Paying for under 2 in premium economy

[Icelollycraving]

Ok,so v v excited to be going away next year & driving dh mad talking about it (we decided yesterday). Going to go back to the Caribbean as we love it & the particular hotel is v special to us.
Anyhow,ds will be 23 months when we go. He is 91 percentile now,so I'm guessing at almost 2 will be fairly robust! He travels free but I did suggest to dh we pay for a seat for him. The flight is around 8-9 hours. We always travel in premium economy on Virgin which is certainly more roomy.
Have any of you travelled with larger babies/toddlers on your lap or are we mad?

I wouldn't want a 2 year old on my lap for 8-9 hours. Where's he going to sleep? He's too big for a bassinet.

I'd pay for a seat

Buy the seat, you know it makes sense!

we flew to antigua when DS1 was 22 months BA premium economy. He had his own seat. It worked really well, we were given the bulkhead and instead of putting up a bassinet we made a nest forhim on the floor with loads of pillows and blankets, he slept really well!

Pay for a sleep, Ds is small for his age and at 18 months a 2 hour flight with him on my lap was a nightmare!

I flew back from the Caribbean with DD1 on my lap when she was about 16 months old. She got loads of sleep, I had none! You still have to pay (think it's 10% of the fare) even if they don't have their own seat. I personally would pay for an extra seat if you can afford it and also ask for a bulkhead seat. I think you will need to have him on your lap for take-off and landing though.

Oh, sorry meant to see it was premium economy with Virgin.

Ooh speedy replies! :o
I can't book yet as it only goes up to April online & we are planning on June. When you paid for the pe seat to Antigua (where we are going) did they charge for the whole holiday etc (if that makes sense). I've tried doing a search on virgin for flight only for this June to see average price but you can't do a search for baby/child seat without adult. Any ideas how much we are looking at?

We took our 23 month old to NZ and when we first booked our premium economy seats we didn't get him one but as the time approached we reconsidered and bought him one! Very expensive but he is massive (98centile!) and we literally couldn't have done it without. The annoying thing about premium seats though (on air NZ anyway) was that the arm rests don't lift up, so it made it difficult for him to lie across all three seats to sleep. And the air stewardess wouldn't let him sleep on the floor. and also because he was not yet 2 (although was only 2 days off being 2 on our return journey) they made him sit on my knee for take off and landing. Not sure what the reason is for this.
The other reason we found it was worth getting him his own seat was then he also had his own TV screen and was v happy to sit watching cbeebies type progs for an hour or so at a time while I didn't have to suffer them as well!

Under 2 they have to be on your lap for take off / landing. CAA rules.

I have no problem with him being on my lap for take off & landing. I just think it is sensible to have a seat for him,dh needs to be convinced. If it is not too expensive,then I think it'll be easy but if it's the same cost as an adult upgrade I may have my work cut out!

It's a tricky one... We took dd to oz when she was 22 months, and she was by no means a dainty baby . Involved long flight to hong kong, then another long flight to cairns. So 4 flights total.

We didn't get her a seat, partly to save cash and partly because we figured she'd want to be on our laps most of the time.
It worked really well (mostly!), as three of our flights weren't fully booked and the lovely staff sat us in a bank of three seats where one hadn't been booked - so effectively she got a seat without us paying.
On the one flight with no extra seats, another dad on one flight gave us the top idea of folding down both our trays and making nest of blankets - she slept quite well on that.
We saved quite a lot of money and I doubt we'd have got much more sleep even if she had her own seat the whole time! They're out of routine and it's all exciting, I wouldn't plan on much kip however you do it. BUT it's totally worth it for an awesome holiday! Have a lovely time.

I did the 11 hour flight from London to LA two to three times a year with my 2 dc's from birth until we moved back to LA when oldest was 5. I never bought a seat, but always took extra efforts to make sure I was seated in the bulkhead (where baby shelf/bassinet holder is). Only once in all those flights was I on a flight that was so full that ds had to sit on my lap the whole time. I didn't plan on either me or the kids sleeping and always brought enough entertainment and food to last the whole flight. That way I wasnt getting frustrated trying to either get them to sleep when they weren't sleepy or getting myself to sleep when I had to entertain them. It really was fine and frankly much less painful than the full fare I have to pay for them now.

