What Are the Best Airlines to Fly with Kids in the USA?

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I’m often asked by fellow traveling parents: “What is the best airline to fly with kids?” Air travel with kids can be stressful even in the best of circumstances, so it’s only natural that families want to fly an airline that makes things easier.

If only the answer were so simple. For United States based travelers looking to take domestic flights, there is really no one best airline for family travel. The accurate answer is that it depends!

That said, there are certainly some airlines that tend to come through for family travelers more reliably. Some of these airlines have kid-friendly policies like family boarding. Others have amenities that kids may especially enjoy like robust in-flight entertainment. Some tend to have crew that are consistently more welcoming or at least don’t give you the stink eye as you walk down the aisle with a squirmy baby on your hip.

Because my family has our own personal biases, I asked a lot of fellow family travelers (in real life and on social media) for their opinions to inform this post. Consistently, some leaders of the pack emerged.

Factors that Influence What Airline Is Best for Your Traveling Family

Before we dive into which airlines deliver a better product for travelers with kids, let’s first talk about the “it depends.” Some airlines are consistently better for many travelers but some airlines may simply be better for your particular family. Here are the factors you should consider when determining what airlines are the best match for your needs:

1. Where is Your Home Base?

A lot can really depend on where you are based. If you live in a hub city for a particular airline, that airline may well have nicer planes on more of its routes, better flight time availability to the places you need to go, more non-stop flight options, and more amenities in the airport that will matter to you.

2. Where Do You Regularly Travel To?

The same goes for where you are going. If you have destinations your family regularly travels to – whether it be a vacation destination you visit often or where grandma and grandpa live – some airlines may have better options for getting you there.

3. How Old are Your Kids?

As any parent knows, the experience of traveling with kids changes rapidly over time. Flying with an infant is not the same as flying with a toddler and certainly is not the same as flying with a tween or teen. Some airlines offers a product that works better for families with kids of a certain age and stage, but other airlines work better at other ages. Consider carefully what the ages and needs of your traveling kids are when evaluating the amenities in play.

4. Do You Have Airline Status?

A lot of the hassles of traveling with kids can be attributed to crowded airports and the cramped economy class flying experience. If someone in your family has status with an airline, however, that can be the ticket to a much more streamlined flying experience. Often it can mean upgraded seats, a priority bag check line, free bags, early boarding, and much more. That can certainly make an airline a better pick for your family over other carriers where you are crammed in with the masses.

Best US Airlines for Family Travel: Top Tier Picks

On to the airline rankings! The following airlines (not necessarily in any particular order) represent the top tier of US based airlines for travelers with kids. These airlines more consistently deliver a product that works for flying families. Read on to find what works and why.

1) Southwest Airlines

If you read this blog often, you probably know how much I sing the praises of Southwest Airlines for my family’s own travels. I love them and flew them so much I even served as a brand ambassador for the airline several years ago.

Related: Complete Guide to Flying Southwest with Kids

Of course, that could be my personal bias showing. When I asked other family travelers about family-friendly US airlines on Twitter, however, Southwest was overwhelmingly the most mentioned favorite airline. It seems a lot of other parents feel the same about the unique product the airline delivers.

Pros of Southwest Airlines for Families

• Free checked bags
• No change fees (and flight credits now also never expire)
• Most flexible and easy to understand frequent flyer program (Rapid Rewards)
• Upbeat and entertaining flight attendants
• Reasonably-priced WiFi ($8) and free inflight streaming entertainment
• Family boarding – families with kids 6 and under board between groups A & B when they can easily get seats together
• Very easy to claim any extra seats on the plane for lap infant for free because of open seating policy
• Most generous unaccompanied minor rules: kids can fly unaccompanied without paying a fee starting at age 12 plus lower fees for kids under age 12 than most other airlines

Cons of Southwest Airlines for Families

• No assigned seats and boarding cattle calls
• Hard to ensure seating together for families with kids ages 7+ without paying for Early Bird boarding or remembering to check in for each flight exactly at 24 hours in advance
• Lack of meals
• Limited non-stop flights for cross-country itineraries
• Not necessarily the cheapest fares anymore

2) Alaska Airlines

Seattle-based Alaska Airlines is another airline that regularly gets mentioned by family travelers as a favorite. Generally the airline is praised for friendly and genuine customer service. Likely due to its smaller size, it has a kinder and gentler reputation than some of the large legacy carriers. Of course, that size can be a hindrance, as the airline simply cannot serve a lot of US based family travelers because of its smaller footprint.

