I have found that the trick is to never use airlines in the country of their origin, with the notable exceptions of BA and Air NZ. Emirates from Sydney to Christchurch are always brilliant, just as Qantas from London to Hong Kong is great (while Qantas from Sydney to Melbourne is dire) and so on. People get lazy at home! They make an effort abroad!

Your child will be a delight. There were many other children on that plane, I made an effort to congratulate some of their parents. One of them suggested that he had been a minute away from making good use of his duty-free alcohol and a bottle of chocolate milk.