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.

Gosh. How sad that you’re so selfish. Too many people don’t give a shit about others.

Economy premium is a great alternative. Plenty of space, we did one recently that was in an A380 so we were in the top deck. Double the price of economy, but nowhere near as expenive as business. Also the seat layout was easier for us with little ones vs pods.

@ProudToBeANorthener they certainly are

"I'm not hiding away because it might slightly inconvenience people to see my kids in a plane / on holiday / in a nice restaurant."

The whole world should adapt around them and wherever they want to go and whatever they want to do. And their attitude to anyone who doesn't like it... "I don't care about anybody else".

In all seriousness, op: a friend of mine who had an equally entitled attitude flew business to NYC with her young son and said: never again. It was just too stressful for her and her son (knowing her “learned-helplessness” husband, I can imagine he did little to alleviate the situation).

@Glasshalffullorempty it's the lack of being able to read coming up again, is there someone close by who can give you hand and read out the thread to you?

Rubbish.

I’ve taken dozens of first and business class flights with my DC starting when they were 10 months old.

Interesting post. I have mixed feelings on this. I use BC for long haul flights. I can't lie, a screaming child would annoy me. That being said, I would know that they've paid their money and have just as much right to be there as I did. So whilst I would groan internally, obviously I wouldn't make that known.

From the BC flights I've taken, young DC haven't been common, but I have seen them on some of my flights and to be fair, they've been no problem at all. I do think they appreciate the extra space and being able to lie down and sleep. Even if they dont/cant verbalise it. Ultimately, do what's best for your family.

Hahaha

No I don't do that. It's a quiet carriage isn't it. So it's against the rules do be loud in there.

Business class is for anyone. Economy is for anyone.

I wouldn't avoid either. My children crying, would not stop me from getting on a plane- either class.

I'm sorry if you think that's selfish, but it's not. I would do the usual things to calm my children down, but the possibility of bothering others, wouldn't stop me from getting on a plane. If you or anyone else thinks that's selfish, fine.

Hopefully all of them.

Ear plugs. Wouldn't travel without them. Anyone who complains of "noise" on a flight is just looking to be difficult. It's a small shared space.

Every seat is equal. If someone paid more to avoid children so their flight was more relaxing maybe THEY should arrange a private plane if they can’t handle other humans.

The idea business class is the same as booking a quiet carriage on a train is nonsense.

Thank goodness. That's not what it's there for. Ditto airport lounges ( they should have separate ones for families).

Imagine having saved up to fly 1st class as a big threat, you get to your seat and there are 2 screaming kids sat by you 🤣. I have 3 kids so I'm used to their noise etc but if I'd paid for 1st to be sat next to a toddler, I'd be furious. Kids have no place in 1st class.

OP - I don’t have kids but I’d 💯 say it’s worth it long haul. And if you appeared next to me I’d stick headphones in a be totally fine with it!!

Go for it! Ours have flown long haul since they were young and would have no issues booking business class with them - honestly the comments on here.

I personally wouldn’t fly long haul with little ones. A two hour flight to Majorca maybe - we did that in April & that was enough for me. There were two babies on that flight who were obviously very uncomfortable with the pressure in their ears when the plane took off - they literally screamed for the first hour and I did feel sorry for the mums trying to calm them down. And for them. It was quite traumatic for them to be honest.

It is really stressful if your kids scream relentlessly - but everyone’s different. I do care about other passengers though and would feel quite anxious if my kids played up for a length of time.

If you can afford it, then why not? But I wouldn’t go into debt for it. It sounds like your DH doesn’t want to take small kids long-haul in any class so that would seem to be your first issue to resolve!

And ours have never screamed or cried on a flight. In fact I can’t recall any flights with screaming children.

I mean, it’s not “apparently”. That’s literally why they (or their company) has paid for them to fly business. A large part of it is because they want to have a peaceful flight in which they may work (or sleep in preparation for a day’s work)

They might book it in the hope of a more peaceful flight, but they have absolutely no more right to peace than those in economy, just because they paid more. It’s frustrating for any passenger to have a noisy child near them - but that’s public transport for you.

Wow are you this selfish is other areas of life? I’m genuinely shocked because it’s unusual for people to openly admit to such selfishness.

We just took our 18 month old on a 7 hour flight in BC. 1000000x worth it. The seat reclines all the way so there's space for them to play. Non stop booze so that helps!

It's not a quiet carriage. It's just life. Perhaps airlines should come up with a quiet part of the plane where children are actually not allowed to sit.

Lol which exactly??

Definitely book it just to annoy all the knobs in this thread who are in the 'kids shouldn't be allowed' etc. etc.
Last time we flew long haul with our 1 year old there were a couple of old boomer snobs who had paid extra for the exit row seats- we were adjacent in the bassinet area and they complained constantly and were very rude to DP.
Just book it and let your kids run wild, you will have paid the same fare as everyone else

Celebs and really minted think nothing of taking their kids first class so crack on if it eases any travel anxiety.

That being said you can’t pay your way out of delays / cancellations and if your kids are going to get irritable they’ll do it regardless of being in business class, the extra leg room, free drinks and nice food won’t make much of a difference to them.

Best of luck, safe trip!