A flying nanny

Personally I think its a great idea, I wonder if they could do a special area of the plane as well that was children only then parents wouldn't feel as stressed when flying.

You board the plane, a toddler at your side, a baby in your arms and enough gear to last a lifetime. The flight is twelve hours. You step off the plane rested, refreshed and looking forward to your holiday. Hang on. Rested and refreshed? Yes. Welcome to the world of in-flight nannies.

Etihad Airways has recently launched the Flying Nanny scheme, a dedicated in-flight child care assistance program for families on board long haul flights.

Three hundred of Etihad Airways’ staff will be donning orange aprons and brushing up their face painting and origami skills as dedicated Flying Nannies. As well as being fully equipped to entertain children on long-haul flights, the staff training for the nannies has included guidance on child psychology and sociology.

In a move away from the standard colouring book and pencils, the Flying Nannies provide craft packs that include straws, stickers and cardboard and then, most importantly, guide the children with their in-flight creations. The Flying Nannies also have a few magic tricks up their sleeves (literally), can make sock puppets and have some imaginative uses for the standard-issue paper cup. Older children can look forward to galley tours and specifically designed quizzes and word games.

There are plans to expand the program to include five hundred Flying Nannies, with the service as standard on all flights by the end of the year. It’s certainly an encouraging move for families who like to travel, particularly when some airlines are doing the opposite and creating ‘child-free’ zones.

What do you think, would you be more likely to take kids on a long-haul flight knowing this service was available?

This can`t come soon enough :laugh:. I have to say our 15 hour flight to Australia last year went pretty well, the flight attendants were nice ( Qantas, all male crew) and my kids behaved better than I expected but it would be a nice distraction.

I feel if you want to use a facility like this is should be booked when booking your tickets and you should have to pay. Who is going to pay for this service if it is offered free? The rest of the passengers are I would guess through an increase in fares.

I think some flights do have separate areas of the plane for families. We flew back from somewhere when our kids were young teens, and got put into the family section as a consequence. When we changed planes for our connection, I begged them to change our seats, as I couldn't stand to be surrounded by toddlers and babies for another minute! God, it was awful. It's the parents who do nothing about their kids kicking the backs of the seats in front, wondering around and smearing food over other seats and passengers, and putting their headphones in so they can ignore their own babies crying that really wind me up!!

Incidentally, one of my godmothers used to be employed by an airline as an "International Aunt" about 50 years ago, doing something very similar to these nannies!