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.

I am always surprised that some people seem to think that you should just give up something that you have paid for.

YANBU.

Dh and I have flown business and put our young ds in the small middle seat area (not when it was a table) but of course we're both looking after him. I would never do it if I didn't know the other passenger, so rude even if they weren't using the space

I'm so glad you did this OP. She sounds like an ignorant arse and I hope more people stick up to her in the future. She can put little johnny in a seat, when she pays for little Johnny. Until that she can suck it up.

Just out of curiosity. Who has priority over the table if two people want to use it, or dies it vary from airline to airline? They all look quite different.

StayWithMe, you share it half each, if necessary. There is often like a little indented line in the middle that splits it up into two clear parts too, with a cup holder indentation on each side of the partition.

OP YANBU at all, can't believe anyone could be so rude! I would have been fuming if this was me and I generally love kids. If she wanted another seat she should have paid for it; if you wanted someone squashed up next to you you would have gone economy after all.

Thank you, Medow. I was just curious, not that I'll ever be able to fly business class. Sob sob.

Hopefully these threads might make people get the message that if you want something you need to pay for it! Failing that you certainly won't get it if rude and entitled.

Oops meadow. Sorry.

YANBU

OP, I am delighted you didn't give into her rude demands.

And this: why should the mother's wish to save money by not paying a ticket for a child seat trump the OP's right to use the facilities she's paid for?

Enjoy the booze!

Did she want her child to sit on the table???? She bat shit crazy!

Op yanbu at all.

I am wondering which seat configuration it was OP

Did she really say it like that?

I used to work for BA. The scenario described is entirely possible. What is interesting though is that for flying purposes, the seat in the middle isn't classed as a seat. It won't be counted in the total number onboard, it won't be taken into consideration in terms of payload and so on.

If I'd been the mother, I'd have paid for two economy seats. IME Club Europe was a gigantic waste of money. Definitely worth it longhaul, but you're paying for very few extras shorthaul.

Yanbu

That's how they do it for business when it's just an extra seat in the middle = business.

If someone sits there is it any different from economy?

I had expensive tickets for a big event when my kids were young. I was on my own with them and stressed and a posh couple walked up and said we were in their seats. We checked tickets and we had been issued duplicate seats. For some reason we got up and gave them the seats, they were rude and now I would leave them to argue it out. A member of staff saw what was going on and came over and took us to sit with the performers families and we got to meet the performers at the end. Some times the stroppy types get what they deserve, I would love to have seen their faces.

StayWithMe, I've flown business only once and it was short-haul, and only because my dad who flies very frequently with work offered me the points so that it worked out about £30 each for me and DH. The best part was using the lounges in the airports. :D Therefore most of what I know about travelling business class comes from what my dad tells me about it :P

Hopefully the mother will have learnt if you want a seatime you pay for it!

Club Europe isn't really worth it, you do get a bit more space and use of the lounge, champagne, first on etc but that's about it. The middle seat is smaller and I once saw a man trying to sit in it between two passengers who were already seated, much to their confusion, and he wouldn't be told it wasn't a seat until the crew were quite forcible about it. He may not have understood, of course..... or was just trying it on

All these public transport threads are making me dread the long haul flight I have coming up.

icysphincterporn

We've been long hauling to the Americas for 20 years. With and without children and I have never had a problem with anyone. I find these aeroplane threads just a bit .

"We've been long hauling to the Americas for 20 years"

I so wanted to add daaaaahling to the end of that . I sounds so much more glam than flying long haul

Indeed! I could have said "to the Orient daaarling" that would have been much posher.
Sorry I've been brainwashed by the South Americans and their passionate dislike of the use of the word America for the USA. But thanks for thinking I'm posh

I think it was more the phrase "long hauling" - never heard that verb before

I've been flying long haul to Australia for 15 years and have come across all sorts of idiots, passengers AND staff.

Come across some fabulous people too, but it doesn't make the idiots any less idiotic!