As a family travel blogger, I have taken many long haul flights with my kids – some good, some bad. I can tell you from experience that one of the most challenging parts about traveling with kids is flying with a toddler.
Without question, one of the best ways we found to survive a long haul flight with a little one is to use a toddler airplane bed. We used a Fly Tot for many long flights with our kids, but then we switched to the Flyaway Kids Bed.
In this Flyaway Kids Bed review, I’ll share my honest experiences with the Flyaway Bed and how I like it compared to the other kids airplane beds (like the Fly Tot, Plane Pal and the JetKids BedBox).
This post contains compensated links.
Why Use a Toddler Airplane Bed?
As parents, there’s nothing quite as bad as being stuck in a cramped space and trying to manage an overactive child. Though the flight is just a small part of your family trip, we still want it to go well, but there are no guarantees when flying with a toddler.
After you’ve spent countless hours entertaining your toddler with all the best airplane travel toys you could cram in your bag, you’re ready for a break! Depending on the age of your child, you might be able to pull out the iPad and enjoy a few relaxing moments while your child enjoys a short show. (I promise, as your child gets older, you’ll even be able to watch your own movie while flying with kids).
My experience traveling with kids has made one thing clear – a toddler travel bed for airplanes gives you the best chance to have a successful long haul flight with your toddler. In fact, I will say that getting your child to sleep during a flight is the single best thing to improve a flight with a toddler.
If you’re on a long-haul flight with your child, then you’ll definitely want to get your toddler to sleep during the flight, whether it’s just for a nap or even a full sleep if you have a night flight.
Having an inflatable bed for planes provides your child their own sleeping area, giving them a much better chance at getting a good sleep. I’ve found that my kids, once asleep, don’t wake up until WE have to wake them up before landing to fold it away.
Getting a good night’s sleep for your child is the biggest reason to get an airplane bed, but there are benefits for you as well. Without a travel bed for airplanes, you’ll need to sit perfectly still all flight while your child’s head rests on your lap.
I am a big proponent of using a toddler airplane bed for long flights, or night flights, and swear by them to get kids to sleep on the plane – it’s one of the best hacks for traveling with toddlers.
Check out my complete list of the Best Toddler Airplane Beds
What Is the Flyaway Kids Bed?
A toddler plane bed is an inflatable cushion which fills the gap between your child’s seat and the seat in front of them. When combined with your little one’s seat, these inflatable seat extenders create an airplane bed for toddlers and kids.
There have been several of these inflatable flight cushions for kids around for years, but what’s the latest in inflatable airplane beds for toddlers?
After years of using our Fly Tot airplane beds (we had two – one for each kid), we had the chance to test out the Flyaway Kids Bed recently. Although the Flyaway Bed is a similar idea to existing products like the Fly Tot or Plane Pal inflatable cushions, it’s a little bit different with some definite improvements.
If anything, I’d say that the Flyaway Kids Bed combines the best features of the Fly Tot airplane bed for kids with the JetKids BedBox (a wheeled carry-on that transforms the seat into a horizontal bed for children), while reducing the bulk.
Read our Fly Tot review and our JetKids BedBox ride-on suitcase review here.
Flyaway Kids Bed Review
Flyaway Designs was created by a mom who struggled through too many long-haul flights with her kids. Knowing there had to be a better way, she created the Flyaway Kids Bed.
The Flyaway Bed is an inflatable airplane bed that works to transform your child’s seat into a toddler bed for the plane.
Most inflatable beds for planes on the market work as a seat extender by sitting in the floor area between your child’s seat the seat in front of them. Instead, what we like about this unique design by Flyaway Designs, is that it still covers the space between your child’s seat and the seat in front, but it keeps the floor space available!
Why is this important? With most airlines charging for extra checked bags, more travelers than ever are filling the overhead compartments with large carry-on suitcases. We find a disadvantage of the other plane beds for kids is that you lose this storage space, but we love that the Flyaway Kids Bed lets you keep this valuable storage space!
Once the Flyaway Bed is installed, your child can use the extra real estate to play, eat and sleep on the plane.
What’s Included With The Flyaway Kids Bed?
In addition to the Flyaway Kids Bed inflatable cushion, you’ll find a handy card with instructions for use, a travel bag and a compact pump in your box.
