Emirates has introduced new toys from the 'Emirates Fly with Me' collection and Lonely Planet Kids activity kit bags for children travelling in all classes.

The new range of toys will come in the top four favourite characters, as voted by customers and fans in a social media competition held last year.

Of the 17 characters Emirates introduced on board in the last three years, the top four characters chosen for the new products are Lewis the Lion, Peek U the Panda, Ernie the Penguin, and Savanna the Elephant. The new collection will be on board all flights and across all classes from this month.

Family experience on board
On short haul flights, the brand new product range includes a vibrating plush for infants up to 2 years old. The cuddly companion can be re-used and attached to the stroller when baby and parents are on the move. Emirates has also introduced a new range to cater specially to children aged 3-6 years old. They will receive a travel case sketcher which includes puzzles, games and stickers to keep them busy on flight. On long-haul flights, infants will be given a dual purpose plush toy with a printed activity blanket while older kids will receive a plush backpack with activity kits.

Emirates continues to offer its popular Fly with Me Lonely Planet Kids activity bags in brand new designs and colours to inspire older children to explore more of the world. Kids will receive retro, travel-themed bags filled with educational travel books and activities designed exclusively for Emirates. The bags contain amazing world facts, creative crafts, collectable destination socks and more. The Fly with Me Lonely Planet Kids range is offered to children aged between seven and 12 years old.

The Fly with Me magazine is also available on board featuring puzzles, jokes and activities for children aged three to eight years old.

Parents travelling with infants will receive an amenity kit especially for the baby. The pouch features Emirates’ iconic Little Traveller characters and contains essentials such as a bib, spoon, baby wipes, changing mat, diaper rash cream and small diaper bag for a comfortable journey.

Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment system, ice, offers up to 3,500 channels and more than 100 kids channels in 40 languages to keep the whole family entertained in flight.  This summer’s latest blockbusters include Avengers Infinity War, Isle of Dogs, Rampage and Tomb Raider. There are over 180 episodes of dedicated children’s content including hit family movies like Coco, Ferdinand and Peter Rabbit. Young travellers can enjoy the inflight entertainment using specially designed headphones with a comfortable fit and great sound quality. New language videos from uTalk also give customers a chance to learn a few new words from the countries they are visiting.

Over 170 aircraft are equipped with Live TV featuring this summer’s sports tournaments as they happen and real-time news updates. Wi-fi is available on 99 per cent of the Emirates fleet and customers across all cabins can enjoy 20mb of free data. Emirates Skywards members can enjoy unlimited free wi-fi or discounted data plans throughout their flight, depending upon their tier and the cabin that they are flying in.

Comfort on the ground
For a more convenient way to check-in, especially for families, groups and passengers with tight schedules, Emirates offers home-check in. The service allows customers to complete check-in from anywhere in Dubai – whether in the comfort of their home, hotel or office, and have their luggage transported to the airport prior to their flight. Customers can then make their own way to the airport and head directly to immigration, bypassing the check-in desks at the airport. The service costs Dh350 ($95.2) for up to seven bags with an additional charge per bag after that.

On the ground, Emirates complements the family travel experience with dedicated family check-in desks and complimentary baby strollers at Dubai International Airport, as well as priority boarding in most airports. For passengers accessing Emirates lounges in Dubai, kids will be able to enjoy a dedicated play area with arcade quality games and Sony PlayStation terminals. The lounges also include baby care rooms for feeding.

In addition, all Emirates customers continue to enjoy complimentary Emperor ice cream during peak departure times every day this summer. Emirates is serving the frozen treats until August 31. The ice cream is handmade locally by Emirates Flight Catering (EKFC) in five flavours: Chocolate, Vanilla, Date & Arabic Coffee, Mango Sorbet, and Lemon Sorbet. The Emperor branded ice-cream is also served to all First Class and Business Class customers in Emirates lounges in Dubai and on board certain flights.

Children aged between five and 15 who are flying alone or those under eight years old travelling in a different cabin class to their parents or guardian can use Emirates’ unaccompanied minor service to help them through the airport and on board.

Emirates Skywards ‘My Family’
To get more out of family travels, Emirates Skywards, the loyalty programme of Emirates and flydubai, has also recently introduced an enriched offering called ‘My Family’. The programme allows family members to pool up to 100 per cent of Skywards Miles earned, and redeem rewards faster than before. - TradeArabia News Service