Flying with Kids: Can You Fly in Separate Cabins?

In my previous post, we looked at the factors you may want to consider when deciding what class of service to book with your hard-earned points when traveling with family.

For those of us who enjoy flying in business class, the decision often boils down to this: how much do we value those comforts and perks of flying in business versus the state of our mileage account balances, finding seat availability, and our general perception of whether kids should be in business class altogether?

Perhaps flying in business versus economy doesn’t always have to be an either/or decision. What if parents could enjoy their business class seats while the kids chilled out in economy?

It may seem like a crazy thought at first, but under certain conditions, kids can be seated in a different cabin than their parents or guardians. It’s something that families who feel comfortable travelling this way can explore further.

Why Fly Together?

Most of us wouldn’t even think twice about being seated together with our kids on a plane. It’s just the natural thing to do when you’re travelling as a family, especially if your kids are young.

Parents need to care for their kids. Depending on their age, kids may not be old enough to care for themselves or know how to behave appropriately on a plane. Through my years as a parent travelling with kids, I’d always:

• Make sure my kids stay hydrated and eat at the appropriate times (or not overeat on junk – leave my son with a Costco-size bag of popcorn, and he’ll finish it in one go)
• Police screen time, especially when it’s time to nap or sleep on a red-eye flight
• Take them for washroom breaks
• Make sure they’re not bothering other passengers around them
• Play referee in breaking up sibling squabbles
• Take care of any unforeseeable emergencies that may arise

Parents need to protect their kids. Most parents wouldn’t be comfortable leaving their kids with strangers in any setting, let alone a plane.

It’s true that when it comes to travelling on a plane, there is no fear of your child getting lost or being abducted. Most adults are decent people, but you never really know what the passenger next to your child may say or do when you’re not actually around.    

Separation anxiety. Some kids just don’t do well apart from their parents. The fear of being apart from you would drive them up the wall, which is neither good news for you, the parent, nor the other passengers sitting next to your kids.

Why Fly in Separate Cabins?  

For all the reasons mentioned above, it can be easy to see why parents should sit with their kids, especially if they are young.

But what if your kids are beyond that stage where they need constant supervision? If that’s the case, then perhaps you have found yourself wondering if they could stay in economy while you, the parent(s), slip into business class.

Consider the benefits:

• Cost savings. Economy class award tickets can save you up to 50% the miles and points when compared to a business class redemption.
• Kids are happy. They have their screen. They have their food. On top of that, they have their own space and a chance to exercise their independence.
• Parents are happy. They have their free alcohol, better food, more space, a lie-flat bed, and perhaps a bit of much needed peace and tranquility – which is what makes for a true vacation for some parents.

Unaccompanied Minors

Most airlines do not have a policy that explicitly covers the topic of travelling with kids in separate cabins. Instead, most airlines would treat kids sitting in separate cabins as unaccompanied minors, for which they do have a policy. 

At what age an airline permits children to travel alone or sit independently of their parents varies. North American carriers tend to have more conservative policies while Asian airline carriers tend to have more lenient policies. Always check the policy for the airline you’re flying with to get the exact details, but for most intents and purposes, the age policies can be generalized as below:

• Children under the age of 5 (age 8 for Canadian carriers) must fly accompanied by a parent, guardian or another passenger who is at least 16-18 years old, but sometimes as young as 12 years old.
• Children aged 5–11 travelling without a parent in the same cabin usually must arrange for an Unaccompanied Minor Service (USM), unless travelling with a sibling who is at least 12 years old, and in some cases, older.
• Children over the age of 12 may travel unaccompanied without the need for a UMS, although it can be an optional add-on.

The Unaccompanied Minor Service

Most airlines offer an USM. Consider this a chaperone service. For most airlines, it is not a one-on-one babysitting service where a flight attendant is constantly monitoring your child during the flight. Rather, they will check-in on your child on an intermittent but ongoing basis and provide assistance as needed.

The extent of the service varies by airline. A snack or meal may be provided as part of the service. Some airlines offer this service for free, while others will charge a fee. 

Restrictions

Each airline has their own eligibility requirements, so be sure to check on their respective websites for further details.

In general, the service is not offered to children who have severe disabilities or substantial medical conditions, who require the administration of regular essential medications, or who have severe allergies.

Most airlines only offer these services on their own direct flights (i.e., not available on partner, codeshare, or connecting flights). For those that do provide the service on connecting flights, they will provide staff to accompany children into lounges during connections. There are exceptions and some airlines are more lenient than others. 