Key is enough food (don't' count on plane food to come out when you need it) and your own entertainment (books, video games, drawing materials....whatever works for your particular child).

I would definitely by DS a seat even if you are all in economy.

I do a 9 hour Virgin flight with my now 18month old regularly (like 10 return trips since he was born).I've been buying him an extra seat since he was nine months. He was too long for the basinette then and would not sit still on a knee. Also helped to have a bit more space for general junk and, when travelling alone, meant I didn't have random stranger right next door but me and DS had two seats together. However, having always been a premium economy fan (if the office won't pay business!) I have to say economy is better with a toddler. Primarily because in premium on virgin the arm rests don't lift up and so DS can't stretch out across seats (either spare ones or ours) to sleep. In economy we've often been able to get a spare seat, lift the arm rest and put DS down. NB the bulk head economy seats don't lift either. Buy a seat, but in economy, is my advice!

I have just flown 11 hour flight on Virgin and on outbound flight, on my own with 2 DS's (4,6) we had economy seats and I would say the opposite to inthesleeplessnightgarden. Both my DD's couldn't get comfortable in economy even with the arm rests up and seat back. They were trying to curl up in the seats and just couldn't get comfortable.

Also saw some parents who had the bulkhead further down the plane who had both put their kids on the floor and were having an argument with the air hostess who made them pick the kids up and had to have them on their laps the whole way, and they weren't small, maybe 2 ish at a guess. I did feel very sorry for them as the flight was full.

On way back we upgraded to Premium Economy (using DH's frequent flyger points) had bulk head, me with DD2 and then DH with DD1 on other side (window seat) and it was much more comfortable for both of them, with the seat back. As the seat is wider they were able to curl up and get more comfortable. The hostess even bought out foot cushions to make us more comfortable. BTW upgrade using points was the same for me and the kids, aren't they mean that they don't make it less for kids?

I told DH next time we do a longhaul flight we are going to save up for premium economy as it is so worth it. I have done economy flights all over the world since kids were babies and never again. Wish I had enough to pay for business class for us all but that really is wishful thinking.

And another tip take something to entertain them in landing and takeoff (we had to circle a few times on return journey as it was so foggy) when you have to turn off electronic devices e.g. iPAD. I had some colouring in books and stickers to keep them occupied. Worked a treat.

Sounds like a fab holiday and every envious.

I have had very good experiences flying British Airways with young children and absolutely abysmal experiences flying Virgin (only time I had to carry ds on my lap the whole flight). The BA staff always let my children play or sleep on the floor in the bulk head. Of course if the seatbelt sign goes on then you have to pick them up, but that's the case for the bassinets too.

cwtch, surely they don't have to be on a lap for take off/landing if they are in an approved car seat or a CARES harness?

OP I have no idea if CARES harnesses work with Virgin PE seats but could be worth asking them; if they do, would definitely recommend. Lap belts are very easy to get out of/slide under/etc (and anyway not ideal for young kids, any more than they would be in cars) and there are times (turbulence etc) when you really do want them to be fastened in.... mine has been a godsend for DD (DS is easier, just plug him into inflight TV or a portable DVD and he won't move for the full 8 hours of our annual flight to grandparents...)

and definitely take food and things to do, and keep things hidden until you need them :)

I am sure it is against airline laws to allow children to sleep on the floor. What if a drink is spilt or a big burst of turbulence.

There are no "airline laws" that prevent children from sleeping on the floor when the seatbelt sign is off. Of course if you hit turbulence and the seatbelt sign goes on, the children, like everyone else must be in a seat. Presumably it is better to have a quiet sleeping child on the floor or not, than an awake and crying child strapped into a seat or on your lap. And surely anyone with any sense would not put an open hot drink anywhere near a child, sleeping on the floor or not. I always carry a lidded container for hot and cold drinks when I travel so that my drink does not get spilled either on my children or me.