Delta Sydney to LA in Economy with Kids

Are you planning to fly from Sydney, Australia to Los Angeles with kids in economy and want to know what to expect?

Though we were thrilled when United started offering direct flights to the West Coast of the United States from Brisbane, unfortunately, it was a lot more budget-friendly to fly to Sydney before we flew to the US. If you are wondering what a United flight is like with kids in the economy section, read my review.

The flight from Sydney to Los Angeles is around 14 hours. For us, the flight was one of 3 to get us to our destination, Tampa, Florida.

When I travel, especially when I am traveling with my kids, I want to know what it is like on board. I want to know what the food options are. I want to know what the entertainment is like. I want to know what I need to bring on board with us and what we can leave at home.

Hopefully, this post will help you learn what to expect on board a Delta flight from Sydney to Los Angeles in the economy section. We ordered our kids the special kid’s meals, so I can share those as well.

My family flew from Sydney to Los Angeles in Delta’s economy section in August 2024. My kids were 9 and 10 at the time.

For this trip, we used Cover-More travel insurance.  We get the middle tier option.

Economy Seating

I was pleasantly surprised when we got to our seats and they did not look super squishy.

I fly quite often and have been on many long-haul flights (especially between the US and Australia as I am an American living in Australia).

I don’t mean I could mistake the seats for premium economy or anything, but even the seatbelt was longer than usual.

As we were traveling as a family of 4 on the way from Sydney to LA, and the seats in Economy were 3-3-3, we opted for 3 seats on the right side of the plane and one across the aisle. While I prefer an aisle seat and my family could have gotten 3 aisle seats by sitting in the middle, it is better for my kids to get a window seat to lean on.

Unlike previous flights (like the time I flew with the kids from San Fransisco to Fiji on Fiji Air), the rows matched up. That means Mark and I were directly across the aisle from each other, which makes it easy to pass things back and forth and talk to each other.

Each chair had a blanket and pillow wrapped in plastic. The kids kept theirs for later and I put mine above in the overhead compartment so it was out of my way, but available if I wanted it. I used the floor space under the seat in front of me to store my backpack. It took up just about the entire space.

Entertainment Options

TV screens are on the back of each seat in the economy section. The TVs are touch screens.

Soon after we boarded, the flight attendants came around with headphones. I took 3 pairs but did not end up even opening them as our headphones worked just fine (and I prefer over-the-ear headphones to the ones you put in your ears).

While I had checked Delta’s website for entertainment options before our flight, I was pleasantly surprised to find many more choices on board.

For kids, you can opt for the kid menu and then they are only offered kid-appropriate programming. I did take the kid section off on my daughter’s screen for a while so that she could watch the original Mean Girls. I took it off my son’s screen for a while so that he could play chess.

Having the kids programming on was helpful for them to be able to easily choose what to watch without the need to scroll through all of the options.

Delta offers a variety of older movies as well as some new releases. There are movies and TV shows, though the TV shows rarely show the 1st season. Music and podcasts are also available, as are games.

I wasn’t thrilled with the movie options, though there were enough to keep me busy. I decided to watch older movies. I started with Can’t Hardly Wait before watching Office Space, Varsity Blues, and 10 Things I Hate About You. After that, I played a game that I didn’t fully understand but was addicting. I also watched a few episodes of Schitt’s Creek and The Office.

I started playing the game 2048 after watching my son play. You start with a 2 and add it to another 2 to make 4. You can add a 4 and a 4 to make 8 and so on. The goal is to get all the way to 2048. I made it to 512 and I played for a good few hours.

Lunch Meal Service from Sydney to LA

While our flight was scheduled to leave Sydney at 9:25 am, we ended up taking off about 35 minutes late.

At 10:45 am (almost an hour after take-off), the first drink service came through. They offer a variety of juices, soft drinks, water, tea, and coffee.

The kid’s meals were served at 11:05 am, right before the adult meal service began.

