to put the children in economy while DH and I fly business class?

[OfCourseIveNameChangedForThis]

Testing name change.

Trix that story is awful - what a shit mother to give her kids sleeping pills. I would have reported her. I am saddened - yet not surprised - at the fuckig lazy attitude towards their kids some people have. It's vile!

Leave H at home for a quiet break while you and the children fly business class?

If your precious husband cant cope going on an aeroplane with his own children id be having a serious think about going on Holiday with him Business class Pfft he cant be bothered with his own children which i find sad ,

Um yes, it was followed by a sarcastic smiley.

YABVU. You chose to have children and now realise they come with responsibilities. Yes your DH works, well so do a great many people and they manage!

God forbid, imagine having the money and time to go abroad but feel that the children dont warrant travelling in the same luxury. I feel like i've gone back to the dark ages.

Creamola, dikkertjedap was being sarcastic, and very funny .

I'm in two minds about this though. I imagine given the choice between travelling in Business Class with parents and travelling in Premium Economy without them, many 10 and 13 year olds would opt for the latter. I know I would have.

But I think it would really depend on how DH suggested it. Was it a case of 'if it were only the two of us we could afford BC, ooh do you think if the kids have the chance to sit on their own they would be happy in PE?' or was it 'We can't afford to all travel BC but I must because I work so hard and need my rest.'

DH works hard. He's off to South Africa next week for 2 days of meetings straight from the airport ( night flight ).
He's 6' 2", his company isn't paying for BC.

He's been to the doctors and got some valium. Job done.
I understand the lovelyness of BC, having experienced it myself, but there's no way I'd want to be in a different part of the plane from DD in case there was severe turbulance / emergency / drunken twats next to her.

Mrswobble - The difference on easyjet is that it is not a choice. Families normally try and sit together. But to choose to sit away from your kids is imo a different situation.

I also doubt that a 10 year old will not at some point need some input from an adult on a long haul flight e.g. feeling travelsick, needing to be woken up for food, getting nervous at turbelence, or just bored.

CreamolaFoamless, sarcastic? Moi?

Clearly, it is difficult for me to really understand OP, but I have genuinely tried. You see, I consider that I work hard, however, I don't defer my bonus. Main reason for the latter is that I do not get one (work in education,so that is indeed a different planet compared with OP no doubt). Also, I like kids, and absolutely love my dc as does my dh so we go all together. But with our salaries, I admit, we cannot afford long haul, not even economy long haul, because we would need accommodation on the other side of the world as well and all the pennies add up. You see I don't work in banking, so I cannot magic money like bankers do, I deal with the old fashioned physical money stuff: you either have it or you don't, nothing in between.

Nevertheless, I totally understand that really hard working people who defer bonuses need brilliant holidays without being hassled. And of course they need rest. This is difficult when you have children at the best of time, because they want attention and do things together. Some people enjoy that aspect of family life. But not everybody. There are more of these people than you may think hence the huge increase in those Holiday resorts where you can park your children during the day, whilst you and hubby enjoy themselves and you can even get childminders for the evening as well whilst you go out for dinner/dancing. This means you only have to deal with the kids during the journey to and from the resort and maybe when they wake up in the morning. Some people clearly prefer this.

I am completely at a loss for words with many of the negative responses on this thread. Of course it is OK to go in business class and have children in economy - they are 13 and 10 not babies. The airlines are fine with it (see BA policy) and you will only be a short distance from them. Stewardess would soon fetch you if there was any sort of a problem. Personally I think taking children in business or first is unnecessarily spoilt brattish for them!!! You can always swap seats with them alternately for half an hour or so to let them have a brief stint in business.

I used to fly long haul on business a lot, sometimes in business class and sometimes in first. I used to find it bizarre (and if I'm honest a bit annoying) when children were in those cabins (which was rare anyway).

And assuming the airline let you do this, in turbulance, if one of them is airsick, or there is an emergency, who will be responsible for your children?

I can't see you fighting against the crowds of evacuating people to make sure your children are off the plane.... in a true emergency many adults behave irrationally and lose thier lives because of it. A 10 and 12 year old do not have the decision making abilities to cope in an emergency (and sometimes in a regular scenario like choosing a meal!).

Take the trip economy together, come home a day early and DH can rest and recover before his hectic work demands kick in again.

Is your husband David Cameron? Still chuckling at the office of swinging dicks...
Who gets to clean up the sick when onre of the kids pukes and misses the bag?
Who reassures the kids if the turbulence hits 'shit scared' levels?
Your 'D' h sounds like a bit of a knob and your defence of him suggests that you are a leetle bit knobbish too.
But as you'll be doing it anyway can you just post the flight details so we know to avoid

HereIGo really????? Was there not a single important woman who had just deferred her bonus stuck in between the important men? Ah, I may know, maybe women don't defer their bonuses as they have spent it all. Yeah, that must be the difference. Or women are simply not as successful or clever or both? Or they have different priorities.

I also would like to know what OP's DH does. Come on OP, enlighten us.

I wouldn't do it.

They may be self sufficient but I still think 9 hours is too long to leave a 10 year old unsupervised or babysat by a 13 yr old - you wouldn't leave them home alone for this time.

DH ended up next to a child of 9 or 10 on a flight back from the states (his parents worked for the airline and were sitting upstairs) He was a lovely lad but all the attendants assumed he was ours - when they asked what he wanted to eat DH said I haven't got a clue why not ask him. Once crew realised he was effectively unaccompanied they spent extra time making sure he was ok.

I've just done some googling and perhaps it would be best to contact the airline first to check whether they will permit such arrangement. For most airlines, the cut-off point is 12 years old. For children under 12, the airline usually insists on an adult over 16 sitting adjacent to or with the child OR use the airline's unaccompanied minor flying service (at extra cost of course). Some airlines have strict rules on such arrangement as per these links:

www.iberia.com/faqs/minors/#ancla10. (relevance right at the bottom of page)
www.flysas.com/en/cn/Travel_info_old/Special_needs/Children_infants/Unaccompanied_children/?vst=true (quote "The child and accompanies (over 16 years) shall travel in same class otherwise the child must travel as unaccompanied child."

It seems that If both children were 12 years old or over, the op's arrangement would be deemed acceptable. Best check with the airline itself - the arrangement might not be permitted in the first place because one of the children is only 10 years old.

I think the OP husband is a Banker maybe an EX sir .

of course i dont know but im amusing myself now

Quenelle, can I ask where your nickname came from?
Its my DDs actual name and I've never in 14 years heard or seen anyone use it

It's lovely btw :)

Lol at these responses. You are at best, what, 20 metres away from said children. Put them in economy, enjoy your holiday. Ignore the snarky responses.

Sounds like a great idea to me.

wow really bung children in economy sounds like the best and only place for them , This is the modern version of seen and not heard , I wonder if the OP will be shooing the children away at night so her husband doesnt get stressed ,

Premium Economy is not much better than regular Economy. I totally agree with selfish dad.
Bring nanny so she can sit with kids in steerage economy, and you and hubby go in Business.

thestringcheesemassacre, I'm with you on this.

"Put them in economy, enjoy your holiday. Ignore the snarky responses."

Yes, shove them at the back and let some other passenger deal with them.

it would be a great idea if I installed my dc in the garden shed

I mean, it's only a few yards away

if there's a problem, the neighbours can sort it out

I would get much more rest and recuperation this half term holiday

can't think why I haven't done it already