To make nanny and DC travel economy?

[BooAvenue]

We are planning a trip to NY in the autumn and plan to take nanny, DD who will be 6 and DS who will be 16 months.

DH and I will be flying business, partially because I am a crap flyer despite flying frequently and partly because we have quite a lot of air miles that we want to make the most of.

The plan is to bring nanny on the 5 day trip so she can help out with the travelling and babysit for us on three of the nights. I've discussed it with her and she's very eager to come, and the plan is she will have 2 days and 2 evenings completely free to do as she pleases, plus TOIL of 6 days. We will of course pay for all hotels/flights/meals out and she's welcome to join in with us on her days off if she wishes. She also gets her own room whilst we have a 2 bed family room.

The difference between economy and club is about 2.5k per ticket, which whilst we are not poor is still a fair chunk of money.

So AIBU to fly business whilst she flies economy? And will DS need his own seat or will he need to go on one of our laps?

PollyPerky - do your children have ADHD?! If it were a night flight on club class, you might not get your children to stay awake to order... I know my children never stayed up all night at the age of six! As for during the day, they knew when it was and was not appropriate to go wandering about and bothering strangers. On a flight in club class, they would always enjoy reading books and watching the in-flight entertainment. In economy, they would wriggle, try to recline their seats and try unsuccessfully to sleep by sticking their legs against the seat in front, until the person in that seat complained about it feeling it, or try to curl up until the person next to them asked them to move their feet... I know where my children are more of an irritation!

at the suggestion that the OP may wish to fly into Newark instead of JFK. Go on, OP, dare you

Anyway, all that's irrelevant to the OP as I have no idea how her children behave or how much her dd would enjoy NY. That would depend on what she enjoys doing and seeing and whether or not they do or see any of it! It's not as if NY only has limited attractions.

I don't think a six year old girl and nineteen month old boy are guaranteed to be a pain on a flight, but do think separate seats for everyone are essential to minimise discomfort and disruption.

What's wrong with Newark? It's not much further than JFK. Is it because it's in new Jersey?

Roundabout I think that's a very thoughtless thing to ask about ADHD.
I'm not going to answer that anyway as it's not relevant ( did I say I had children?) but you are coming over as crass making a cheap jibe at what is a serious and distressing condition for many families. Shame on you.

Blimey 28 pages on this and it's still going?!

I think you are projecting wildly here to be honest Mary. I argued in favour of being considerate earlier on the thread, but I don't think that one adult flying with two children is really "up there" in terms of inconsiderate behaviour I have seen on public transpport

That is a matter of opinion. I actually do think it is quite inconsiderate and selfish for a parent choose to sit separately from their children if the children are very young (as in this case), have never flown on any flight let alone a long haul and the parents are also on the flight. The fact that other people are also inconsiderate on public transport doesn't make it any more okay. Two wrongs don't make a right.

Nobody has suggested that anyone should be treated differently depending on whether or not they have money.

That is exactly what you are saying actually... You think it is okay for the OP to be inconsiderate towards passengers in economy but it is not okay to be inconsiderate towards those in business.

IME Newark is preferred for the regular transatlantic flights because the flights coming in from Europe land at about 3pm meaning you clear through customs just before rush hour. Traffic from JFK to Manhattan is horrible in the afternoons. It can take 4-5 hours to take a taxi (a necessity when you have children and/or luggage) but from Newark it won't take more than 45mins to get into Manhattan. Immigration is generally better too at Newark unless you are with a Greencard holder (darn you DH!). If with small children they give you your stroller back or put you through as special assistance so the wait isn't so bad.

For me, I do fly from JFK when I have to. I prefer to take an economy seat on a flight into Newark than a business seat on a flight into JFK just because I like to avoid the traffic getting back home.

PollyPerky - shame on you for wanting to ban children under the age of 11, and therefore most parents who travel with their children, from travelling anywhere but economy class in an aeroplane. You come across as crass, assuming that all children under 11 are unpredictable and uncontrollable and should be kept away from precious adults.

I see nothing wrong at all with the OP's proposal. My two used to behave far better for the nanny when they were tiny than ever they did for me and their father. Crusts eaten, pleases and thank yous etc.

