Hawaiian Airlines

FLIGHT NUMBER: HA451

ROUTE: HONOLULU – SYDNEY AIRCRAFT: AIRBUS A330-200 CLASS: EXTRA COMFORT ECONOMY, SEAT 16J

DURATION: 10 HOURS 40 MINUTES

A long-haul flight with a child can be daunting at the best of times, even when you’ve just had a ball frolicking under the Hawaiian sun, drinking mai tais (me) and shaved ice (my daughter). If Business Class is not an option, Hawaiian has Extra Comfort seats at the front of the economy section, which are great for people travelling with kids. There are 68 seats available with a pitch of 36 and 18 inches of leg room. A bonus is that this section is served meals first, so ‘hangry’ kids don’t have to wait.

Plus there is priority boarding and priority security at Honolulu Airport – and the less time kids spend waiting in line the better, right?

We receive our complimentary welcome pack, which always goes down well, and once my daughter had gone to sleep I was able to watch Big Little Lies to my heart’s content on the cabin TV screen.

The flight was much more enjoyable than it could have been, and that extra space really was worth the extra money. Next time we go to Hawaii, we will try Hawaiian’s recently introduced bid upgrade program, where you can bid, auction style, on Hawaiian’s website, submitting the price you would be happy to pay for a business class seat. That is definitely worth a try.

The verdict: With my daughter hyped from our holiday, the extra space came in really handy. hawaiianairlines.com