Seating in business class on flight today.

[GingerMerkin]

Travelling Business class on flight this morning which has seat arrangement of two seats with spare one between turned into a table. Had sat down when a mum arrived with toddler and demanded I remove my papers etc from the table as her child wanted to sit there. I told her it was not a seat which provoked much pouting and comments about she always did this, book a seat with child on lap and then move child into spare seat. I referred this to the crew who agreed with me and told the parent if she had paid for only one seat then child sits on lap for flight. I had comments all the way about the nasty lady who wouldn't let little Johnny have a seat. WIBU to do this.

Crew apologised as I left and gave me some Champagne so not all bad.

Leelu
Depends on which airline, but this is BA's configuration in Club Europe (short haul business class)
The middle seat is the table, but I've never tried to move it so don't know how easily to would flip up/come off/slide forward to make room for the child

On the one hand this is not a private jet but public transport and as such, it is necessary to be tolerant of other people's children whatever class you travel in

BUT

She sounds a right cow, OP, and I would have been massively pissed off if I had work/admin to do and she was just being princessy like this and trying to get a free business class seat for her kid at the expense of my professional sanity.

Had I wanted to do this I would have sucked up BIG TIME and not acted so bloody entitled. However it sounds like she is very good at manipulating systems to get her own way at the expense of others (quite literally in this case).

Karma will no doubt bite her on the arse at some stage.

Yanbu, she was being rude and unreasobabls

It's fairly common on short-haul European flights. See the second picture down on the left [[http://www.airreview.com/Malta/]]. It lets the airline flex the amount of business class seats available according to demand. You're not getting any extra leg-room as the seat pitch is typically the same throughout the plane. What you are paying for is what the OP needed, a bit more privacy and space to put some papers down if you need it.

This sort of thing OP?

YANBU - she was being cheeky, and the staff clearly recognised that. It wasn't your problem that little Jonny didn't have a seat - it was hers, for not buying him one!

YANBU - As others have said it isn't sold as a seat so it can't be used as a seat. She was BU to even ask let alone continue to make comments.

Think even if I had agreed the crew wouldn't have allowed it. they were glaring at her with cat's bum mouths, kept offering me snackettes and drinks.

She thought her toddler could have a free seat in business class... The bloody neck of some people . I wouldn't have budged either, op.

You should have done am asi end gharness ive reply to the kid.

"Billy, if mummy wanted you to have a seat she should have paid for one, not try to use my table which ive paid extra for. Then given her an icy stare.

Oh dear! If this is the kind of seat you were using then I am sure YANBU. A child sitting nearly on Your shoulder is not why you book business class with the intent of working during travel. I would have complained probably and would have asked her to shut up so I could focus. Terrible woman

Thanks sparechange and ceecee

It seems clear from the pic that the table is divided into two, so she had no business demanding the space for her toddler.

I can see why she wanted the space now. Not sure how she would have removed the table, like pp said. She was an idiot for not putting on an ingratiating smile and pleading that her poorly toddler would love the seat ever so much.

That was meant to read.

You should have done a passive aggressive reply to the mum by addressing the kid!

Surely the whole point of that layout of business class is that you only have two people per row of three, with extra room to spread out and put your free drinks. You are paying for that extra room. If you would happily accept someone in the middle seat then you might have well have saved your money OP and gone in economy, no? So YA totally NBU.

Yanbu

YANBU!

I once got upgraded to business in this configuration with a howling baby. Peoples' faces were a picture, but baby soon settled down.

In some short haul BA flights, the first dozen rows of seats have arm rests that can be slid more centrally to make the outer two seats wider, and the middlle seat into "no mans land" ie not a seat.
This enables them to alter the number of business class rows depending on demand on that particular flight

Then go report your fishy findings.

Honestly.

God yanbu, I'm glad you stood your ground.

Really ssd? Whilst we do seem to be going through a troll epidemic, I can't say my spidey senses are tingling on this one. I've seen parents display far more atrocious behaviour on public transport than what is being described here.

The entitlement of some people is amazing.
Well done on standing your ground.

Lurks

Oh lookie another airoplane thread containing a childless passenger and an entitled mother. It's been a week since we had one of those gems.

How long was the flight? Can't think it was a long one if it only lasted this morning. I always find toddlers like the floor better anyway so I'm sure she didn't suffer any great hardship.

I think you were totally in the right, the woman diddnt pay for the child and the seat was turned into a table, if the mum wants the child to sit down she should have bought her a seat.