I Flew My Entire Family To Europe, And It Didn’t Suck

As a mom with small children on an airplane, you’re not in control. You do your best to schedule the flight for optimum sleep hours. You pay for an extra seat so the folks around you feel less inconvenienced by the crying and the seat-kicking.

But at the end of the day, everything goes wrong — and most of the suffering falls on you. The flight attendants can’t do anything except hand you cookies.

Most recently, however, Norwegian Air saved my life. As if we could possibly love the Norwegians more (A Ha! is everything!), the airline got me and my two kids, that’s right, to Italy.

I’ve been trying to get my kids to Europe. It’s insane, I know — but my parents took me to Italy when I was small. They were on a middle-to-low-income budget, and I still haven’t forgotten the experience. I still smell Pompeii (it smells like butter, oddly?), and I really wanted my older daughter to see Europe in the same way. I wanted her to know that the world was bigger than our little house, and her tiny school.

I didn’t think I could do it with a toddler and a 5-year-old. European fares are so outrageously expensive now, and kids — bless their hearts — bring out their worst on airplanes. But I did some browsing anyway and to no one’s surprise found the regular airlines would have left me bankrupt and with no support for tiny humans with big voices.

Then, I stumbled on Norwegian Air, which has some of the best deals out there, and some of the swankiest accommodations for parents. I know, “accommodations for parents?” Does that mean I don’t have to spend 9 hours trying to restrain my kid?

Norwegian Air offers family-friendly fare bundles (or un-bundles, if you want to leave the family behind!) to over 150 locations in the world. You can get some of the best deals using their low fare calendar, which helped me pick the best family-oriented travel times. The in-flight entertainment includes kids’ games and meals — my 5-year-old was addicted to the games for hours and didn’t kick a single seat. Plus, their Dreamliner airplanes offer plenty of space and optimal air pressure so the family suffers less jet lag.

The entire crew was super supportive, which is everything when you’re a parent. When I had to rush my little one to the bathroom for a diaper change, a flight attendant offered to play a card game with my 5-year-old to keep her occupied. My kid loved the attention and was actually disappointed when the flight attendant had to go back to work.

I got my kids to Naples without incident. From there, I’m sure we’ll get to Pompeii, if I haven’t gone bonkers by that point. Smelling that buttery air that I so fondly remember with my kids makes it all worth it.

Norwegian Air was voted “World’s Best Low-Cost, Long-Haul Airline” for the 4th year in a row by SkyTrax Awards where 19 million passengers have had their say. Start planning your trip now with Norwegian Air.