Virgin premium v Upper Class with DCs?

[insomniarules]

Has anyone ever travelled either Premium or Upper Class? WE are not entirely sure if a 2 year old and a 4 year old will be welcome in Upper Class and as its a night flight we are not sure what is best. Any advice?? Please?

Actually, the Upper Class does not work v well with small children, I do not think. Have a look at the seating configuration - the seats are like individual booths, which then convert to individual beds. They are set out in a herringbone style specifically so that you cannot see into other seats. So you will not be able to see your children and they will not be able to see you.

The mid class - is thata premier? - is a much better option: set out "traditional" business class style, with a much smaller cabin.

Oops, meant premium.

Yeah both. Agree with Sonorous that Business class, while welcoming kids, isn't well set up for littlies. Premier will be much better (and save you a fortune!)

I have done both several times, but not with dc. If you can afford it definitely go upper class. It is brilliant for an overnight flight as the seats turn into beds and you can really get a good sleep ime.
I suggest you have a chat with Virgin wrt dc, they are very helpful.

I have done both with small children.

Upper class is amazing but I echo what was said above about the seating configuration not being ideal for families. We actually had a better flight in the upstairs premium cabin, which is like the old traditional club class lay out.

If your DCs do not settle on the night flight you will have a lot of very disgruntled passengers in upper class. Plus premium is so much better value for money.

No, would go PE with such small children. Virgin's Upper class configuration (herringbone) also is not at all child friendly; infact its not couple friendly either! .

BA have a better seating arrangement in business when travelling with kids. You can sit 4 across in the middle section - you and DH facing forward in the aisle seats and DC facing backwards in the middle seats so you can see them and they have loads of extra space to play. If you are lucky the cabin assistants will turn their space into a tent at bedtime.

Business is a world of difference from Premium Economy. If you can afford it you should definitely go fir it.

Never had a problem having kids in business class. You get the odd person who gives you dirty looks - usually those who are not regular business class travellers and resent seeing small children in expensive seats. But it's a lot easier for the kids to behave well when they are comfortable and have space to play.

I'd go for Vp rather than UC ....UC is designed with privacy foremost at every seat. Not very conducive with small dc.
Happy trip

Oh, so maybe I should be looking at BA instead? Thank you do much for your help with this.

If you go on the website and scroll across the pictures you will see the two middle seats in a picture showing a mum in a yellow top and a kid looking through a goody bag. Those are backward facing seats and there is a forward facing seat either side so you have a row of 4.

The link is www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/travel-classes/business/club-world

www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/travel-classes/business/club-world

And the shade between the inside seat and the outer seat drops down so you are face to face.

Just to echo what's already been said, Virgin Upper Class seats are not configured well for small children. Especially when you have to strap in extra-early for take-off or landing and you basically can't then see/touch them to either check on them or make sure they are staying in their seats...

We've done upper and premium with children and would go upper every time.
Dd2 was 3 when we first did UC with the children, the staff were fabulous, she fell asleep on/before take off, when we were in the air, the steward changed my seat into a bed and put her in there (I had her seat). The bays are designed for privacy but as a family of 4 you can go opposite each other and keep an eye on the children easily.
I was disappointed with the food in comparison in premium, felt nowhere near as rested as when we've flown upper.

You could look at business on BA. The middle set of seats have one seat facing forward, two seats in the middle facing backwards and another facing forward. The 2 in the middle is a good set up for children as you can see them by keeping the partition down.

I have flown Upper class with both British Airways and Virgin when my kids where younger. While both were very welcoming with the kids, Virgin's layout is mildly inconvenient. Also when flying with British Airways, once the flight had landed the kids where allowed to have a look in the cockpit which is always a bonus.

Agree that both are welcoming but that the layout of virgin is no good for small ones. With BA the layout is two outer seats facing opposite directions and 4 inner ones. The ones on the end face forwards and the ones in the middle face backwards. We are a family of four and we always take the two middle ones in two consecutive rows. We each take one child. It works really, really well. You can lie down with them and it feels quite enclosed. BA are great with kids in club.

Due to availibility we are booked to fly Virgin UC with two 5 year olds.
After doing a bit of research and reading this thread, I think the BA club option is probably better for young families.
However its booked, so I was wondering if anyone has flown in the "new UC suite" ?
Similar to the old style....but the seats have a glass panel partially between them. Does this make it easier to keep an eye on DC?

www.virginatlanticplaneview.com/

Flew virgin upper class on my own with a two and a four year old last week, and due to return tomorrow.

Absolutely fantastic. The lie flat beds are just brilliant. Both mine watched a bit of tv, and then slept and slept and slept. My two year old slept right through the hostesses serving breakfast! There is a lot of privacy, but we are talking about seat ps millimetres from one another, so you just peep your head over, or just look directly opposite... And there are your children! I guess it depends on your children, but for mine and I suspect for many others.... Amazing. I am actually looking forward to flying tomorrow, which is saying something considering I am on my own with two young children!

Thanks EMC.....flying in a few weeks , so that's good to know!

BA biz class is fab with kids- ideal seat layout. DD slept like a log on the night flight and played happily on the day one. All the floor space when seats are not in bed mode really makes for a handy space to stretch out with toys

Where did you fly to Enjoyingmycoffee1981? (Sorry, don't know how to tag on here...!). Considering taking my 21mo to NYC with BA business/first but tbh I'm worried about the journey and jet lag. He's easy usually and not sure I want to destroy his routine...

We travelled virgin upper class with dd when she was 13 mo, it was great

Agreed, business class on ba is perfect for travelling with Young children but you need to get the 4 seats in the middle.