Kids in economy, Adults in Business ! Is this allowed !

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Friend is taking her Grandchildren to the USA to holiday with their Dad. Dad lives full time on West Coast, it’s a long flight.
Granny and daughter/ Auntie have bought Business Class returns for themselves but Dad has paid for the 12 and 14 year old to sit in Economy.
Is this even allowed ? I know BA have ruled that no under 14’s can fly unaccompanied now. I don’t know who they are flying with but l can’t help feeling that this is unfair on the other passengers who will have 2 very lively unaccompanied kids amongst them for 14 hours.

I think it depends on the kids really. At 12 and 14 if they are generally well behaved children it should be fine. It might even be exciting for them!

If they couldn't be trusted to be absolute angels then it's a massively dick move for the other passengers in economy who are going to have to be stuck with unregulated kids for a long flight.

That's why I feel 10 and under really should have to sit with an adult for the sake of having someone to (in theory) regulate their behaviour. Then again.. last flight I was on had a mum actively encouraging her (looked to be) 7 year old to kick the chair in front and squeal loudly so having an adult about isn't always going to solve the problem.

Also I know we keep going back to the mask thing. I am sure my DS would be perfectly capable of putting it on, but I am sure if we were ever in the situation where masks had to be used it would be pretty damn scary and I would want to be near my DC and I would feel guilty as hell if I had left them in economy just so I could have a more comfortable flight. Are people saying they wouldn’t mind that at all?

But none of that makes sense in the context of airline seating. An airline may seat you rows away from your DS. You would be stuck in your seat with a seatbelt sign on, not racing around the cabin, leaning over half a row to your DS to help him with his and to be with him to provide comfort.

Given airlines try and seat families all over the place on a plane none of it holds water when using the ‘safety’ or ‘looking after your kids’ arguments. If there was such an issue with either of these then kids and parents/guardians would automatically be seated together but it’s just not the case on many (not all) airlines. What’s the difference with sitting several rows apart which most airlines seem to think is a fab idea or sitting in another class? If there’s turbulence etc little Johnny is not going to hear your reassuring words in either scenario.

That’s why I would pay to sit next to my child

That’s why I would pay to sit next to my child

Yes, but it’s not deemed necessary or required because if it was, then .......... airlines would automatically seat minors with their parent/guardian.

Do all the posters who treat their children equally let them have the masters & biggest beds?

My children have bigger rooms than us - the only difference is the en-suite - what relevance is this though?

But Hopping I am talking as a parent and how I would feel, not as an impersonal airline regulator or airline director who wants to make as much money as they can.

I just cannot imagine how I would feel if there was an incident on a plane and I or DH were not near our DS, especially if the reason we weren’t next to each other was because I put my comfort and my desire to quaff champagne ahead of DS.

Personally - when we fly business my children come with me, mainly because it’s always long haul (14-15+ hours) and I need them to sleep (they are fairly young) However - myself, as a child, flew in economy many times as my folks went business - it wasn’t an issue. I liked it!

i just cannot imagine how I would feel if there was an incident on a plane and I or DH were not near our DS, especially if the reason we weren’t next to each other was because I put my comfort and my desire to quaff champagne ahead of DS.

This is it in a nutshell.

I’d. Never fly without being with my kids however they’d be fine ! I’m sure my 9 year old would be ok especially with a slightly older sibling .
I have friends who send their kids unaccompanied all over from a young age for various reasons and they are fine .
I think it very much depends on the child and how much they have flown .

What about as a pp mentioned adults are at the back row of BC & then the kids are front row of the next class, separated by a curtain?

This would be an unusual configuration. There’s usually toilets and a galley in between

Never on the flights I've been on. It's just been a thin partition plus curtain.

Business class is no less environmentally friendly than economy

Actually that’s not true. As economy holds more people, the carbon footprint per head is lower in economy than business.

That is irrelevant as the environmental damage is caused by the plane as a whole. Thus the damage is simply split per passenger on that plane, which cabin they are in is irrelevant.