Each kid got spaghetti bolognese, a roll with butter, a basic salad, diet jelly, ketchup, and milk. I have no idea what the ketchup was for, or why they didn’t get regular jelly.

One kid picked at the spaghetti and the jelly and ate the roll. The other kid just ate the roll. Both kids drank their milk.

We decided that each adult would choose a different meal. Our options were pasta or chicken and I got the pasta.

My pasta was served with cheese and mushrooms while the chicken was a teriyaki chicken with vegetables. Both main dishes had the same sides which included a quinoa salad, cheese and crackers, and a lemon drizzle pudding muffin.

While my pasta was not amazing, it was edible and I didn’t hear good things about the chicken. I ate my pasta, a bite of the quinoa salad, and the cheese and crackers. I gave my muffin to my daughter.

Drinks came around again while we were eating, around 11:15 am. Coffee, tea, and water were served again at 11:30 am.

Snack Time

The lights went out sometime after mealtime, though we were up watching TV and playing games as it was afternoon in Australia.

Flight attendants came around with water at 2 pm and again at 3:20 pm.

I am always hungry by the midflight snack, and it is always later than I want it to be. On Delta’s flight from Sydney to Los Angeles, they served the kid’s snack at 4:45 pm (about 7 hours after take-off) and the adult’s snack shortly after.

Each kid got a hot chicken sandwich slider and a Tim Tam.

The adult snack was a veggie pastry and a Tim Tam.

One kid ate their sandwich and cookie while the other just ate the cookie. I would have swapped, but that would not have gotten eaten either. Mark and I split the uneaten chicken sandwich.

I am sure more drinks were given out between the snack and breakfast, but my rule is that after the midflight snack, we try to rest.

Breakfast Meal Service from Sydney to LA

While unfortunately, none of us slept a wink on the Delta flight from Sydney to Los Angeles, at least we were entertained. As we landed at 11:20 pm our time, it seemed just a bit too early to sleep while in an economy seat.

At 9:55 pm (12 hours after take-off), the kid’s meals were served. Adult meal service began at 10:05 pm.

Our flight was due to land in Los Angeles around 6:30 am so we were served breakfast, even though it felt like bedtime.

The kids each got eggs with spinach, mushrooms, and sausages plus yogurt, fruit, and orange juice.

Adults got to choose between eggs and pancakes. Our meals were served with yogurt and fruit.

While we usually order both options, this time we both ordered pancakes after seeing the kids get eggs and knowing they wouldn’t eat them.

My daughter swapped her eggs for pancakes, but my son refused to eat either. He ate the fruit and drank the juice. My daughter ate the pancakes, yogurt, and fruit and drank the juice.

I ate the pancakes and yogurt along with the mushrooms from the kid’s meals.

Delta Sydney to LA with Kids Wrap-Up

As someone on a budget, I tend to pick the cheapest option when traveling back to the US from Australia and this time it was on Delta Airlines from Sydney to Los Angeles. I needed to get from Brisbane to Tampa, but that involves more than 1 flight no matter what.

While economy is never going to be the most comfortable, I found the Delta flight to be one of the most comfortable long-haul flights that I have been on (and I have been on a lot). My seat was slightly larger than normal, and I could tell that my seatbelt was longer.

There was plenty of space in my overhead compartment, but not much space under the seat in front of me.

I have realized that long-haul flights follow the same formula and Delta’s flight from Sydney to Los Angeles stuck with it.

About an hour after takeoff, a meal is served. There are usually 2 options for main meals. If you order a special meal, including a kid’s meal, they are served before the meal service begins. A flight attend comes around before take-off to confirm your special meal choice.

Halfway through the flight, a snack is served. It is usually a small sandwich and a treat.

About an hour before the flight lands, the lights are turned on and a meal is served. You don’t always have a choice at breakfast, though we did on this flight.

Drinks are served a few times, with water being offered hourly or so throughout the flight.

Are you looking for fun things to do in Sydney with kids?  Check out our week long Sydney with Kids Itinerary.

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