Preparing for your trip with the family
While your children look forward to the family holiday, you usually spend a lot of time on planning. With our tips, you can also relax as you start your holiday.
Checklist for a relaxing start
Planning a family holiday can pose new challenges even for experienced travellers. In order to make you and your children more relaxed before departure, we have compiled a checklist of travel preparation tips:
- Check all passports for their validity. Babies and toddlers also need their own passports.
- Check in conveniently online about 47 hours before departure at austrian.com.
- Book seats - the earlier the better.
- Children’s menus can be booked directly during booking at austrian.com.
Seat reservation
Naturally, children want to experience the exciting journey with their parents by their side. In order to be able to sit together on board, we recommend making a seat reservation at an early stage. You can make it directly during the booking process at austrian.com or subsequently under “My Bookings”.
Please note that infants have no right to their own seat. If you would like your infant to have their own seat, please contact our Service Center before booking.
Children’s menus
On flights lasting longer than 3 hours and 45 minutes, our small guests are served children’s meals such as pasta or schnitzel free of charge. As we always prepare our menus fresh, please order directly when booking your flight or up to 24 hours before departure.
Prams and pushchairs
At most airports, you can keep your foldable prams or pushchairs up to a maximum of ten kilograms with you until shortly before boarding.
After arrival, you will receive your pram or pushchair from the ground staff at a terminal position in the passenger bridge, or upon arrival of the bus directly upon exiting the aircraft steps.
At Vienna Airport, prams and pushchairs must be handed over to the large baggage desk.
Our bag drop staff will provide you with information about whether you can take them with you on the plane or not. Please inform us beforehand if you have booked a flight with a transfer and you need your pram or pushchair there.
Our ground staff at the departure gate will ensure that your pram or pushchair is properly loaded.
If you do not receive your pram or pushchair upon arrival, please contact the gate staff or the nearest service center. Please note that the delivery can take a few minutes.
If your pram or pushchair weighs more than ten kilograms, then it must be checked as baggage. Please note: If you exceed your free baggage allowance, an excess baggage fee will be charged.
You can take so-called "pocket buggies" on board within the scope of your permitted baggage allowance if they are packed accordingly and are no longer identifiable as a pushchair.
- Billund
- Birmingham
- Bremen
- Catania
- Düsseldorf
- Gothenburg
- Copenhagen
- Krasnodar
- London Heathrow
- Nice
- Olbia
- Palermo
- Paris Charles de Gaulle
- Rome
- Stockholm
Child car seats
You can take your own child car seat on board. For this you need to book a separate seat in good time at the applicable child’s fare.
The child seat must be certified for air travel and fit on the aircraft seat (43 cm × 43 cm). Please ensure that you are familiar with the manufacturer’s operating instructions for the use and attachment in the aircraft, since this is solely your responsibility. Please understand that our cabin staff cannot help when attaching the seat. If the child seat cannot be properly attached, it must be checked in as baggage.
For safety reasons, so-called "Comfort devices" with integrated locking devices or inflatable foot supports may not be used on board.
Choosing suitable seats
- If your child uses a child seat, the window seat is the best location.
- Accompanying persons should sit next to the child.
- Seats in emergency exit rows and after cabin partitions are not suitable for child seats.
- Other passengers must not be impaired in their travel comfort by the use of a child seat and the emergency exit must not be blocked in case of any emergency evacuation.