Pros of Alaska Airlines for Families

• Friendly flight attendants and call center representatives
• Kids snack box available for purchase on board with food choices picky eaters will like plus Wikki Stix included for play
• Pre-boarding offered to families with kids under age 2
• Reasonably-priced WiFi ($8)
• 20 minute checked bag guarantee – $25 flight discount code or 2500 Mileage Plan miles if bags aren’t on the baggage claim carousel within 20 minutes of your plane’s arrival at the gate
• Almost as generous as Southwest unaccompanied minor rules: kids can fly unaccompanied without paying a fee starting at age 13 plus lower fees for kids under age 13 than most other airlines

Cons of Alaska Airlines for Families

• Lack of nationwide coverage (only the West Coast & Hawaii are well-served, with some service to major East Coast cities)
• Older planes
• Fair number of flights on smaller aircraft operated by Horizon Air
• Least expensive fare class (Saver) doesn’t allow seat selection and therefore doesn’t guarantee kids will be seated with parents
• Kids can join frequent flyer program Mileage Plan but requires calling the airline to set up rather than signing up online

Related: Frequent Flyer Miles for Kids

3) JetBlue

As passionate as some West Coast based travelers are about Alaska, there are equally passionate East Coast based travelers who sing the praises of JetBlue. JetBlue was founded in 1998 as a low cost carrier offering a higher end product with nicer amenities and newer planes. It still strives to deliver a more comfortable flying product which many families appreciate. JetBlue may be in flux in the coming months as a potential merger with Spirit is in the works, so stay tuned to watch how that may impact its appeal to family travelers.

Related: Tips for Flying JetBlue with Kids

Pros of JetBlue for Families

• Good in-flight entertainment – DirectTV on seatback screens as well as movie selections plus streamable Amazon Prime Video to your own devices
• Several varieties of free snacks
• Pre-boarding offered to families with kids under age 2
• Free and speedy WiFi
• Changing tables for babies on all aircraft
• JetBlue Mint – often very reasonably priced lie flat seats on cross-country flights can provide parents with lap babies more space without breaking the bank
• Most generous legroom (32 inch pitch) in coach compared to all other US airlines
• Family pooling of miles available with TrueBlue, JetBlue’s frequent flyer program

Cons of JetBlue for Families

• Lack of nationwide coverage (focus is on Northeast corridor and Florida/Caribbean destinations)
• Planes starting to show their age
• Unknowns around upcoming potential merger with Spirit Airlines

4) Delta Airlines

When my family started flying with kids 13 years ago, there wasn’t a lot to distinguish Delta from the other large legacy carriers. We flew the airline because it served destinations we visited often (especially in the South where I grew up) but traveling with Delta had a lot of the usual indignities of flying any older airline.

In recent years, however, it seems like Delta has pulled ahead of the pack in delivering a higher quality in-flight product. A lot of families have taken note. In my own research, Delta was consistently given higher marks by family travelers than its two most direct competitors – United and American.

Pros of Delta Airlines for Families

• Nationwide coverage: flies to a lot of destinations, both large and small
• Friendly flight attendants and more consistent service
• Newer and nicer planes – including seat back in-flight entertainment on all planes except regional jets
• Doesn’t guarantee families will sit together for all fare types, but regularly is able to resolve seat separation issues in advance

Cons of Delta Airlines for Families

• ATL mega-hub can be maddening – long lines, frequent summer thunderstorms
• Flights to smaller airports served by regional carriers (Delta Connection) using smaller planes
• Opaque and often not as rewarding frequent flyer program, SkyMiles

5) Hawaiian Airlines

Consistent with the welcoming reputation of the islands it calls home, Hawaiian Airlines is another airline beloved by many family travelers. Its footprint is limited, so many families won’t have the chance to fly it. But if you are headed to or from Hawaii with keiki in tow, it usually delivers a pleasant flying experience.