They are still their kids, however old they are.

I let my teenagers go into town alone. I would not let a 4 year old do this. There is a huge difference.

At what age is it acceptable to sit away from your parents on a flight?

Does anyone travel by ferry? Do you make sure your teenagers stay by your side at all times in case of an emergency?

We've done this and although one DC grumbled, it's fine. OH has a bad back and choose to sit in business class. Kids in economy. We couldn't afford to put them in BC. Teaches them affordability as well. They're being flown to a far flung long haul holiday of a lifetime, so having a few hours on economy wouldn't harm them.

Yes, it’s fine to sit children away from parents from an airline’s perspective. Children would survive all those unpleasant and frightening scenarios I outlined upthread regardless of who they were sitting next to. The airline’s duty of care is survival. The point is, as a parent, would you not want to be near them in those situations? I would.

The ferry scenario is different - in a scary situation you would run to find each other. You can’t do that on an aeroplane.

fancy yes DS would be allowed to roam around on a ferry, so probably doesn’t make much logical sense. However, my argument for not splitting us up in a plane is not just from the safety point of view. I have just brought that up as so many people have commented that surely a 12 year old would be able to put on a mask, without considering the emotional side of being in that situation.

For the majority of people saying they do this, it is not to give their children more independence it is purely for a selfish, comfort point of view, which doesn’t sit right with me. For me it would be the same as if you were on an overnight ferry and the parents booked a cabin for themselves but expected the 12 year old to sleep on their own in the lounge deck in a chair. If you can’t afford it for the whole family, choose something else, or slum it with the kids.

Just asked my simlilarly aged kids and they said all the kids they know would much prefer to sit on economy by themselves in this situations

The ferry scenario is different - in a scary situation you would run to find each other. You can’t do that on an aeroplane.

How many ferries have you been on? In a scary situation when you could be easily be on different levels with more than a thousand people and different evacuation zones it will be easy to find your family & comfort them. Ok

As a 14yo, I would have preferred it

For me it would be the same as if you were on an overnight ferry and the parents booked a cabin for themselves but expected the 12 year old to sleep on their own in the lounge deck in a chair

Or rather the parents staying in a state cabin with double bed etc & the teenagers in a cheaper cabin with single beds.

I was fine from 12 when flying alone (but with dad and sm on diff part of the plane). But I was a quiet lonely kid anyway and would just happily read on my own.

The ferry scenario is different - in a scary situation you would run to find each other.

Yes, totally. Amongst everyone panicking and running around like headless chooks you would be able to easily locate and have a clear path to your kids.

For me it would be the same as if you were on an overnight ferry and the parents booked a cabin for themselves but expected the 12 year old to sleep on their own in the lounge deck in a chair

Or rather the parents staying in a state cabin with double bed etc & the teenagers in a cheaper cabin with single beds.

I think the first analogy is much more relevant as the parents will have a bed in business and the kids will not in economy.

That is irrelevant as the environmental damage is caused by the plane as a whole. Thus the damage is simply split per passenger on that plane, which cabin they are in is irrelevant

It’s not irrelevant as the people taking up more room mean less people can get on board. If it was all economy more people would ‘share’ the blame.., although yes the finite amount is the same, the people in Business are actually responsible for more of it. Why do you think David Beckham was criticised for flying first?

No it’s not because from a safety perspective cabins tend to be on the same floor & lounges on different decks. Also as far as I’m away there are not ferry hostess’s walking up and down the lounge aisles of ferries periodically or a button to press if the teenagers needs a drink/pillow etc but I could be wrong.

Besides you don’t actually have to have a cabin unless you want to sleep on a overnight crossing etc. So it comes back to the same point if you are on a ferry day crossing do you accompany your teenagers to the shop/restaurant/toilets/etc on do they have to stay by your side?

I’m still gobsmacked by the point made that it’s easier to locate your family on a huge ferry carrying lots of people whereas on a plane you may only be couple if meters away fro each other even in different classes.