[LPPSKrisflyer]

craigwatson – 07/03/2012 11:30 GMT I take your point however if seats had to be sold, other passengers might have a more pleasant journey. I realise however that this is a low priority for some airlines and their crews even for the high spenders in premium cabins.

I’m interested to see how MH do with their new policy in F. I will certainly be using them a little more.

[Bucksnet]

What is their new policy in F?

[Pierre]

Blue hair only..

[FirstFleeter35]

From a crew perspective, I would say 80% of babies sleep very well on board and cause little disruption. It is the adults that sometimes act like spoilt children, demanding to be moved away from the infants!

Just use your ear plugs, there are some fab ones available in chemists or on line that really do block out ALL noise! If there are toddlers/children causing disruption by constantly running around, then come and have a discreet word with the crew, I have told many parents over the years that their children’s behaviour is disturbing others. I also tell parents how wonderful their children are if they are impeccably behaved and have lovely manners. Most children who travel in business or first are usually frequent travellers and know how to behave. Children are part of life and have as much right to travel as anyone else!

[RichHI1]

Ian, understand your dichotomy. If there were seats that were likely to be allocated to UM’s as there are with Bassinets, say seats in row nearest to cabin crew then problem would be solved as single male passengers who do nto wisht to sit next to PS 3 mad texting teenagers can avoid them and UM’s can feel comfortable (presuming their female co-passengers are not paedophiles.)

[IanFromHKG]

Rich, I agree, It does seem sensible to put UMs near the galley/crew seats, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, though, it doesn’t seem to work that way, sensible though your suggestion is. Our daughter seems to get randomly allocated seats all over the cabin albeit usually with other UMs. Being the height she is (very nearly, but to her intense annoyance not quite, six feet tall) she prefers an aisle seat and even that is difficult to arrange, although fortunately we have befriended one of the ground crew at BA HKG who keeps an eye out for her and usually manages to put her on the aisle.

Rather alarmed at the suggestion that teenagers would be texting each other on board using PS3s or anything else (apart from airline equipment)!! If you ever see that, I hope you will have a word with the crew about use of wireless communication devices on board!

Sorry others for the slight (but, I hope, only slight) thread drift – if this weren’t exclusively a BUSINESS travel forum I would start another thread on UMs for concerned parents!

[SimonRowberry]

Ian,

Feel free. My view is that a thread on UMs is much more relevant than some of the tosh we are subjected to on here!

Cheers, Simon

[LuganoPirate]

I agree Simon. Go ahead Ian. I’ll contribute to that but I refuse to contribute further to babies in premium, obnoxious or otherwise!

[scott66]

This is always a good subject. I’ve been ‘done’ myself on an overnight flight from the Far East, next to a 2 year old on the lap of it’s carer.

I spotted one of the other contributers has already touched on the point of reduced rates for children in premium cabins. The premium cabin is where the airlines make their money. Perhaps the best solution is a simple adult fare only, no bassinets, no children on the knees.

I know being British, we’re different from the rest of the world, who consider children as a joy. most airlines have split business cabins (either divided by a central galley or upstairs/ downstairs) perhaps there could be a common convention for child free zones – I thought it was upstairs – Wrong.

The final point you touched on was the staff, BA do a fanatastic job in dealing with both parents and complainants of noisy children.

[craigwatson]

Scott – infants would be on the lap, not children. Children 2 and over MUST have a seat purchased. The airlines would lose money with a no infant policy, as it is a money for nothing scenario. Granted charging adult fares for children would make the airlines more money, but IMHO would do nothing to reduce the amount of children in prem cabins as they are already paying 75% of the adult fare, and a family travelling in prem. the extra 25% isnt going to be a hardship.

Out of interest MH has a no child policy in first, and can I ask have any posters here booked their trip with them as a result? My best guess would be no.

[hi_flier]

Just to clarify, the MH policy is no infants (children under 2) in First Class. Young children 24 months or older are still allowed in the First Class cabin albeit there is no reduced fare from what I can see by doing a dummy booking.

