Which airline do your readers think is the most child friendly to fly from Europe to Australia ?

We are hoping to travel in February 2007, with 3 children - ages 5, 3 and 13 months. Read that some offer little help at all, refuse to assist with buggy etc, and cannot find information about this anywhere! Hope that someone can give some guidance.

We travelled with 2 kids (6&2) in May to Sydney from London with BA out and Qantas back.

Squashed in tight eco seats, but have to say that got good assistance from both. Out of the two, the BA staff were around more to help and offered more in way of help - meal choices, changing food, activity stuff etc. Qantas staff, epecially the men, were nice and helpful, but seem to disappear quickly after meals were cleared.

We travelled with 2 kids (6&2) in May to Sydney from London with BA out and Qantas back.

Squashed in tight eco seats, but have to say that got good assistance from both. Out of the two, the BA staff were around more to help and offered more in way of help - meal choices, changing food, activity stuff etc. Qantas staff, epecially the men, were nice and helpful, but seem to disappear quickly after meals were cleared.

Hi there Karen

Your best bet is with either THAI or Malaysia Airlines. We have used both these carriers with our children and they have been excellent. They do it all for you-child seats/bassinettes/prams and even a buggy at the other end in their home base.

They are gentle and wonderful with kids and so caring.

I have never flown between UK-Australia, but we often fly between UK-Japan/Hong Kong with two children. Although services may vary depending on routes. I would second Sassy that BA staff is more child friendly and helpful than Qantas. Generally, Asian airlines are much more helpful than European airlines on general matters.

I would recommend Singapore besed on our experience. However you might also consider Asiana (via Seoul) or Japan Air lines. JAL usually has at least two London based (British or Ausrtalian) flight attendants on board on both UK-Japan and Japan-Australia flights (Sydney, Brisbane).

I would use gulf air as they have the SKY nanny with is very helpful, You children are cared for while you relax, They give nice meal to children in great boxes.

My husband and I often travel with our two children aged 7 and 4 and in answer to your question, I would say Singapore Airlines. The crew are wonderful with the kids. On the last flights we took, Heathrow-Singapore-Perth, some of the male crew performed magic tricks for the children-this definitely went down well with them! We generally ask for seats as near to the front of the aircraft as possible and Singapore always do their best to meet our requests. During the flight, the crew are attentive to the children and always check to make sure they don't go hungry or thirsty.

I would, without doubt go for Malaysia Airlines. Their hub airport, Kuala Lumpur International, is a fantastic airport to transit through. They will do absolutely everything for you - bassinets, kids meals, kids toy packs, you name it. The staff are fantastic - they took care of the kids as soon as they were free after a meal serviuce or answering other pax requests. Things like playing with kids, telling them stories, and helping with the kids' IFE channel made our flights relaxing. Thai is also good but their lack of personal screens is a major negative (even if your kids are young, the kids channel with cartoons, etc may be helpful), as their hub att BKK, a brand new airport, is sort of a mess. Singapore airlines are also good but their legroom is very crammed, feels like much less than malaysian and thai. I would avoid BA, flew with them, tight seating and quite poor service.

Emirates have fantastic in-flight entertainment and were extremely child friendly with the meals and amenities being top rate. The only detriment could be the amount of stops and Dubai Airport being very busy. Alternative would be Malaysia Airlines - fantastic inflight service and KUL is a lovely airport to transit through