How to tackle your child's first flight this holiday season
We've all been on a fight where someone's child is having a tantrum or simply won't stop crying. And at times, we may have become a bit aggravated by the situation. With the busy holiday travel season upon us, here are a few tips and tricks parents should know in advance when it comes to flying with children.
Step 1: Preparation is key
Start by choosing your seats when you book your flight. Not only will it ensure that you are sitting together, but it also allows you to decide where in the plane you and your child should sit. As a rule of thumb, it's generally better to sit toward the back of the plane so that if you need supplies or need to change your child's diaper, you won't have a long walk ahead of you. You may even want to consider buying an extra seat for the comfort and safety of you and your child.
Prior to your flight you'll also want to print your boarding passes at home so there's one less thing to worry about once you're at the airport. Also, make sure your diaper bag has a change of clothes, baby wipes, lotion, favorite toys and extra bottles. Having a bottle on hand during take-off and landing can help alleviate ear pressure.
Step 2: A seamless experience at the airport
Once you're at the airport, it's a good idea to check your bags so you don't have to worry about carrying them from gate to gate. At airport security, make sure to let the TSA officer know that you have liquids in your baggage. Baby formula, breast milk, food and medications don't fall under the Transportation Security Administration's liquid size restrictions.
After clearing security, consider purchasing a membership to the United Club if your airport has one. The club can be a quiet oasis that gives you time to feed and change your child in a private setting.
Step 3: Utilize pre-boarding benefits
Before boarding, make sure to ask a gate agent for a luggage tag for your stroller. That way, when it comes time to board, you can leave the stroller at the bottom of the jet bridge. It will also be waiting there for you when you exit the plane upon arrival.
Also, be sure to take advantage of pre-boarding. Parents with children under age two can board their flight after customers with disabilities and military service members in uniform. This will give you that much needed extra time to stow away items and get your child in their seat prior to takeoff.
Step 4: Don't forget about yourself
Once you take off and your child is settled, take a little time for yourself during the flight. Check out the great inflight food items that may be available for purchase or consider using your child's nap time to catch a movie or a TV show.
With just a little planning and preparation, you, too, can survive a holiday flight with your child in tow.
Step 1: Preparation is key
Start by choosing your seats when you book your flight. Not only will it ensure that you are sitting together, but it also allows you to decide where in the plane you and your child should sit. As a rule of thumb, it's generally better to sit toward the back of the plane so that if you need supplies or need to change your child's diaper, you won't have a long walk ahead of you. You may even want to consider buying an extra seat for the comfort and safety of you and your child.
Prior to your flight you'll also want to print your boarding passes at home so there's one less thing to worry about once you're at the airport. Also, make sure your diaper bag has a change of clothes, baby wipes, lotion, favorite toys and extra bottles. Having a bottle on hand during take-off and landing can help alleviate ear pressure.
Step 2: A seamless experience at the airport
Once you're at the airport, it's a good idea to check your bags so you don't have to worry about carrying them from gate to gate. At airport security, make sure to let the TSA officer know that you have liquids in your baggage. Baby formula, breast milk, food and medications don't fall under the Transportation Security Administration's liquid size restrictions.
After clearing security, consider purchasing a membership to the United Club if your airport has one. The club can be a quiet oasis that gives you time to feed and change your child in a private setting.
Step 3: Utilize pre-boarding benefits
Before boarding, make sure to ask a gate agent for a luggage tag for your stroller. That way, when it comes time to board, you can leave the stroller at the bottom of the jet bridge. It will also be waiting there for you when you exit the plane upon arrival.
Also, be sure to take advantage of pre-boarding. Parents with children under age two can board their flight after customers with disabilities and military service members in uniform. This will give you that much needed extra time to stow away items and get your child in their seat prior to takeoff.
Step 4: Don't forget about yourself
Once you take off and your child is settled, take a little time for yourself during the flight. Check out the great inflight food items that may be available for purchase or consider using your child's nap time to catch a movie or a TV show.
With just a little planning and preparation, you, too, can survive a holiday flight with your child in tow.
On March 19, 2020, United operated its first flight carrying cargo without passengers on board. While the passenger cabin was empty, its cargo hold was completely full, carrying more than 29,000 pounds of commodities from Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to Frankfurt Airport (FRA).
A year later, United Cargo has operated more than 11,000 cargo-only flights carrying more than 570 million pounds of freight. To support the COVID-19 pandemic recovery efforts, United Cargo has also transported more than 113 million pounds of medical and pharmaceutical products on both cargo-only and passenger flights as well as approximately 10 million COVID-19 vaccines, providing global communities access to the items they have needed most.
"At the beginning of the pandemic, we knew we were uniquely positioned to utilize our widebody aircraft and our network to keep commodities moving, so we quickly mobilized various departments throughout the airline to launch a cargo-only network of flights that would keep commodities moving," said United Cargo President Jan Krems. "Thanks to those efforts, United Cargo has delivered millions of items to countries all around the world. We would not have been successful without the steadfast support of our employees, industry partners and our customers."