Really interesting debate that keeps cropping up in forums. I’ve flown with my now 13 month old son in business class 3 times in the past 12 months though each time intra-Europe and we’ve never caused any disruption. Then again, flying for my wife and I isn’t as relaxing as it used to be as we go out of our way not to inconvenience other passengers but that the compromise we accept as being parents. And the extra space and often more attentive cabin crew in premium cabins really do help keep us more relaxed and in turns keeps our son relaxed too.

It’s interesting to note that there is often a lot of negative sentiment around infants travelling in premium cabins but in my (limited) experience we’ve only ever been treated with utmost respect by cabin crew and passengers alike. I was very nervous the first time we flew as I’d spent a little too long reading posts on forums like this.

Anyway, we’re travelling to New Zealand this year with SQ in C. And again we’ll come prepared to feed & entertain our son so that he doesn’t annoy other passengers. We’re not all the parents from hell. Promise.

[NTarrant]

Hi_flier – reading between the lines on your post above, are you travelling to NZ for holiday? I can understand that for expats living in say HKG with a young family travelling back to the UK etc to visit friends and family, but I am trying to understand why people would want to travel long haul with infants on holiday and subject them to the environment, not only to mention the stress of taking a child.

[RHMAngel]

NTarrant, apparently you, I and others may fall into the catagory of being unsympathetic to familes with infants doing long haul travel, to even ask such questions.

I am sympathetic to the fact, babies can’t be told to swallow, or blow their nose, to relieve the pain they get with cabin pressure and ascending/descending – so indeed, why DO parents put themselves and complete random strangers through “this stress”.

I’d like to distinguish or rather get airlines to distinguish between infant, ie. UNDER the age of 2 years old, and more pertinently BABIES – as opposed to Children over 2 years old, who do indeed pay near full rate (or high percentage fare) and thus can be reasoned with. With parents who can be asked by crew or fellow passengers to do something about their off-spring creating endless piercing screams at decibels (Mhz) that break through airline earphones and earplugs.

I’ve not had a bad experience sitting next to child or UM. Just babies ruining long haul flights in premium classes when I needed to be fit for business the other end.

No one is saying ban babies flying – which is too far on the lack of sympathy scale, I think some are saying ban babies in Business & First class sections – which are invaribly high cost tickets, and being paid for by businesses or those lucky enough to pay (use miles) for ‘a more comfortable & better quality of journey’ – than say PE or Coach (economy) – where everyone is uncomfortable, long haul – we want cheap, so airlines pack passengers as tight as they can get away with back there, but folks are more likely mentally prepared for such “discomfort” and misery.

Really NH has a no baby policy ? really, what other airlines for business class or higher – do tell.

[hi_flier]

Hi NTarrant. Yes we’re going on holiday. It’s a 12/13 hour flight followed by a 10/11 hour flight though we have stopovers in both directions. We’ve also timed the flights to work with sleeping patterns. I don’t see this as being particularly stressful. Much of the fear of babies in cabins comes from the preconception that they will all scream for most of the trip. And to some extent I still feel this myself when I see other children board but I guess there’s a degree of pragmatism you have to take in a mode of public transport at 35,000 feet.

On another note, I do wonder how much long haul flying in premium cabins on certain routes is truly “business” these days anyway. Many of my last flights in F & J to destinations such as BKK, LAX, AKL have largely consisted of leisure travellers – travelling couples and families. Maybe it’s the routes I’ve flown, maybe it’s the times of the day but there has probably been an overall shift if demographics flying business and I guess children in premium classes will become a more common sight.

I know people in major IT, outsourcing and telecoms organisations that now only permit travel (of any length) in Y until you’re director level. And with exceptionally competitive fares on certain carriers, the once high end of premium travel is now well and truly opened up the the mass market (or mass affluent end of the market).

[LPPSKrisflyer]

craigwatson, I have certainly started to book flights in F on MH due to their adult friendly policy. I never risked my children disturbing the F or C cabin and I don’t wish to be on the receiving end of anyone else’s.

[Author]

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