Jet2 VIP with kids: a numbers man's review from Liverpool

Liverpool John Lennon Airport at 6:40 on a Tuesday morning is a different place to the one I know from summer Saturdays. Five of us, three bags, a pushchair, and a decision I had been arguing with myself about for a fortnight: was Jet2 VIP worth the extra money on a two-hour flight with two children in tow?

The honest answer is that it depends how you count it. So here is my count.

What Jet2 VIP gets you on the day

The point of Jet2 VIP is not really the seat. On a flight to Europe the seat is still a short-haul seat. The point is everything around it: a separate check-in desk, a shorter security queue, boarding before the scrum, and food and drink served at your seat instead of bought at the back.

• Dedicated check-in, no zigzag queue

• Fast track security

• Baggage allowance: check the current figure on your own booking before you assume

• Priority boarding

• Meal and drinks included on board

The numbers I did on the back of a boarding pass

I'm a numbers man. If I'm paying a supplement, I want to know what it buys per hour.

• Extra cost for the four of us: Not worth it

• Time saved at the airport, check-in to gate: Too many minutes

• Flight time: Too many

• Cost per minute in the air: divide the first figure by the third, then by 60

• Cost per hour of hassle removed: this is the one that actually matters with kids

Do that sum before you book. If the supplement is small and the terminal is heaving, Jet2 VIP wins. If you're flying at 9pm on a quiet Tuesday with one child who sleeps, it doesn't.

The airport is the hard bit, not the plane

Anyone who has flown with small children knows the flight is rarely the problem. The queue is the problem. The hours on a hard chair with a tired toddler is the problem.

What Jet2 VIP doesn't fix

It doesn't turn a short-haul seat into a long-haul bed. It doesn't stop a ten-year-old asking how much longer every four minutes. It doesn't shorten the walk to the gate.

And I'll say this plainly: if you're travelling alone on a work trip with one small bag, the maths almost never works. You'll be through security before the lounge has warmed up.

What to check before you book

• The total supplement for every passenger, not just the adults

• Whether lounge access is included on your route or costs extra

• The cabin bag allowance, because that is where the value hides on a short trip

How I'll decide next time

The lesson is simple. With children, you aren't buying a seat, you're buying an easier experience. Price it that way and the decision makes itself.

If you're flying from Liverpool with kids this year, price the standard fare and the Jet2 VIP fare side by side on Jet2's site for your own dates, then run the sum above. It takes four minutes and it will tell you more than any review, including this one.