Pros of Hawaiian Airlines for Families

• One of the only airlines that actually still serves food – for free! (Meals included for all fare classes for flights to and from the islands from North American cities)
• Friendly flight attendants and crew
• One of the few airlines not in an alliance, so it has a unique partner network and frequent flyer program that sometimes opens up options
• Most generous unaccompanied minor rules: kids can fly unaccompanied without paying a fee starting at age 12 plus lower fees for kids under age 12 than most other airlines

Cons of Hawaiian Airlines for Families

• Lack of nationwide coverage (only the West Coast & Hawaii are well-served)
• Older planes
• No in-flight WiFi yet (but it’s coming in 2023)
• Inconsistent in-flight entertainment options depending on aircraft

Middle of the Pack US Airlines for Travel with Kids

In the middle of the pack are two legacy airlines that often work well for families. But I’ve found that the experience with these airlines can really vary radically. If you are an infrequent traveler booking a basic economy or regular economy ticket, these airlines might be fine or they might serve up frustration or surprise you with something inconvenient for families. If you or someone in your traveling party has status with the airline (or even just an airline credit card that gives you free checked bags), the experience can improve dramatically.

Personally, I don’t go out of my way to avoid these airlines with kids at all, especially when they offer the best flight time or price. But I do fly them a little more sparingly than I do the top tier.

6) American Airlines

Dallas-based American Airlines has had a rocky road since I started flying with kids 13 years ago. But I must give credit where credit is due. It’s improving. The airline has been upgrading its fleet, shedding a lot of the ancient and uncomfortable planes it inherited in the 2013 US Airways merger. And while some of American’s seating policies and practices can result in parents being separated from young kids, the airline is making more of a proactive effort lately to prevent that from happening.

Pros of American Airlines for Families

• Nationwide coverage: flies to a lot of destinations, both large and small
• Largest hub at Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) is well located and has excellent family-friendly amenities
• More of its fleet reliably has in-seat power
• Robust streaming in flight entertainment options, including offerings for kids
• Improving efforts to seat families together
• Perks for elite travelers can improve the experience for flying families

Cons of American Airlines for Families

• Really obscure rule limiting the size of strollers that can be gate checked that no other airline has. Can be a problem for family travelers needing a double stroller with two or more young kids.
• Some consistently frustrating hubs known for delays: Charlotte, Chicago-O’Hare, and Miami
• Flights to smaller airports served by regional carriers (American Eagle) using smaller planes
• Must purchase higher priced Main Cabin fares to book seat assignments
• Often blocks off aisle and window seats in economy class for its elite travelers, making it hard to secure seats together for families, even when buying a fare type that includes seat assignments

7) United Airlines

Like American, United has been improving in recent years generally, and that has translated into improvements for flying families as well. For awhile the airline went very bare bones, stripping away almost every included amenity. It’s now making an effort to improve the soft product – thankfully!

Pros of United Airlines for Families

• Nationwide coverage: flies to a lot of destinations, both large and small
• Pre-boarding offered to families with kids under age 2
• New in 2022: Children’s Travel Kit Ranger Rick activity kits available on select flights
• Snack boxes and hot meals for purchase – many of which will appeal to kid palates
• Robust in flight entertainment options, including offerings for kids – some streaming and some in-seat screens depending on aircraft
• Improving efforts to seat families together
• Perks for elite travelers can improve the experience for flying families

Cons of United Airlines for Families

• Flights to smaller airports served by regional carriers (United Express) using smaller planes
• Must purchase higher priced regular Economy fares to book seat assignments (not included with Basic Economy) so that families can sit together
• Opaque frequent flyer program, MileagePlus, has had repeated devaluations

Families Should Proceed with Caution Before Booking These US Airlines

At the bottom of the list are three airlines known primarily as ultra low cost carriers. These are airlines that are likely to have a lot more traps for the unwary if you don’t do exceedingly careful research. They are also airlines that nickel and dime for everything, so they may not present family travelers with much savings after all these needed extras are tallied up. In terms of my own family’s flying, never say never, but it takes a LOT to get us to even consider hopping aboard.

