Fun onboard

Our Flying Nanny

Do you ever wish that more help was available with children on long-haul flights, so you can sit back and have a little ‘me time’? With parents and their children in mind, you’ll find our ‘Flying Nanny’ on all long-haul flights operated by Etihad Airways.

Our specially trained Flying Nannies have been approved by Norland, the UK’s renowned childcare training college for early years professionals. They’re here to provide an extra pair of hands – whether it’s helping to get the children settled for bed, keeping them entertained or simply offering advice and support to parents.

Every Flying Nanny will be equipped with a goody bag of games and activities to help keep the kids occupied, easing the pressure on you. They might be making their own hand puppets, trying origami for the first time, or joining other children in a drawing competition. They could even find themselves enjoying face-painting, learning a magic trick or having fun with food.

The type of activities your children get involved in will be down to the creativity and ingenuity of both themselves and their Flying Nanny. Yet, even in the confines of an aircraft, the options are endless and our Flying Nannies are specially trained to make the most of what’s available onboard.

And whilst we can’t take them off your hands completely, as we must cater to the needs of every family onboard, we hope our ‘Flying Nanny’ goes someway to making your experience with Etihad that little bit more relaxing and enjoyable.

In-flight entertainment

Etihad’s in-flight entertainment system includes a fun-filled children’s section, with a special interface that features our four much-loved animated characters: Kundai, Boo, Zoe and Jamool.

There’s a huge variety of entertainment on offer to keep your children entertained, all carefully selected with a younger audience in mind. Etihad also offers a parental lock feature, which allows parents to block unsuitable content at request.

For television and movie buffs, there’s our Kids Club for pre-schoolers and children under 12 years old, with a combination of live-action and animated titles. Teenagers also have access to their own section, offering Disney and a variety of popular Hollywood titles for their age group.

We also provide around 30-60 games across our fleet, together with a variety of music albums on our Audio-on-Demand section, including albums from teen-idols like Justin Bieber and Katy Perry.

Games and fun activities with our children’s pack

In addition to the in-flight entertainment and Flying Nanny, every child over 3 years old will also receive their own children’s pack, containing enough games, activity books and stickers to help keep boredom at bay.

Delicious meals for children and infants

When it comes to meal-times, kids come first, which means your little ones are fed and happy by the time you’re served your meal. We’ve created a range of children meals that are nutritious, fun and hopefully appeal to the fussiest of eaters. Just be sure to order your children meals at time of booking, or at least 24 hours before your departure time.

In addition to the children meals, we have a delicious range of Hipp Organic premium organic baby food available onboard for infants.

These are available on request, please ask your cabin crew.

Hints & tips

To relieve ear pain that can be caused by changes in air pressure during take-off and landing, we recommend giving your child something to suck or chew. Alternatively, encouraging them to blow their nose may help.
Help us to help you. When it comes to critical things like safety on board, we do need your help. Whilst we know that some children can get upset at the idea of being strapped into their seat, the aircraft can’t take-off or land if they’re not properly secured.
Try not to get too stressed yourself, as children have a tendency to pick up on these things and they use you as their barometer. The calmer and more relaxed you are, the more likely they are to be happy and content. And don't hesitate to ask for help. The Etihad team is always on-hand to offer assistance.
Avoid too many sweet treats. By all means have snacks and treats to keep your children happy and to be used as ‘incentives’ if needed. But we suggest you avoid too many sugary snacks and drinks as these can simply stimulate your child’s energy levels.
Don’t get too stressed if your child isn’t able to follow the usual sequence of events. Talk with them to explain what is happening now and what is going to happen next; that helps them feel reassured and relaxed.