Children in business class for long flight... what's the MN verdict?

[Somerville]

Come on then... genuinely don't know if I'm being unreasonable here. Who has a gavel to hand?!

We're going on holiday in the summer with other family members and their kids; 7 kids and 4 adults in total. DH just priced it all up, hoping that it would be within budget to travel premium economy (He's very tall!).

He was looking for the cheapest flights rather than particular dates and found a bargain for the outward flight with one airline - direct, business class seats for just £10 more per person than the standard premium economy price that month (and a quarter of the standard BC price) - and there are enough seats for all of us.

We're holding the flights, while we wait to hear if the dates work for the other couple. Assuming they do, how unreasonable is it to press buy? Any true business travellers who have to zoom off to meetings on another continent on arrival will be fuming, right, as we traipse on with 7 over-excited children?! But they're all pretty well-behaved kids, as kids go. And presumably the airline is anticipating low demand from business travellers for that flight, hence pricing it for holiday travellers instead. If we don't book it, others will. (And for that reason, I'm not stating the airline or destination!)

[TheEmmaDilemma]

Travelling class is based on price not age...!

[Somerville]

MsRuined is significantly better than 'wee wifey' which MrRuined has taken to calling me. Two weeks married and he's taking liberties like that. Just wish I could stop smiling whenever he says it and tell him off properly.

[EmpressOfTheSpartacusOceans]

MsRuined it is!

(I don't have kids but if I were you I'd be STRAIGHT into business class so glad you booked it.)

[Chloe84]

Where are you going, OP? I've never travelled BC/FC so would love to have a look at the BA website.

[dollyollymolly]

I thought that said 'Chicken in business class...'.

[Somerville]

Thanks all.
And that's a nice compliment, BillSykesDog thank you. I'd like to think I'm managing to bring them up well, but some days it's still very much a work in progress!

[SadTrombone]

Hooray! Glad you booked it. Enjoy the luxury - very jealous

[Atenco]

No Atenco there is no such thing as a better class of people, IMO

Glad that you are of that opinion, and congratulations on your forthcoming holiday

[ExpatTrailingSpouse]

also re seat selection - you can use seat guru to see what the best config of seats would be out of what's left. it's got comments on the pros and cons of each seat and depending on the ages of your DC, may be worth taking into consideration when choosing how you're going to spread yourselves out.

[girlelephant]

Yay! Enjoy

[Aroundtheworldandback]

Pleased you've booked! We travel business long haul, often children around and i don't bat an eyelid. A baby would be different anywhere on the plane, not just business class!

[BillSykesDog]

I suspect if the children have parents considerate enough to wonder if this will be okay they'll probably be well brought up enough to consider others themselves and will also be well supervised. It will be fine, have a lovely holiday.

[Chewbecca]

That's great. You'll have to pay more taxes too I think?

[Somerville]

All booked!
Excited now.

This is the holiday to make it up to the children that they don't set to come on honeymoon with us (yes, my younger ones had expected to apparently - though not my teenager who said that would be revolting!)
So it'll be a nice start to the trip, and since it's a daytime flight they can make the most of all the food and movies on offer.

Everyone if you put dates into BA website, the dates either side come up for comparison. Including all the different classes of travel. On Mondays in early July, there are bargains to be had in Club. Unless we've booked them all, in which case apologies and all that.

[kilmuir]

Has it been said where you are flying to and which airline?

[MrsPeelyWally]

that

;)

[MrsPeelyWally]

Navy, would be difficult.

[WheresTheEvidence]

I would make sure that when sorting seating you split the children so that each child sits with an adult - you can then swap and change throughout the flight and if the kids get excited/loud they return to their allocated seat for some calm down time.

[newmumwithquestions]

So haven't RTFT but I'd say go for it. They will love it.

I'd rather have kids next to me than the man with THE STINKIEST FEET IN THE WORLD who I had the dubious pleasure of sitting next to on one business class flight.

I would say though that often when I've flown business it's because I've had to walk off the plane to a 12 hour shift and needed to be alert - you pay because you should get more rest. I'd have been fuming if I'd have had noisy/badly behaved kids that kept me awake next to me. Quiet well behaved ones are welcome (especially if they have nice clean feet! )

[goldangel]

BC not BA!

[goldangel]

Oh my go for it! We flew to Asia economy and back it was so grim dc 6 and 8 at the time. If we fly long haul again we will seriously consider BC! Just interested now what airline you are flying and to where for an extra tenner BA! Please pm me if you don't want to post it here, thanks so much!

[MrsPeelyWally]

1st Class is more fun for kids. More activities. So they don't really get to the same level of boredom as in economy

There might perhaps be a few more games and movies than there is in business and economy but that's about it when it comes to activities.

[MrsPeelyWally]

Doodles, I'll tell you a story that still makes me laugh. One day I was travelling to the Uk with my son who's severely disabled, his sister, and two of our carers. We were in business class. There was a lady who looked at us in horror from the moment we met her in the check in queue. Now normally I would have ignored her but I was interested in her reaction so I very carefully watched what she was doing along the way and it soon transpired she was going back to the UK for a hospital appt and her husband had bought her the business class ticket as a treat. Anyway we got to where we were doing an aircraft change and I heard her saying to the ground crew - I need peace on this flight, it's a treat for me. It was really unfounded because my son at that stage in his life could have been taken any where - and frequently was. I was quite disgusted by her and I knew if I said anything it would be the wrong thing to do so I left it alone and when we got on the plane we had all been upgraded to first class - whilst she was on her own in business. It was a really nice flight in Singapore Airlines and the only other people who were in first were a couple who's child had the same disability as mine - though he was in a residence and not on the flight. We had a lovely flight and I'm sure the ground staff told the cabin crew about the woman who didn't want to travel alongside my beautiful son and as bad as it sounds I still laugh at her face when she realised 'sorting things out' didn't mean what she thought it did. Anyway she was fuming and when we were getting off the the plain she gave me the filthiest of looks that prompted me to say to her - you really should have stuck with us hen.

[BlueHumbug]

1st Class is more fun for kids. More activities. So they don't really get to the same level of boredom as in economy.