Is business class worth it with two toddlers ?

[muaa]

Would it make the journey better ? My DH absolutely refuses do go long haul with our 1 and 3 year olds.

Would flying business actually make it any easier ? The one year old would still be on one of our laps. The three year old would their own seat etc.

Has anyone done this ? It's so much more expensive and I don't want to do it, unless it will make a considerable difference.

I completely agree.

Incorrect assumption. We fly regularly for work and go business class and it is a rare time I see kids. I mean yes there are the odd one but it is mainly adults.

Exactly my point but then now mine are older I also hate paying for a lounge just to see families there noisily playing when I want to chill before a flight or kids in 5 star restaurants making noise when I have paid good money to get away from my own lol

Sounds like you need to find an airline that doesn’t allow children to fly. Getting annoyed because families fly business class and use lounges when you paid good money to be away from children when you’re not paying to be away from children at all just paying for a more premium service makes no sense!

Do it. Your children can sleep on the one flatbed.

It’s a form of public transport. Transport for the public. Including toddlers, farters, and drunk smelly people. If you can’t bear that, you can always charter your own gulf stream 😁

If you’re in business there won’t be anyone anywhere near your ears.

@Everywhereaquackquack You seem to be coming at this from a certain ideological, class injustice, moral posturing standpoint. It's funny you speak of brainwashing but reading your posts feels like I'm speaking to a religious person. I think I look at the world more the way it is than you do, not the way I wish it to be and feeling outraged all the time that they aren't.

Business class (or luxury) isn't just a product that is created for wealthier people in perfect relation to their income. It is a product with certain improvments to it that make it more likely that they will want to spend whatever proportion of their income is on that product.

The level of improvements or modifications on certain services is variable and debatable, but usually, there is some level of positive or more appealing modifications, because otherwise they might as well fly economy.

I would say that most people, if they choose business class irrespective of what that is in proportion to their income will be travelling somewhere a bit less cramped, and if it's business class in the strictness sense, they will be amongst people who will want a more peaceful environment. That is what people are willing to pay extra for. Not extra in relation to their own income, but extra in proportion to other products on the market.

Good post, you worded it better than I could. Spot on about @Everywhereaquackquack too.

@muaa glad you have found your answer. I have always thought premium economy (never flown it but have seen a video of its seating) would be best with 2 small children. Thank you @FlounderingFruitcake from me too.

For balance, as OP has the right attitude in my view, so she has nothing to explain or justify (Gosh, I would feel traumatised for the rest of the flight if I sat next to someone who announces 'they don't like kids').

Anyway, I can remember many years ago the first time I flew 1st class. For a month, I had really been looking forward to it and was beyond excited. So, I don't know how I would have felt if that experience -from 1st class lounge to the seat on the plane -was dimmed by others' behaviours (I say others as that can be anyone- adults (drunk or otherwise), kids (whatever age) or toddlers.) But then I don't have an entitled view that only I should fly 1st class and even I would understand if I wanted to remove all that possibilities, private jet would be my answer.

Just trying to say I can understand someone saving for years for their first BC ticket and feeling short changed- but I would take that up with the airline and not on families. I fly long-haul to see family regularly, so to me the plane is just public transport as my sister calls it -( I even have survival tips even for 1st class- 13 hours average).

https://thebusinessyear.com/article/air-travel-trends-in-2023/

"Airlines are adapting, with part of their strategy revolving around “positioning premium leisure travelers as a new category of high-margin customers in place of or alongside business travelers,” according to a sector review by The Economist."

Eh? Where do you get that information?

Have you ever been on a plane?

I have to say that the maybe 7/8 times I've flown in Business with someone with a baby or toddler in there (and a few times multiple babies) they have not caused me any annoyance or irritation, even when sitting just across.

The annoying thing about flying sat near other people's young children (and your own!) is a) people who let them run up and down the aisles, kick the seat etc, and this just doesn't happen in Business as there is more space and the staff would stop it and b) crying/screaming which is not really their fault as they are uncomfortable, and this doesn't seem to happen in Business, I assume because that have more space to sleep and crash out. As any parent that has flown with young children knows, the trick is to get them to sleep through the take off and landing and this is far more likely in BC.

I've only ever been inconvenienced/annoyed in Economy class, on those airlines where the staff just abandon it on take off and it depends into some kind of jungle.

