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Original poster

Going to America with an 18month and 5 year old - should I upgrade?

20 replies

SofaQueen · 21/03/2009 20:52

I'm going to be traveling alone to America in July with an 18 month old (suspect bad traveller) and a 5 year old (good traveller). I will be flying BA and don't want to buy a separate seat. I am considering upgrading to premium economy or business class (yes, a treat, but not as scarily expensive as I thought, and we won't have any hotel costs, so I was going to splurge) for just one leg.

Do you think it will be worth the money, keeping in mind that I'm going to have to walk the toddler frequently? WHich class permutations would you do (can have different classes for different legs)?

Any help, suggestions, or advice would be appreciated.

OP posts:

EldonAve · 21/03/2009 22:53

Is it not cheaper to just buy one extra economy seat?

Original poster

SofaQueen · 22/03/2009 08:51

What is stopping me is that the economy seats don't recline adequately enough for the baby to sleep. I would be able to bring the carseat, but I don't want to have to carry a carseat when travelling alone with 2 small children.

Ugrading to premium economy is actually cheaper than buying another seat!

OP posts:

ssd · 22/03/2009 08:54

can you afford to upgrade then?

LibrasJusticeLeagueofBiscuits · 22/03/2009 08:56

Upgrade to premium for both legs. Hell I would upgrade having children if I could afford it.

Or send your 5yo as an unaccompanied minor in economy and you go premium!

KnickKnack · 22/03/2009 08:57

I went to America with a 12mth old a few years ago. On the way out we were upgraded to premium economy for no extra charge (we just asked at check in and they said OK as I was pregnant and they had spare seats). On the way home there were no upgrades available and we were in economy.

It was the difference between night and day. We had tons of space, it was quite empty, very quiet, DS had lots of space to toddle about, lots of space to sleep, seats were much more comfortable.
Economy was a nightmare, packed, cramped, noisy, uncomfortable, no leg room etc etc.

If you can afford the extra, I would highly recommend the upgrade.

LibrasJusticeLeagueofBiscuits · 22/03/2009 08:57

*sighs that should be
"Hell I would upgrade without having children with me if I could afford it.

EldonAve · 22/03/2009 08:58

Ah, my children slept okay at 18mths in an economy seat
Last time we used the neckpillows they sell in the airport

If you are happy to have the little one on your lap then go for premium both ways

KnickKnack · 22/03/2009 09:11

I agree kids will be able to sleep almost anywhere...its us adults that are fussy

jafina · 22/03/2009 18:12

sofaqueen, I am having a similar dilemma about travelling BA to Canada in August with a 22 month old. I have done some searching on mumsnet and on the internet about travelling with toddler and lots of parents seem to recommend a Britax toddler seat on BA which is good up until 2 years. It is first-come first-serve and fits into the bulkhead area and doesn't take up a regular seat. So I am thinking of not booking a seat for dd and instead upgrading to World traveller plus and booking the Britax seat. You can book the Britax seat in economy too but have heard from others that the upgrade to WTP is well worth it. Like you we have no hotels to pay for!

Maybe you could do something similar?

Original poster

SofaQueen · 22/03/2009 19:36

LOL Libra! If only!

Thanks KnickKack for telling me about your experience with premium economy vs economy. DS2 is finicky, and will sleep better if it is quieter, so would be well worth it.

I will call ba and ask them again about the britax seat and premium economy. I did ask them the last time I called, and I seem to remember them saying that it applied also in Business and Premium Economy. I'll let you know what they tell me.

OP posts:

BocciBalls · 22/03/2009 19:43

if you can afford premium economy, do it! just did 11hr+ flights to and from Mauritius with 21 mo ds and having the extra space was invaluable. when you book either online or with agent request your seats straight away, look at the cabin layout and get the ones at the front of the cabin on one side - 2 together and big bit of space in front for little one to sit and play. no-one in front of you to annoy with seat-bashing, playing with tray etc. cabin is not big but was enough for ds to stretch his legs going up and down the aisle a few hundred times without getting in the way of too many people.

car seat thing - i took my own Britax bought especially for the trip and it was worth having on board but a bloody nightmare through security and to the gate - no trolleys. I got a BA rep to help through full-on emotional blackmail, but he did it in his break time not officially .

