My kids have been lucky enough to fly business class more than I would like to admit. But let’s be honest, as much as I enjoy all of us flying together, it’s usually out of necessity. And by necessity, I mean that they had to be travelling with us, their parents, who sometimes just want the comfort of a premium cabin when flying a long-haul international flight.
This March Break, we’ve reached a new milestone in our travels. For the first time, our kids sat in a separate cabin than us all on their own – and they did great! Let me share the process we went through and how to help prepare the kids (and yourselves) for it.
Travelling in Separate Cabins
If your kids are young, this thought probably hasn’t crossed your mind, and the idea might even offend some of you. If you’re happy flying in economy, it’s probably not even on your radar. But if you’ve got the business class bug, you quickly realize how adding kids to the equation makes the cost of award redemptions skyrocket.
When you’re earning and redeeming miles and points for one person, it’s straightforward. If you add a partner, you can teach them to follow the same strategies, maintaining your efficiency.
However, once children enter the picture—who aren’t earning their own points—the situation changes dramatically. Suddenly, you need to earn triple or quadruple the points to cover their flights too, and award availability, especially in premium cabins, becomes far more scarce.
The solution? Some parents will resolve to travel back in economy class. Others like me, decide not to let kids slow us down, and put ourselves to the challenge of flying long-haul business class with the kids when possible.
But there is another option to balance comfort with cost: flying in separate cabins. Many airlines will treat kids flying separately from their parents as unaccompanied minors and each airline has their own policy to address the topic. A few travel savvy airlines specifically address travelling in separate cabins head on (they clearly know how some parents think!).
One such airline is STARLUX, so on our recent trip to Asia, we tested out the process.
STARLUX: The Perfect Opportunity
My eldest is now a teenager and can fly independently, as most airlines set the minimum age for unaccompanied minors at 12. The issue that held me back last year was that his siblings weren’t old enough to join him, meaning he would be seated alone in a separate cabin, which didn’t seem fair or fun.
Usually kids between the ages of 5 to 12 either require an adult at least 16+ to accompany them or they require an Unaccompanied Minor Service, otherwise known as a chaperone service.
The great thing with STARLUX is that neither of these stipulations apply as long as the parents are on the same flight, even if they are traveling in a separate cabin. If you’re unfamiliar withe the carrier, they are a relatively new Taiwanese carrier known for its premium service.
Logistics aside, I felt that my kids were mature enough to fly separately. My eldest is taller than me and can keep active watch over his siblings, while my middle child has a great innate sense of responsibility and good judgment about safety. The youngest can use the toilet independently and is able to entertain herself for hours on end.
Given our previous travels, air travel doesn’t phase them and all three were at ease with the idea of being on their own together, so my husband and I felt it was the right time to give it a try.
Booking STARLUX on Points
STARLUX can be booked through the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program, with direct flights from SFO (San Francisco), LAX (Los Angeles), and SEA (Seattle) to/from TPE (Taipei).
We found award space to Asia from SFO to TPE. Since the distance between SFO and LAX and TPE falls below Alaska’s 7,000-mile distance band, the saver level pricing is:
- 75,000 Alaska miles for business class
- 50,000 Alaska miles for premium economy
- 37,500 Alaska miles for economy
It’s worth noting that once these saver awards get booked, the cost for an award seat can more than double. One great benefit with Alaska’s program is that if you add a positioning flight on Alaska Airlines, it will not change pricing as long as it’s within the same distance band.
To acquire our Alaska miles, we transferred points at a 1:1 ratio from Amex US Membership Rewards (MR) to Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles, and then transferred those at a 1:1 ratio to Alaska miles.
There is a fee when transferring Amex US MR to US airlines of $0.0006 cents per point, with a maximum fee of $99. This opportunity to transfer from Amex US MR may end soon, so if you’re considering a redemption, I would transfer sooner rather than later.
Award Availability on STARLUX
At calendar opening (330 days before departure), you can expect STARLUX to release 1-2 business class, 2 premium economy, and 4 economy award seats through Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. If you miss the initial release, there are still opportunities to book.
STARLUX occasionally does random seat drops. We benefited from one of these about 2 months prior to our trip, which allowed us to book our 2 seats in business class and 3 seats in economy for a total of 262,500 Alaska miles.