7) Frontier

Of the three in the bottom tier, Frontier is the only one I’ve actually deemed bearable enough to fly (see I flew Frontier Airlines and it was just fine). And I have to admit Frontier has been innovating the last few years, marketing to family travelers with unique products that no one else in the US domestic airline market is trying. But it’s still a discount carrier where everything costs extra and that can have its operational meltdowns that strand families. Frontier is Denver-based so family travelers based there may have more reliable experiences.

Pros of Frontier Airlines for Families

• Cheap fares for families on a budget
• Families can pool their frequent flyer miles
• Kids Fly Free fares available to Discount Den members
• Fare bundles that include the extras families need most (carry on bag, checked bag, priority boarding, seat assignments, etc.)

Cons of Frontier Airlines for Families

• Everything costs extra, including assigned seats so parents and kids can sit together and all snacks and drinks
• Checked bag add-on limited to 40 pounds or oversize fee applies (most airlines cover up to 50 pounds with their checked bag fee)
• Infrequent flight schedules between many city pairs means travelers can sometimes be stranded for long periods of time if they misconnect
• No WiFi and no in-flight entertainment

8) Allegiant Airlines

Las Vegas based Allegiant Airlines is the smallest of the three ultra-low cost carriers. With no connecting flights and limited destinations served often from airports you may never have heard of, it’s truly bare bones. But if it gets you where you need to go and you do the research beforehand into all the rules and the extra fees you may need to pay when traveling with kids, it could offer some value.

Pros of Allegiant for Families

• Cheap fares for families on a budget
• Serves underserved secondary airports that may get some travelers closer to their ultimate destination

Cons of Allegiant for Families

• Only non-stop itineraries offered – no connections available
• Limited destinations served
• Everything costs extra, including assigned seats so parents and kids can sit together and all snacks and drinks
• Checked bag add-on limited to 40 pounds or oversize fee applies (most airlines cover up to 50 pounds with their checked bag fee)
• No WiFi and no in-flight entertainment
• Often serves secondary airports in many destinations that may be farther from a city’s center and result in more ground transportation costs and time

9) Spirit Airlines

Last but probably not least is Spirit Airlines, an airline that may soon disappear if the merger with JetBlue goes forward. But for now, it’s the largest ultra low cost carrier in the United States so a lot of families on a budget give it a whirl. It has a few intriguing perks to be sure, but just watch out for truly expected fees and read all the fine print.

Pros of Spirit for Families

• Cheap fares for families on a budget
• Upcoming merger with JetBlue will surely change things for the better if approved
• Only ultra low cost carrier in the US that offers WiFi (& prices can be as cheap as $2.99)
• Inexpensive “Big Front Seat” can give families a nicer flying experience – often at less of a cost of upgrading to domestic First Class or even Economy Plus on other airlines

Cons of Spirit for Families

• Everything costs extra, including assigned seats so parents and kids can sit together and all snacks and drinks (plus has some truly surprise fees like $10 fee to print a boarding pass at the airport)
• Infrequent flight schedules between many city pairs means travelers can sometimes be stranded for long periods of time if they misconnect
• Checked bag add-on limited to 40 pounds or oversize fee applies (most airlines cover up to 50 pounds with their checked bag fee)

Conclusion

There are a wide variety of experiences offered aboard the 9 major US domestic airlines for family travelers. Some US airlines are clearly working a little harder when it comes to meeting the needs of travelers with kids. Whenever possible, reward them with your business!

But if your go-to favorite family travel airline is just too expensive or doesn’t have the routing you need, family travelers shouldn’t be afraid to try something new. While some parts of the travel experience are out of your control, you can improve your chances of success on any carrier just by doing your research and knowing how each airline does things a little differently.

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