If you decide to go with the provided seat option, do check about whether you actually have a seat booked through the airline - BA were useless and continually contradicted themselves and their website depending on who I spoke to. I was told I couldn't book a Britax at all, that it was first come first served at the airport / gate and also that they didn't provide those seats full stop!

pavlovthecat · 22/03/2009 19:53

I have used the britax seat, and as long as you book your seats in advance you should be able to get the bulkhead seats that you need in order to use it (you will get priority booking as travelling with an infant so can book several weeks in advance).

This has three advantages:

Much more legroom for you, more space to spread your things around for the whole family, there is a shelf for the seat which you can put bottles etc on.
You have a chance for some space to relax a little while your infant sleeps in the seat, without having to have baby on you for the entire time. It reclines for a good nights sleep.
Unlike an upgrade, it is free.

Disadvantages - none really. In fact, not at all. You might get someone sitting next to you, but when this happened to us, they moved him for his own sake! Oh and when you go through turbulance, and take-off/landing, baby needs to be on your lap, no big deal.

If you upgrade to premium, or business class, you will still have to have baby on your lap, although in business class you get champagne .

pavlovthecat · 22/03/2009 19:55

BA are very family oriented in my experience, they have always ensured we get the best seats in order to make our experience with our infant as hassle free as possible. They have even taken our stroller onto the plane and put it in their own locker for our ease, and helped me with bags.

Just phone up BA once you have purchased the tickets and they will sort the rest out for you.

SoupDragon · 22/03/2009 19:59

Premium economy was fab. If you book online, you can choose your seats immediately as you're travelling with an infant (if you want to change the 5yo to a child's meal, you can do that too).

scienceteacher · 22/03/2009 20:06

Business class is tricky with kids. We have done it twice transatlantically - once with four children on American Airlines, and once with five on Air Jamaica.

The other passengers can be very intolerant of children in business class, which means you basically can't relax. When we flew from London to New York with our four children, there was another family of four in the cabin. That is a lot of kids! Our older ones made instant friends with the other family but any chatting between them was instantly shushed. I lived in fear of my 5 month old whimpering, but fortunately she was quiet for the whole flight (she had to be with a boob glued to the inside of her gob).

I did get cross with the intolerant passengers as I suspected they were on FF upgrades, and we actually paid the full whack for our seats - and I made sure everyone knew.

When we flew from Montego Bay to London, they were great. The children were very welcome, although they were asleep for most of the flight.

I would say that if you want the easiest flight for yourself (minus the tutting), to go for the business class on the way out - as that is when everyone is going to be awake. On the way back, the children will sleep, and it is only you that has to be squashed up in a tiny seat.

silverfrog · 23/03/2009 17:46

agree that business class can be tricky with children - tolerance levels are not always very high, regardless of how well your children behave.

last flight we took we had a man glaring at dd1 for walking (nicely) up and down the cabin - not bothering anyone, but she does like to pace (she is autistic).

the minute we had got her to sit down (which actually resulted in more noise/disruption than her initial walking) he got up and started to walk up and down past her, which obviously just made dd1 think she could get up again...

but, if you are prepared to ignore the tuts, go for the upgrade - we do (have to as dh has had DVT), and there si so much more space for children to play in, around at floor level, and loads more room to store all the bits and pieces you need (wipes/raisins/drinks/books etc)

h0ney · 14/04/2009 14:10

We flew to nyc from London with BA in business class and would do it again in a second. If you can afford it go for it, it is worth for the extra assistance from staff, space and decent food.

wigglesmum · 18/04/2009 17:32

We flew to LAX from LHR return in BA Club in September with our (just) 2 year old DS. He didn't have a seat on the way out (although they did set up the Britax thing but we didn't use it) and he had a seat on the way back.

TBH with all the space we didn't really need a seat on the way back for him as he refused to sleep (on a 10 hour night flight!!!) and just cosied up with us. On the way there he was fine too. The other passengers weren't annoyed with him despite him being quite a lively, vocal child and the male cabin crew on the way back wanted to adopt him and said he'd done really well!!

I'd happily do it again in a heartbeat!

CHOOGIRL · 18/04/2009 20:20

I've taken DD who is 3 Club a few times. Never had a problem with other passengers and when I travel Club without DD then other people's children don't bother me either. Def worth the money imo.

MollieO · 18/04/2009 20:26

If money isn't an issue then do it. We've travelled long haul (SA) since ds was 2.5 and never bothered to upgrade. Reclining the seat is fine for him to sleep perfectly well (he usually misses meals on flights as he falls asleep on take off and I wake him on landing!). This year we have upgraded to PE but that is more about my need for comfort than his .

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