You can find out about these drops by signing up for an alert service or joining our Membership Community where such information is often shared.
Join the Prince of Travel Community!
STARLUX also opens additional availability around 2 weeks before departure. In our case, this allowed us to upgrade our kid’s economy seats to premium economy, placing them closer to our business class cabin. This was particularly important since it would be their first time flying separately from us.
All these changes were done for free, as Alaska Air doesn’t charge a change or cancellation fee for their bookings.
Booking Process for Unaccompanied Minors
Booking through Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan was surprisingly straightforward. I first made a booking for my husband and myself for 2 business class seats. I then proceeded to book my 3 kids separately, which had to be done through a web browser rather than the Alaska app (which would otherwise generate an error). I did select the option that said my kids were not travelling alone, which was true.
To my delight, booking children alone was surprisingly easy. Most airlines don’t allow you to select “no adults” when making an online booking and typically require you to call in. I was apprehensive at first but the booking proceeded to ticketing, and I received a confirmation email with the booking reference and ticket numbers.
To be extra cautious, I took several steps to ensure everything was in order. I checked the booking reference on STARLUX’s website and confirmed I could pull up the reservation. I also reached out to STARLUX over chat to inquire about our bookings and ask them to link our booking references, just in case. The agent seemed to indicate this wasn’t necessary, which was reassuring.
When it came time for check-in 24 hours prior to our flight, I was able to complete online check-in for both bookings without any issues.
Preparing the Kids to Fly Separately
Seating Arrangements
I chose the kids’ premium economy seats as close to the business class cabin as possible, and our business class seats as close to premium economy as possible. I seated the youngest on the aisle, as I knew she’d probably have to go to the bathroom the most and my eldest next to an open seat so he’d be next to another passenger potentially.
Meal Selection
During the flight, my kids advised me that they served a pasta dish for dinner, but unfortunately, the airline had run out and they had to settle for their second meal choice. I later discovered I could have pre-ordered their meals. I recommend doing this to ensure your children get their preferred options and so you’ll know exactly what they’re being served.
Oh, and if you’re hoping to have their bubble tea onboard, you’ll want to book flying out of TPE, as they don’t serve it flying the other way.
Prepping the Kids
Before our flight, we had a thorough discussion covering behavior expectations to maintain a peaceful environment for everyone on board.
While screens can help pass time, we established reasonable limits to avoid distraction during meals or announcements. We stressed the importance of helping each other rather than calling flight attendants for minor issues. We reviewed bathroom protocols, including how to lock doors and remembering to wash hands.
Lastly, we emphasized the importance of good manners with flight attendants and fellow passengers. We reminded them to be considerate of those around them by speaking quietly and minimizing seat kicking or tray table bouncing. Frequent walking between cabins to visit us in business class is disruptive to other passengers and should be limited to necessary situations only.
We also made sure the kids packed books, dollar store activity kits, and extra snacks for the journey, even though we expected they’d spend most of the flight watching their TV screens.
The STARLUX Experience
I can confidently say that both parents and kids had a great flight. My husband and I savored our premium cabin’s exceptional space, cuisine, and attentive service.
The kids thoroughly enjoyed their newfound autonomy and had no complaints about their premium economy experience. The seats were more than spacious enough for their comfort, with decent recline and foot space. They particularly took a liking to their happy-face amenity kits and the special attention from flight attendants, who also distributed toys like inflatable planes and card decks.
I made occasional check-ins to ensure they were eating and taking some time to sleep. While my youngest visited business class briefly, she happily returned to her own space–a testament to their comfort and contentment with the arrangement.
Conclusion
Flying in separate cabins can benefit both parents and children when kids are ready for some independence. This arrangement fosters their growth, conserves your valuable points, and reduces the challenge of finding multiple award seats in one cabin.
For travel to Asia, STARLUX stands out with its straightforward booking process and flexible unaccompanied minor policies. By placing our children in premium economy while we flew business class, our family’s total cost was 300,000 Alaska miles. Had we all flown business class, we would have spent 375,000 miles – the 75,000 mile savings equals an entire one-way redemption!
This story originally appeared on princeoftravel