Country-specific travel regulations
Please note that a separate travel permit is necessary in many countries if your child is travelling alone or with just one parent. Without the required travel documents, local authorities can refuse permission for the child to travel in or out. Therefore, please find out in good time about the valid entry/exit regulations of the respective country. Examples of countries for which special regulations for children and adolescents travelling in and out apply:
Unaccompanied minors under 18 years of age who have their domicile in France and travel from France must show the following documents:
- ID card or passport (with visa, if required)
- An original of the Authorization form (in French) to leave the country, which must be filled out by a legal guardian
- A copy of the ID of the legal guardian who signs the form
The following documents must be submitted for unaccompanied minors under 18 years of age who travel into or out of South Africa:
- Informed consent form of the parents or the individual parent or legal guardian of the child which confirms that the child may travel into and out of South Africa
- Birth certificate or a certified copy of the birth certificate
- Contact details of the parents, a letter with residential address, contact details and residence permit of the person who will receive the child in the Republic of South Africa and a copy of the identity card of this person
- If the child or adolescent is only travelling with one parent or guardian, the certified consent form of the non-travelling parent/guardian must be carried
- If a guardian has sole custody, evidence of the sole custody must be presented
These provisions apply to all minors, regardless of their nationality. Please ensure that all requirements are met, otherwise entry to or exit from South Africa will be refused.
All documents not written in English require an additional certified translation issued by the competent authority of the respective country. You need original documents or officially certified copies.
For more information or questions, please contact the South African embassy in your country. You can find further details on the South African government website (English).
Children and adolescents under 18 years of age who have a Romanian passport or ID card and depart from a Romanian airport require the following documents:
- If a minor is travelling alone or accompanied by a non-custodial adult from Romania, a notarised power of attorney of the legal guardian is required.
- The notarised power of attorney of the second parent is required if a minor is travelling accompanied by just one custodian. This power of attorney must be confirmed in a police station (except for the airport police).
Boarding may be refused if these documents are not presented promptly. You can find further information on the Romanian government website (English).
Children or adolescents under 18 years of age who have a Moldavian passport must be accompanied by their parents or a legal guardian. In all other cases, a notarised power of attorney of the legal guardian is required. Contents of the letter: Information about the accompanying person, reason for travel, travel duration and destination country. If the necessary documents are not presented to the competent authorities in good time, boarding may be refused.
Seat allocation for families
If you book your flight online, you should specify that you are travelling with children, and we will assign you and your children to nearby seats around 48 hours before departure. You can then check your seat assignment during online check-in.Staff will also be happy to help you arrange a family-friendly seat allocation at the airport, during check-in and boarding.
Select seats
In order to optimally select your seats, it is always better to select them when booking your flight. Please note that a fee may be incurred when you select your seats in advance. Additional costs may also arise if you decide to change the allocated standard seats or select a preferred seat.
Age limits for infants and children
Infants (INF)
We define infants as children under two years of age. Infants usually pay ten percent of the adult fare (infant fare) at Austrian Airlines.
Please note that there may be country-specific (based on the country of ticket purchase), tariff-specific or seasonal deviations.
On board, infants have no entitlement to their own seat. However, for adults who are travelling with an infant we try to keep the adjacent seat free for as long as possible. If you are travelling with an infant and want your infant to have their own seat, you can choose to pay the child fare. In this case, please contact ourService Center.
For safety reasons, only one infant may fly per adult. The accompanying person must be over 18 years old – or over 16 years if the trip takes place as a family with adult persons.
For safety reasons, infants who will turn two years of age during the travel period must be booked as children (with their own seat). Example: You travel from 1 to 20 November 2019 with your child who was born on 15 November 2017.
Children (CHD)
By children, we mean travellers between two and eleven years of age – so children who have not yet reached their twelfth birthday. Infants who turn two between the outbound and return flight must be booked as children (with their own seat) for safety reasons. For Austrian Airlines, children usually pay 75 percent of the adult fare (child fare).
Please note that there may be country-specific (based on the country of ticket purchase), tariff-specific or seasonal deviations.
Unlike infants, children have their own seat on board. Children who are not yet five years old must always be accompanied by an adult. This accompanying person must be at least 18 years old, except for a sibling who is over 16 years old. Children between five and eleven years of age must be accompanied by a person over twelve years of age. If this is not the case, the conditions for unaccompanied minors apply.
Children who turn twelve during the trip pay the children fare. In this case, please contact ourService Center.
