experience. So if you’re planning a long-haul flight or even yet, a trip from Los Angeles Airport LAX to Heathrow London, LHR – you’ll want to stick around for the whole review.
Research Flight Times
So the best thing I probably did in terms of planning was read articles from parents and their experiences with long-haul flights. I learned that a red-eye flight might best be suited for my daughter who thrives with routines. We knew we could get her to at least go down for a few hours of sleep on the way there which would buy us some of that ever long 10-hour flight.
Identify Which Airlines are Kid Friendly
Next up, we began looking at options for airlines that were specifically kid-friendly. We did plenty of research and although it cost us more in terms of points and cash, we selected Virgin Atlantic as our airline. They had kid friendly, and what appeared to be appetizing, menus and the aesthetic of the flight made it easier to accept the fact that we would be flying ECONOMY.
Economy vs. Premium Cabin
Okay so we really went back and forth on this one. We really wanted additional leg-room, more recline, and just nicer seats. But with a small child, it didn’t make sense. Not to mention the seats in premium have armrests that don’t lift. Economy seats had armrests that lifted and would give our daughter more flexibility to lay down more comfortably.
Pre-Planning and Reserving Parking at LAX
My husband and I really do tag team our vacation planning. And we always look for ways to enhance our travel experiences more so now that we are parents. We take each travel experience and build from it. If something works, we just stick to it.
So in our last trip to Hawaii, we flew out from LAX and we pre-booked a shuttle from a nearby airport hotel, I believe it was the Sheraton. Outdoor parking was included and a shuttle took us straight to our terminal. Sounds good right? It was great getting to the terminal but on the arrival back we had to wait well over 30 minutes (if not more) for the shuttle to pick us up from the airport. We literally saw so many other hotel shuttles pass us by every 7-15 minutes, quickly making us learn from our experience.
So this go around we were prepared. We knew we had seen the Hilton shuttle drive with consistent frequency for those arriving back at LAX. Since 2023, I became a Hilton Honors Diamond member and my husband looked into booking an airport shuttle. As a loyalty program member I received a nice little discount on my total pre-booked parking reservation and received an email confirmation a couple of months before our trip.
So what was it like- great! Parking was covered and in a structure. We walked in through the main floor of the hotel and had the option of waiting inside the hotel lobby or outside the lobby doors for our shuttle to arrive. They truly honored reservation times. We did miss our original time slot of 4pm but by 4:20pm we were on the next shuttle. Whew! Great service. And again, on our arrival we waited about 15 minutes for the shuttle to pick us up and drop us back off at the hotel’s lobby for a quick walk back to the parking garage. Easy peasy, and highly recommend.
Arriving at LAX
Let me tell you, the counter service from the Virgin Atlantic crew was spectacular. Friendly faces and great customer service. I will say we are really versed when it comes to travelling. We pack as efficiently as we can and carry-on luggage as it makes sense.
We didn’t bring a car seat for our travel as our daughter was well over 4 1/2 years old. We knew we would be using tons of public transportation in London and same with Paris. Our article and blog inspired research backed by parents explained that cabs and rideshares like Uber in both London in Paris did not require car seats for travelers with children. It’s a personal choice for a parent, but we mapped out our itinerary very well and knew the Heathrow Express, London Tube and Paris Metro would meet our needs. I’ll delve into those details in the carousel blog posts for this London and Paris blog series.
What we did chose to bring was a compact travel friendly stroller, the Gb Pockit. We had a travel backpack for the stroller and we knew we just did not want to lug it around in the airport. The goal is always to do lots of walking at the airport pre-flight to give our legs some good exercise before hours of being sedentary. We chose to check our stroller at the gate and made sure to include bubble wrap inside the back-pack to create some extra padding. We also checked in one large luggage that mainly had liquid toiletries, the majority of my husbands clothes, and some of mine.
We each carried our own backpack to carry tech items, snacks, and an emergency change of clothes. That included my daughter as well. As a soon to be five-year-old, we wanted to show her that she too has some responsibility in caring for her personal items. Her backpack was of course light, but she was so excited to carry it around.