Booking

Be aware that unaccompanied minor services always require advance booking. The timing requirements vary by airline; some demand you arrange it when purchasing the ticket, while others allow you to add it up to 12 hours before departure. You’ll likely need to call the airline directly, as most don’t offer this service through their websites.

Two important restrictions to note when it comes to award bookings: some airlines only provide this service for tickets purchased with cash and not award redemptions, and for those that do allow them, some require the ticket to be booked through their own airline’s award program and not others.

If you do opt to use the service, you’ll want to book sooner rather than later as most airlines have a maximum number of unaccompanied minors that they can accommodate per flight.

Below are the policies of some common airlines families may fly. The details are not exhaustive, so feel free to follow the link to each airline’s webpage for further information.

Airline	Age of Child	Policy	Cost of UMS (per segment)
Air Canada	<8	Must be accompanied by person aged 16+	$100-$118 CAD/USD
	8–11	UMS mandatory if not accompanied by person aged 16+
	12-17	UMS optional
WestJet	<2	Must be accompanied by person aged 18+	$100 CAD
	2-4	Must be accompanied by person aged 16+
	5-7	Must be accompanied by person aged 12+
	8-11	UMS mandatory if not accompanied by person aged 12+
	12-17	UMS optional
Porter Airlines	<8	Must be accompanied by person aged 16+	$100 CAD/USD
	8-11	UMS mandatory if not accompanied by person aged 16+
	12-17	UMS optional
United Airlines	<5	Must be accompanied by person aged 18+	$150 USD for up to 2 children
	5-14	UMS mandatory if not accompanied by person aged 18+
	15-17	UMS optional
Turkish Airlines	<2	Must be accompanied by 18+	Contact carrier
	2–6	UMS mandatory if not accompanied by person aged 18+
	7–11	UMS optional
Emirates	<5	Must be accompanied by person aged 18+	Free for age 5–11 $50 USD age 12–15
	5–11	UMS mandatory if not accompanied by person aged 18+
	12+	UMS optional
Etihad Airways	<5	Must be accompanied by person aged 18+	Free for age 5–11 $145-$218 CAD age 12-17
	5–11	UMS mandatory if not accompanied by person aged 18+
	12+	UMS optional
Qatar Airways	<5	Must be accompanied by person aged 16+	Contact carrier
	5–11	UMS mandatory if parent not on flight with child; UMS not required if parent travelling in different cabin
	12-15	UMS optional
Lufthansa	<5	Must be accompanied by person aged 18+	$135-$190 CAD
	5-11	UMS mandatory if not accompanied by person aged 12+
	12-17	UMS optional
British Airways	<14	Must be accompanied by person aged 16+
	14+	May travel alone, UMS not available
Air France	4-11	UMS mandatory (within France)	Free when UMS mandatory, fee otherwise
	12-17	UMS optional (within France)
	5-14	UMS mandatory (international)
	15-17	UMS optional (international)
KLM	5-14	UMS mandatory	Starting at 100 EUR
	15-17	UMS optional
Cathay Pacific	<6	Must be accompanied by person aged 18+	$65-$150 USD
	6-12	UMS mandatory if not accompanied by person aged 18+
	12-17	UMS optional
Japan Airlines	<5	Must be accompanied by person aged 12+	Free for aged 6-11
	6-7	UMS mandatory if not accompanied by person aged 12+
	8-11	UMS optional
Singapore Airlines	<5	Must be accompanied by person aged 18+	Free for age 5–11, fee may apply otherwise
	5-11	UMS mandatory if not accompanied by person aged 18+
	12-17	UMS optional
Starlux	<5	Must be accompanied by person aged 18+	$50-$100 USD
	5-11	UMS mandatory if parent not on flight with child; UMS not required if parent travelling in different cabin
	12-17	UMS optional

Conclusion

Parents can travel in a separate cabin from their children, with some restrictions. I imagine most parents with very young children would never consider sitting separately from them so this might not be a game changer for most families.

If your children are old enough and you’re comfortable having them in a different cabin, this approach offers two key benefits: it helps when premium cabin award availability is limited, and it significantly reduces the points needed for your trip. Plus, with the unaccompanied minor service, you can take comfort in the fact that your children will have dedicated airline staff looking after them throughout the flight.

Until recently, my kids were too young for me to feel comfortable being seated apart from them. However, now that they’re older and more independent, with a teenager in the household to help keep watch over them, this is something I’ll be considering for long-haul flights. (As a matter of fact, we tried it for the first time this past March Break… more on that to come!)