We love the compact size of the pump compared to the large pumps provided by other toddler plane beds (we show a comparison picture later in this full review).
Setting up the Flyaway Kid Bed on the Plane is Easy!
The setup of the Flyaway Kids Bed is simple! First you unfold the inflatable toddler airplane bed, then all you need to do is inflate two separate valves – one for the vertical leg and one for the horizontal bed. Before you know it, voila! You have a toddler bed for the plane!
I recommend inflating your Flyaway Bed within the confines of your seat rather than in the aisle. This allows your Flyaway Kids Bed to inflate to fit within the space.
I found that putting away the Flyaway Kids Bed is even easier, just open the valves and squeeze the air out. I admit to having a little difficulty folding it back up the first time within the confines of my seat, but I just carried it off the plane and folded it up properly when I had more time and space.
Pro Tip: We always recommend you try out any new toddler travel gear at home before using it on your family trip. While the Flyaway Bed is simple to use, you probably don’t want to be trying it out for the first time on your flight.
What Are The Rules for using the Flyaway Bed Safely?
As you’d expect with the highly regulated airline industry, there are a few rules pertaining to the use of an inflatable airline bed:
Firstly, you can only use the Flyaway travel bed and other inflatable airplane seat cushions after takeoff and before landing. We all hate doing it, but you’ll have to pick up your child and deflate the bed when the plane starts to descend.
Flight attendants are quite strict about the fact airplane toddler beds cannot be used during takeoff or landing. I’ve learned it’s always best for parents to be on the good side of flight attendants, so we recommend adhering to this rule, even if it means waking your child up.
We recommend waiting until the meal has been cleared and everyone is settling into their flight. This is the best time to discreetly inflate it without any disruption to your fellow passengers or the flight crew.
In addition, the seatbelt should be used while your child is sitting or sleeping. When your child is fast asleep on their inflatable bed for the plane, make sure they have their head towards the back of their own seat. Keep the lap belt fastened low around their waist, or routed across the chest and under the arms as recommended by your airline, so they stay secured but comfortable.
If my child seems uncomfortable with the seat belt as he’s getting his wiggles out before he falls asleep, I’ll put it on immediately after he falls asleep. I usually take the time to get the seat belt ready before he falls asleep.
You should also note that the Flyaway Kids Bed can be used in bulkhead seats, but not in exit rows, where extra devices are typically not permitted.
The Best Airplane Seats For Using The Flyaway Kids Bed
To ensure the best chance at using an inflatable flight cushion for your child, make sure you choose the right seats. This diagram shows where it can be used inflight (after takeoff and before landing, of course).
As you can see, airplane beds for kids can only be used in window seats or the center seat(s) of the middle block on larger planes. In other words, they cannot be in a location which impedes the path of any passenger trying to reach the aisle.
Flyaway Bed Approved Airlines
The Flyaway Kids Bed has been approved by over 50 airlines. Flyaway Designs does a great job at keeping their website up-to-date with all the airlines that have approved their inflatable airplane bed.
Note that several more airlines leave it to the discretion of the cabin crew.
Curious about the approval status of the Flyaway Bed on your airline? Check the Flyaway Designs webpage for the latest list of Flyaway Bed Approved Airlines.
Airlines That Don’t Allow The Flyaway Kids Bed:
Air France, Asiana, Delta, Emirates, JetStar Australia, Korean Airlines, Lufthansa, Philippine Airlines (PAL), Qantas, Qatar Airways, TUI, Turkish Airlines and United Airlines.
Flyaway Designs reports that some parents have still been able to use their Flyaway Bed on these airlines, but if you are using one of these carriers, make sure you have a back-up plan. I can speak from experience about Korean Airlines – we tried using an inflatable travel pillow on an overseas flight to Thailand, but they asked us to deflate it.
If a flight attendant informs you that you can’t use your toddler travel bed, please be respectful to the flight crew and remove it.
Flyaway Kids Bed: Pros and Cons
Between using many inflatable airplane beds for kids on our own family travels and having some of our readers review other brands of travel beds, we have a thorough understanding of what the pros and cons of these products are.