We carried on two pieces of carry-on luggage. One was a small samsonite maybe 19 inch, and the other was a Delsy possibly 21 inches. That carried most of my daughter’s clothes and about half and half of my husband and my clothing. We figured if luggage got lost, our child would be covered and my husband and I could make do with what we had and purchase what we needed. And no, we didn’t include air tags in our checked luggage. Never needed them before and don’t plan to over worry about it now.
I do want to stress that although we checked in our larger luggage it was a Delsy and not too large and definitely light-weight. I’ve learned that it’s key to invest in what you can afford so that you have the maximum cost per use/wear. I want to say that all of our luggage now is hard-cover. We find it to be most hygenic and it forces us to know our packing limits.
TSA Pre-Check
Having TSA Pre-Check has been a game changer for our travel, particularly now as parents. Our daughter gets to breeze through the speedy line and not having to worry about taking off our shoes or getting liquids out is so helpful and helps reduce any stress.
How was our experience with Virgin Atlantic?
One word, GREAT! It all started with the fantastic customer service we were given at check in. But even once we boarded, the seats were clean. Economy is only so nice right, so the smaller seats made me cringe a bit as I had just walked past Premium Economy seating.
I love that the pilot clearly stated what we would be expecting (turbulence) and how long we could expect it for, and honestly it wasn’t even bad or that noticeable. Drink service began within an hour if not less and choices even for Economy were decent. I have to say that the meal service for kids was great. Truly a kid’s meal that even the pickiest of eaters would appreciate. Warm mac n’ cheese, fruit, real vegetables like bell pepper strips and refreshing cucumber slices. I mean they really thought of the small details that would make a flight easier for parents. The last thing a parent (or passengers) wants is a hungry, unsatisfied kid on the plane. Although we had already had an earlier small meal at the airport, my daughter had worked up an appetite with all the walking and ate some of her food with no complaints. If you’re flying with Virgin just make sure to select the child’s meal before your flight date so that the food choice is guaranteed.
The same applies for adult meals, in terms of quality and taste. I never eat airplane meals because my stomach just does not do well with food sitting in a hours long moving aircraft. The nausea just sets in. But I was able to taste a few bites and would have been pleased if I had to eat the entire meal.
Did the red-eye flight work for our family?
The question of the hour right? What every parent wants to know. Well let’s see, after my daughter had her meal, we brushed her teeth. By the way the restrooms in economy were clean and also shared by the folks in premium economy. We were literally three rows behind the premium economy cabin curtain. I think the excitement set in for her and we made the mistake of letting her listen to music on the entertainment console and that must have thrown her off. Our 7pm flight, had us believing that she’d be out and asleep by 9pm but nope, it was probably closer to midnight. We woke her up gently about an hour before landing to give her time to begin adjusting to the time change and offer her a small bite of the meal served. She wasn’t too happy, but she wasn’t grumpy. She slowly woke up and let herself rise naturally. That’s the best piece of advice that I could give a parent. Not letting the kids sleep through the landing. Their bodies, in my opinion, will be too startled and sense that they were robbed of good rest. In the next blog post I’ll dive into how we our daughter dealt with jetlag and I really think this small habit helped set her internal clock for the soon to be 8-hour time change.
The one huge downfall in my experience, and that of my husbands was that the entire row in front of us (3 seats) fully reclined their seats shortly after flight takeoff and stayed that way until landing. The flight crew even had to ask them to reposition their seats at landing. I understand the ability to recline is there but general etiquette would be to not recline during meal service. Imagine getting in and out of your economy seat with a small kid or shuffling through a bag or back pack as you’re trying to get a snack or toy for your kid to stay entertained mid-flight. This wasn’t the airlines’ fault at all, but it did convince us to pay for Premium Cabin seating in the future.
All in all, I can’t say enough great things about this airline. I would hands down recommend this airline to any parent considering it. And yes, even economy. We travelled in March and we noticed that some of the middle rows with 4-seats were not fully occupied so some lucky families of three were fortunate enough to get that extra middle row seat . It’s a total gamble but boy would that have made a difference for us.
xoxo,
The Sun Queen
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