Dh and I travel a fair bit for work. Often times, during half term we also take our children.

Our business/first class tickets are covered, but the tickets we buy for the children and nannies are covered by us. We do economy for the children and nannies.

Also, if the flight is seen as working time, then there is no reason not to expect her to watch the kids on the flight. It's her work.

I sound awful, I know. But work is work, and 8+ hours on a plane is not torture, or undoable.

Now if you wanted her to climb mountains with all your children on her back while making them wagyu fillet steaks over rocks for hours, I would consider that unreasonable.

Round If put to the vote, a cheap shot about a serious health issues like ADHD or a comment about not allowing young children (with unpredictable behaviour) in an area purposely designed for business travellers, would be seen for what it is- crass.

There are hotels that ban young children under 12 and in the past pubs used to- for these very same reasons.

hame on you for wanting to ban children under the age of 11

I will say it again, a NT child above the age of about 5 who has received half decent parenting should be fully capable of sitting quietly and reading / watching TV / playing computer games / drawing / quietly chatting to parents on a flight.

Treating all children as uncontrollable under the age of 11 is crass... You cannot possibly argue otherwise, PollyPerky. Also, few airlines describe it as business class these days and few airlines ban 11-year olds from "business" class, because it is not designed exclusively for business people and people with an allergy to children.

Look at the BA advert for Club Class (otherwise known as "business class"): it specifically says, "Whether you're travelling for business or pleasure, there's a Club World seat with your name on it."

I have travelled with under 5s in business who haven't made a sound - the wonders of your own personal to can do that to kids). Not all kids run around and make a fuss anyway- and if they did I can't see their parents wanting to take them on a long haul flight - economy or not.

The worst business class flight I've been on was one were a passenger seemed to think the crew were there to serve him alone and he was so loud and rude!

Now, if you want Biz Bed or First Class, then ban away - nobody would want to travel in biz bed with their kids and first class is so phenomenally expensive, you'd seldom find kids in there even if they were allowed.

And, by the way, most airlines do allow children in First Class, because they understand that most children are capable of behaving reasonably during a flight, just as most adults are.

I actually agree re Newark, I just don't see the OP considering it.

Dd 6, has probably done almost 30 flights in her life and, in all that time, the only time she has disturbed anyone is one overnight flight 13 hour flight when she was teething and 9 months old. She was also too long for BAs tiny bassinets.. Equally, ds 4, has done 20-ish flights and again, other than one 7 hour flight, when he was 18 months, hasn't ever disturbed anyone. The disturbance to others wasn't for long but the stress on us was trying to keep them quiet for the length of those flights. I would be switching airlines pretty quickly if BA ever implemented a ban on under 11s in Club world/Europe.

Children should be banned from 1st and business class and the lounges too. I pay a lot of money to be 1st class, kids bring the value down considerably.

I recently flew first class and there was a baby in a seat nearby. It was an overnight flight and the parents didn't seem to be making much effort to be quiet. It's unusual for there to be babies or kids in first class so I don't think there is any merit in banning them. In fact I can't remember any little kids being in first class before. I only fly a few times a year though.
Business class is another matter.

BTW I've never experienced loud or drunk passengers in first. The cabin crew can be a bit irritating sometimes though. Im not sure why they think I want to be introduced to the head honcho. I prefer to be left alone and don't enjoy being 'fawned' over.

We NEVER pay for our flights

When my DT's were 4 I had to go and work in NY for six weeks. Normally DH would be around to cover all the nursery drop off etc but at that time he had some horrible shifts as a junior doctor. No family were available as it was short notice so I arranged for DT's to come with me and one of the staff from their nursery was between jobs so came with us as their nanny. We all travelled club class - I was entitled to through work but I struck a deal with work that DT's and the nanny would also do so - no way was I travelled separately from everyone else ! DT's were use to traveling and usually kept quiet when they needed to do so. I went to work each day and the nanny and DT's had a great time exploring NY.

I've flown my kids in First. They were absolutely fine.

Lowering the tone...? Err, all social classes have kids; our own dear queen is up to five great grandchildren now, IIRC...