Based on my use of the Flyaway Bed while flying with my own kids, here are the pros and cons as I see them:
8 Pros Of Using The Flyaway Kids Bed
1) While the price of the Flyaway Kids Bed is on the higher end of the inflatable airplane travel beds, I was impressed with the quality of it. The upfront cost may seem like a lot, especially when compared to some of the cheaper alternatives, but in my opinion the benefits are more than worth it. Let me ask you this, would you pay $100 to have your child sleep on the flight?
2) Speaking of the high quality of the Flyaway Kids bed, there is one main reason you want to invest in a high-quality inflatable airplane bed. Sure, you can spend significantly less for a cheap airplane bed, but the risk of an inferior bed deflating mid-flight is much higher. Do you really want to wake up your sleeping toddler to reinflate your saggy airplane bed?
3) The Flyaway Kids Bed has a recommended age of 2 to 7 years old, so you’ll get to spread out the cost over multiple long family flights.
4) Like the other toddler beds for flights, you’ll get the benefit of more sleep, more space and more freedom! You’ll be free to move around and not worry about disturbing your sleeping child. No more being held prisoner by a child sleeping in your lap!
5) I liked that it’s fast and easy to inflate and deflate, while my husband liked that the hand pump was much smaller in his carry-on bag vs. some of the previous airplane beds we’ve used.
6) Having a hand pump allows you to inflate the Flyaway Bed in it’s final resting spot, ensuring a snug fit. This isn’t possible with inflatable beds you have to blow it up with your mouth.
7) It does not affect the person in front or their ability to recline.
8) We used our Flyaway Bed for the first time on a short 4-hour flight. It was a night flight and we wanted our son to sleep, so we felt it was worth the effort to bring it.
He easily fell asleep on it an hour into our flight and slept soundly until I woke him up. Without hesitation, it will be coming with us on our next flight.
We recently lent our Flyaway Designs Kids Airplane Bed to friends and here is their review:
“The Flyaway Bed was amazing for our son, who will be 3 next month. I set it up as soon as we reached cruising altitude and he slept for 5 hours straight until the plane started to descend and I had to put it away.”
3 Cons Of Using The Flyaway Kids Bed
1) Like any extra toddler travel gear, it’s going to take up extra space and add weight to your carry-on. That said, the Flyaway Bed packs noticeably smaller than the Fly Tot.
2) I did find that because the Flyaway mattress adds to the height of seat, the tray table was resting on my son’s legs when I had it down. It wasn’t a huge deal; I just kept his drinks on my tray.
You also need to be careful that your child’s head is at the back of their seat, since the additional height would make it possible for them to get bumped in the head if the person in front reclines.
3) As previously mentioned, I found it slightly more difficult to fold up the Flyaway Bed within the confines of my seat. The extra piece that inflates to be the supporting leg was the issue.
But, to be fair, I had gone against my own advice and used it on the plane for the first time. My husband later folded it up properly and said it was easy (not sure what I was doing wrong). It easily fit back in the travel bag along with the pump.
The Flyaway Kids Bed vs. Other Airplane Beds for Toddlers
As mentioned, we have either personally used, or have had Baby Can Travel readers test out all the most popular toddler airplane beds. Our review of the Flyaway Kids bed shows that it has many significant advantages vs. the Fly Tot inflatable airplane cushion and the Fly Tot alternatives.
8 Key Advantages Of The Flyaway Bed vs. Other Inflatable Toddler Airplane Beds
Here are some of the key advantages that we liked about the Flyaway Bed vs. the alternative airplane beds:
1. As you can see in our Flyaway Kids vs. Fly Tot comparison picture below, the inflatable portion of the Flyaway Kids Bed folds up to roughly the same size as the Fly Tot pillow. But the Flyaway Bed pump is significantly smaller than the Fly Tot pump. The Fly Tot used to take up about half of my husband’s carry-on bag, while the Flyaway Kids bed would take up approximately 1/3.
2. In our experience the Flyaway Kids Bed inflates in about 90 seconds. Many similar products can take 2 or 3 minutes (or even longer if you don’t have a pump, like with the cheaper airplane seat cushions for planes).
3. My little one is an active sleeper, so I liked that the Flyaway Kids Bed has bumpers like the JetKids BedBox. Bumpers, which are lacking on most brands of similar products (like the Plane Pal), are helpful if you have a little one who moves around a lot or likes to drop their toys!