Since last March, United Cargo has transported almost 850 million pounds of freight on cargo-only and passenger flights. The airline will continue to monitor market trends adjust its cargo-only flight schedules to help ensure we are meeting our customer's evolving shipping needs.
Whether you haven't flown with us for a while or just need a quick refresher before your spring trip, read this list of tips to know before your flight and arrive at the airport travel-ready:
1. Download the United app for contactless bag check, travel assistance and more
Before your flight, download the United app to view your flight status, check in, sign up for flight notifications, locate departure gates, access our free personal device entertainment when available and more. We've also updated our app with new features that can make your trip a little safer, including contactless bag check.
Don't forget to use Agent on Demand for help with any and all questions you may have before your flight. This new capability is available at all our U.S. hub airports and allows you to use your own mobile device to contact a customer service agent via phone, video or chat to help with day-of-travel questions while you're at the airport. Learn more about Agent on Demand here.
2. Check out the Travel-Ready Center
Our Travel-Ready Center makes it easy to get a personalized overview of everything you need to do in preparation for your flight. Just enter your confirmation number or MileagePlus® number and you'll find detailed information on all the documents, tests and more that you'll need for your trip.
3. Read and sign the Ready-to-Fly checklist
Before completing check-in, all United travelers will need to read our Ready-to-Fly checklist and confirm that they understand and agree to our policies. These include:
Acknowledging that you haven't had any symptoms of COVID-19 in the last 14 days
Agreeing that you will not fly if you have tested positive for COVID-19 within the last 21 days
Confirming that you will follow all policies regarding face masks, social distancing and other health and safety measures we've adopted
4. Arrive early; avoid the stress
Airports can be busy, especially during peak travel periods like spring break season. The TSA advises arriving at the airport two hours before your flight for domestic travel and three hours for international travel in anticipation of long security lines. This can help ease the stress when navigating busy check-in areas, security lines and crowded boarding gates.
5. Get familiar with CleanPlus
United CleanPlus℠ is our commitment to delivering industry-leading cleanliness as we put health and safety at the forefront of your experience. We've teamed up with Clorox to redefine our cleaning and disinfection procedures and Cleveland Clinic to advise us on enhancing our cleaning and disinfection protocols, like:
Disinfecting high-touch areas on board and in the terminal
Using electrostatic spraying, Ultraviolet C lighting wands and more advanced measures to clean aircraft cabins before boarding
Redesigning our mobile app to allow for touchless check-in and contactless payment, along with enhanced travel assistance features
Implementing high-efficiency (HEPA) filters on our aircraft that completely recirculate cabin air every 2-3 minutes and remove 99.97% of airborne particles, including viruses and bacteria
Studies show COVID-19 exposure risk is minimal when air filtration systems and masks are in use, so you can rest assured that the steps we've taken to keep you safe truly make a difference.
6. Wear your mask
Federal law requires all travelers to wear a face mask in the airport, including customer service counters, airport lounges, gates and baggage claim, and on board during their entire flight. Make sure you review the requirements for face masks, including what an acceptable face mask looks like.
7. Get ready for a safer boarding process
To make boarding even safer, we now have travelers board their aircraft from back to front. At the gate, just listen for your row number to be called – we'll ask a few rows at a time to board, starting with the last row of the plane. This helps everyone maintain a safe distance from each other during boarding without slowing things down. As you step onto the plane, flight attendants will hand each passenger a sanitizing towelette, which you can use to wipe down your seat to ensure it's extra clean.
8. Pack smart
Before packing your bags, check to see what exactly you can carry on and what you should plan to check. You can also copy your confirmation number into our Baggage Calculator tool to learn about the bag allowance included with your reservation, as well as the cost of checking any additional bags.
9. Check your flight status, important notices and weather
Check the United app regularly for the latest updates on weather conditions, flight status, gate numbers and seat assignments. You can also visit our Important Notices page to find essential information and updates about travel waivers, international travel, TSA and security, airports and United Club locations.
10. Relax and enjoy your flight
Once you're on board, it's time to sit back and enjoy your flight. Our flight attendants will be happy to help you with anything else you need.
This week, we were honored to become the first U.S. airline to join the UNICEF Humanitarian Airfreight Initiative to combat the COVID-19 pandemic by transporting the vaccine and other critically needed supplies to underserved areas of the globe.
"We are committed to helping the global community in any way we can, and we all must work together to do our part to bring this health and humanitarian crisis to an end," said Director of Cargo Specialty Products Manu Jacobs.
We will leverage our expertise to transport these critical pharmaceutical and healthcare shipments around the world safely, efficiently and expediently. We are proud to partner with the United Nations to support this global effort and provide equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.