Nowadays any noise from other passengers (including snoring, which is far more common and annoys me way more than babies) is easily solved with noise-cancelling headphones as well, whichever class of seating.

LOL at the people thinking their money is somehow better and more valuable than someone with kids. The airlines don't care.

I travelled to Thailand with an 8mth old and a 2.5yo. The thing that would have made the biggest difference flying business to economy would have been the lay down seats so baby could have sat and played on the seat with me rather than literally being stuck in a lap. We did have a bassinet seat but she didn't want to lay in it. The toddler was actually really good and slept across his seat with his head on a parents lap.

If I could have afforded it I would have gone business.

Even that doesn't mean much without knowing how affordable it is for you. If it means you'd have to go without something else then you'll have to weigh up what means more to you. If it doesn't then sheesh, what are you waiting for? I wouldn't ever do a layover with young kids, though. Would rather pay more and fly economy.

I knew when I saw the OP that you'd get people losing their shit over the idea of kids in business class. But as you say, kids are allowed in there. The extra cost is for the space, bed, service and food...not for a child-free space. Sure, it was dreamed up to capitalise on business travellers, but it's available to anyone who wants to buy it. And when you're travelling on a flying bus, you accept that you might not like all your fellow passengers. As long as you do everything you can to ensure your kids behave, you've got every right to be there with them.

I suppose I might also be influenced by the fact that I've been called a cunt on here more than once because I recline my seat if I want to, even if it's daytime. These are the conditions of flight; if you don't like them, don't fly.

@EarthSight those modifications and experience also apply to those flying with babies and children such as myself who are looking for a more premium experience. But I don’t feel that flying business entitles me to a better flying experience than someone in economy outside of what the airline offers. So of course I expect good service and free drinks, more spacious seats than I would expect in economy but purchasing a business class seat has nothing to do with purchasing a child free flight like you and others are implying. Expecting parents to stay out of business is a massive entitlement.

Unfortunately you also seem to lack the ability to grasp the point about proportion of income. You and others saying those in business have spent ‘more’ and therefore deserve a child free flight are missing that the ‘more’ may not be more to those people at all.

This thread demonstrates time and time again that the more you spend the more likely you are to display your entitlement - loudly and proudly in many cases.

people seem to be saying that as they have chosen to pay more they are less tolerant of anything at all that will make them unhappy.

That isn’t just linked to the specific things they are paying more for, better food, a lie flat bed, etc etc. They expect it to extend to everything, including the sections of humanity they have to interact with, even though this has nothing at all to do with the ticket they bought.

This is part of why rich people can be a monumental pain in the arse to deal with sometimes. A tendency to swan through life believing that spending more money means they should never have to confront anything that makes them feel less than entirely happy - in a word “entitlement”.

👌

I actually think that the people expressing outrage at dc being in bc can't actually travel in it regularly so have a fantasy idea about it.

Regular travelers wouldn't be surprised.

Really frequent travelers like DH probably wouldn't even notice, they eat in the lounge, put a mask and earplugs in and are asleep as soon as possible.

Well said! In particular this bit

They expect it to extend to everything, including the sections of humanity they have to interact with, even though this has nothing at all to do with the ticket they bought

Hi muaa we found it easier in cattle than business with two littles. If you get booked early they give you the roomier row, you can change seats between yourselves and stewardesses/stewards are much more forgiving as they’re not trying to appease other attendees. Don’t waste your money.

You really are projecting and mischaracterising me. I also don't think you are cabale of talking about this in any objective sense at all, most likely because you have kids and are getting defensive.

I don't think those people 'deserve' a childfree experience. The word 'deserve' has so many emotive connotations. The way you try to argue is so manipulative, and you have already tried to mischaracterise me as either a Tory voter or a brainwashed person in order to discredit.....who exactly? Someone you've made up in your head it seems. It's like you think I have really strong feelings or opinions on the matter, when I don't. I can't find my original post now, but I think my original post was more speculating what others might expect if they were flying business class, and why they would expect that, and why they might not appreciate being in close proximity to toddlers. However, you see this more as a boxing-ring type of situation WHERE YOU MUST BEAT THE OTHER PERSON DOWN TO AGREE WITH YOU.

Like Jesus......sit down and have a lolly.

@Everywhereaquackquack

Here's my original post which inspired much outrage by @Everywhereaquackquack

Surely you can work on a plane with noise cancelling headphones. How do you even know the toddler is there?