4. Also similar to the JetKids BedBox, the Flyaway Kids Bed has a support leg that keeps the floor space available for storing your bags. Given the overhead storage bins are almost always full, this extra space for storage is super valuable for parents flying with all their toddler travel gear. Other inflatable footrest types fill that space instead.
5. The Flyaway Kids Bed has a built-in pressure relief valve that automatically lets out air if the product is over-inflated or if the cabin pressure changes during your flight.
6. The Flyaway Kids Bed keeps the flight bed for toddlers at one even level. The other inflatable plane cushions, like the Fly Tot, can be lower than your child’s seat. Some parents report some discomfort for their child, but to be honest, it’s never been a major issue for us.
7. The Flyaway Kids bed can be used in the bulkhead seats. The other plane seat extenders may need to be flipped to fill the space or may not fit in as securely.
8. And finally, of all the inflatable airplane beds for toddlers, the Flyaway Bed is one of the most widely accepted by airlines.
Is the Flyaway Kids Airplane Bed Just for Toddlers?
Flyaway recommends using the bed from around age 2 up to age 7, with a maximum weight of 50 kg (110 lbs) and a maximum height of about 130 cm (4 ft 3 in).
In he right circumstances, the Flyaway Kids can also be used as an airplane bed for babies. You can only use it as a baby bed for flights if you’ve purchased a seat for your baby (or toddler under 2 years old) or you’ve lucked out with getting a spare seat while flying with a baby.
If you have purchased a seat for your child under 2 years old, make sure you know the rules of your airline and if a child restraint is mandatory.
If you plan to use an inflatable travel pillow for a baby airplane bed, you will still need to pick your baby up during takeoff, landing and during any turbulence – even if your baby is sleeping!
If your kids are getting a little big for a Flyaway Kids Bed, check out the Seat to Sleep travel pillow for kids. My kids love them!
Is Flyaway Kids Bed Worth the Investment?
We’ve traveled extensively with our kids’ travel beds. Based on our years of experience, it has been more than worth the investment, the effort and the room in our carry-on bags to travel with our airplane beds for toddlers. Why? Our kids have slept on every flight that we have used these inflatable airplane beds for kids on!
On a few daytime or short flights we left the beds at home, assuming the kids would stay awake. Of course, those were the flights where they fell asleep on me and I couldn’t move for hours.
I recommend buying a good quality airplane bed when your child is 2 years old (if you aren’t traveling with a car seat on the plane) so you can get the most use out of it. Buying a good quality airplane bed early allows you to spread the expense over many flights, making the per-cost use quite reasonable, given the big benefit you get from using it.
Our experience traveling with kids shows that a well rested toddler is a much happier and willing traveler. So, the answer is absolutely yes, a good quality travel bed for airplanes, such as the Flyaway Kids Bed, is worth the investment.
Where to Buy the Flyaway Kids Bed
We hope you have found our Flyaway Kids Bed review helpful in your purchasing decision. If you’d like to buy a Flyaway Kids Bed, or would like more information, you can visit the Flyaway Designs website directly.
The original Flyaway Kids Bed is sold exclusively through the official Flyaway Designs website. If you see ‘Flyaway’ airplane beds listed on Amazon or other marketplaces, they are not from the official brand.
Flyaway Designs provided a Flyaway Kids Bed for the purpose of this honest review. As always, all opinions are our own.
My First Flight – Toddler Coloring Book
Flying for the first time can be unsettling for many toddlers. This is why I created the “My First Flight Coloring Book” just for you and your little traveler!
With 32 fun, easy-to-color illustrations, this book helps toddlers understand what to expect on travel day—from packing a suitcase to soaring through the sky. It’s the perfect way to prepare your child for their first flight while keeping them happily entertained along the journey!
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This post was written & edited by:
Celine Brewer is the owner of Baby Can Travel. Not only does she have years of experience traveling with babies & toddlers, but she's helped millions of new parents travel with their babies and toddlers for over a decade. In addition to writing on her baby travel blog, she has shared her expertise on traveling with a baby or toddler by contributing to articles about traveling with a baby with the Washington Post, USA Today, the Lonely Planet magazine and Pregnancy & Newborn magazine.
Celine also writes about family travel on the site FamilyCanTravel.com, which she co-owns with her husband. Being from the Canadian Rockies, she shares her passion about her home and travel to Banff National Park and area on their site TravelBanffCanada.com.