Terrible Twos: What now for family travel?

At some point, every child reaches the age that parents fear. 

No, not puberty. I’m talking about the Terrible Twos, when the powers that be decide that a child is too large for lap-sitting, and require them to have their own seat (whether they want it or not).

I’ve always marvelled at how arbitrary the two-year mark is — why not three? —  though I suppose you’d ultimately have to pick some age as the cut-off point, since basing it on height or weight restrictions would be too difficult to enforce in real life.

Well, that day has now come for me, as the MileCub has just turned two (and I’ve been reliably informed that from here on out, parenting becomes a complete and utter cakewalk!).

On the one hand, she now occupies her own seat, giving The MileLioness and I a lot more personal space, and relieving us of the impossible task of trying to comply with international aviation laws by strapping a squirming toddler to your torso.

On the other hand, she now occupies her own seat, which changes the dynamic of family travel completely.

How does ticket pricing change from infants to children?

The general rule is that an infant (defined as a child under the age of 2) pays 10% of the lowest available adult fare class.

But that’s not always the case. Sometimes it’s better, like in Japan or the USA, where lap infants fly for free on domestic flights with most major carriers. Sometimes it’s worse, like Cathay Pacific flights to and from the USA where a lap infant costs 25% of the adult fare. And sometimes, it makes no sense at all, like with Scoot and other regional budget carriers where it can be cheaper to buy a separate seat than pay the lap fee!

While the 10% rule usually applies to commercial tickets only, some mileage programmes also allow members to redeem infant tickets at just 10% of the adult mileage, or even a flat fee (which can save First Class-flying parents quite a bit).

The best (and worst) award programmes for booking infant tickets

But everything changes at two. Once your child starts occupying a separate seat, the opportunity cost to the airline is much higher. And while there are discounted child fares, it’s not anywhere as cheap as 10%.

For example, the child fare on a Singapore Airlines round-trip Economy Class fare to Sydney is about 80% of the adult fare, and unlike infants, you’ll usually (but not always) pay the same airport and government taxes.

Business Class? Don’t even think about it. While the discount is slightly larger (you pay 75% of the adult fare), it’s still a lot of money in absolute terms. 

And as for First Class, there isn’t even a discount to speak of!

What about redeeming miles? Not an option either— for KrisFlyer and almost every other mileage programme I can think of, once a child occupies their own seat, they pay the full number of miles. 

All this to say, you’ll have some tricky decisions to make, and the way I see it there’s four options. 

Option 1: Fly everyone in Business Class

The ideal scenario, of course, is to fly everyone in Business Class. But since award tickets don’t offer child discounts, and commercial fares for children are only marginally cheaper, you and your spouse basically need to pay the equivalent of three adult fares if you go down this route.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t justify buying (or redeeming) a Business Class seat for a 2-year old child, who will probably want to spend more time sitting in your seat than their own. They don’t need a big bed, they won’t appreciate the food, and their alcohol tolerance is somewhat lacking.

In short, this would only be a realistic option if money (or miles) were no object.

Option 2: Fly everyone in Economy Class

The second option is to teach your children the value of family togetherness, and fly everyone in Economy.

In this case, your pain threshold is really the limit of where you can go. For me, I’ve reached the age where I’d rather stay home than fly long-haul Economy to Europe, New Zealand or the USA. I’d say my current limit is probably five hours, but the good news is there’s plenty of family-friendly places within that radius (Perth, for one).

If your back is in better condition than mine, great. But as a warning to new parents: long-haul solo Economy travel is a very different beast from long-haul Economy travel with a toddler.

Option 3: Split the family

The third option is to divide and conquer. Your wife and kid sit in Economy while you sit in Business, sip champagne, and contemplate your impending sexless life. The advantage of this approach, however, is that it would allow you to travel further on trips where the partner with the lower pain tolerance gets the Business seat.

In the long run, the goal would be to reach the stage where the kids can manage themselves without imposing on those around them (remember, flight attendants aren’t meant to be babysitters). At that point, the parents can fly upfront, with the kids behind. 

Personally, I was quite fond of that arrangement growing up because no parental supervision meant unlimited soft drinks and all the Nintendo games I wanted (back when Singapore Airlines offered them, sigh).

Option 4: Don’t fly?

But who says flying has to be the only option?

If you don’t want to splurge on Business, yet don’t relish the idea of long-haul Economy, then these few years might be a great time to get into cruising, where everyone can travel together in relative comfort.

There are a lot of cruise liners with great programming for kids, and as an added bonus, it also relieves you of the burden of having to plan things. I’m mighty tempted to explore more of this in the future.

Conclusion

With the MileCub turning two, the MileLioness and I will have to rethink some of our travel plans.

It’s one thing to pay a token 10% fare for her to share a seat with us, but I’m not about to pay the miles or cash for Business Class (let alone First) for someone who isn’t going to appreciate the finer points of champagne.

So this might be a season to explore regional travel and cruises, and if you have any recommendations I’d be glad to hear them.

Parents: How did your travel patterns change after the kids turned 2?