Infants In Premium Cabins

[SeatBackForward]

I hate it when infants use the priority boarding lane when they're clearly only silver FF's.

 

[simongr]

$17 - now that's gangsta...

Sorry it just seemed appropriate at this juncture...

 

[medhead]

You've got way too much time on your hands medhead . Relax fwiw I am alluding to the fact that I am selfish in relation to not wanting babies in premium cabins. It doesn't mean im going to disrespect your cabin baggage or whatever else you have come up with there.

Relax. Nah. Why should I relax about a series of pretty annoying posts that have clearly not bothered to follow the that thread of conversation? In particular to accuse me of calling someone a snob, twice.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

Relax. Nah. Why should I relax about a series of pretty annoying posts that have clearly not bothered to follow the that thread of conversation? In particular to accuse me of calling someone a snob, twice.

Why? Because its an internet forum and hopefully not worth getting worked up about.

In the end some people will say infants in premium are welcome but others will say they arent. My comment about being a selfish snob in this regard was just a bit of fun.

 

[medhead]

medhead, when you say silly things like asking if I've even been on a plane it rather kills your argument. I mentioned rage because some of the things that get you antsy really just happen and aren't the selfish incidents you seem to think they are, and you are interpreting someone else's behaviour based on your own values anyway.

The question is naturally prompted when you demonstrate a lack of understand of the size and dynamics on an aircraft. It is pretty obvious that evey person on an aircraft can't stand in the aisle at the same time. So it amazes me that you don't see the problem with pushing into the aisle from the window seat. I consciously keep within my seat area. Someone who repeats elbows someone in the ribs is outright selfish, they are only thinking of themselves.

If your values say pushing into someone, just happens, or that "excuse me" is optional. I'll keep my values.

How about getting the FA to open the toilet door because you think the person is taking too long? When I'm taking the same amount of time as the last 100 times I've used the toilet. Does that just happen? Or is the other person selfish?

 

[medhead]

Why? Because its an internet forum and hopefully not worth getting worked up about.

In the end some people will say infants in premium are welcome but others will say they arent. My comment about being a selfish snob in this regard was just a bit of fun.

Your comment was never the issue.

Of course, it's pretty interesting that you think you know how I really feel based on words on an Internet forum.

 

[NoName]

Not sure why we need to get into an argument about all this. I appreciate all the responses and despite there being opposing views and some off topic views it seems travelling with an infant in a premium cabin isn't really a huge deal.


BTW my question was actually relating to INFANTS not children. Those around the 6mth-1yr mark. I'm not really interested in 4yr olds who may or may not run up and down the aisles at this point.

 

[simongr]

BTW my question was actually relating to INFANTS not children. Those around the 6mth-1yr mark. I'm not really interested in 4yr olds who may or may not run up and down the aisles at this point.

The biggest issue you are going to have is during landing I think when the infant wont be familiar with equalising pressure in their ears. Easily solved by placing a milk delivery system in the mouth. Up to six months I think you will be fine with the bassinet - over that you might struggle with the size of the baby.

Personally though I wouldn't bother with the bassinet. I ducked off to get changed into my PJs just after boarding our BA flight and the FAs asked my wife if she wanted to switch to get a bassinet - and was fairly forceful about this. By the time I got back we were sat at the back of J with our front row of J now given to someone else.

I just wouldnt expect to enjoy flight as much as you might be used to in J - mind you it is going to be a lot more comfortable than if you were in whY...

 

[Pushka]

Sorry then medhead. About attributing the snob comment to you. I guess I got this thread and the Champagne thread mixed up. Reverse elitism and all that. .

About the other stuff? I think maybe when travelling in a cocoon we all just have to take a deep breath and expect that people have different interpretations on what is acceptable behaviour and just try to get along and not take offence. Digging you in the ribs may perhaps be a little concerning but sometimes accidents just happen and people are not as nice as you are.

As far as the topic goes, I don't travel much in J as its too expensive but in any class of travel if the parents are seen to be trying to assist a crying infant then people are more sympathetic. (Well, I am, anyway). But probably more for toddlers, it's the parents who let their kids run amok and don't care about them annoying others that is more likely to cause angst. Unless they stand in the aisle after sitting in the window seat

 

[Flying mermaid]

Not sure why we need to get into an argument about all this. I appreciate all the responses and despite there being opposing views and some off topic views it seems travelling with an infant in a premium cabin isn't really a huge deal.


BTW my question was actually relating to INFANTS not children. Those around the 6mth-1yr mark. I'm not really interested in 4yr olds who may or may not run up and down the aisles at this point.

Just putting the words "infants" and "premium cabin" in the same phrase is enough to start an argument. If you think this is bad you should see some of the threads in the BAEC forum on the other board. . If you need to travel with an infant then premium is definitely worth it to make it much, much easier. However it is still hard work, but then everything with an infant is. . Before I had children and was just a career woman, I used to make sneering comments about women who stayed at home with kids doing nothing... I've mentally apologised for that about a million times since I had my own.

 

[Kaldemir]

I've always thought an airline could differentiate themselves in addressing this issue - a separate, smaller cabin with curtain for parents with babies/toddlers. This would benefit everyone.

Once, on a recent flight, a parent who had not organised themselves with the bassinet seat (if you're travelling with a baby, be prepared!) said to me that she would be happy to make the baby scream for 12 hours unless they gave her a better seat. I wish I was making it up, but that's what happened.

What I question, though, is the necessity of travelling internationally at all with a very young child. Unless it's a funeral or something you're travelling for, why put yourself, the child and other passengers through all that?

As for infants in premium cabins, I don't see why it should be any different, regardless of the cabin you're travelling in. For many, the fare of a Y- seat is just as much a hit to the wallet as those who travel in F.

While I totally agree with you, you would see that mainly people travelling with toddlers and infants will object to this idea. Ironic how they expect others to have no issues with their toddlers/ infants while they themselves would rather sit as far away as possible from other toddlers/ infants.

I personally would be happy to pay extra for a cabin with nobody under 12 years, before I pay for an exit row.

Re disruptive/ unacceptable behaviour etc. listed in other posts, assume that every single seat on the plane causes the same level of noise/ smell/ antisocial behaviour as yours.. Unless if you're perfectly happy with that/ have no issues at all, then you're an inconsiderate person and shouldn't be on that flight.

 

[Jack_OC]

What I question, though, is the necessity of travelling internationally at all with a very young child. Unless it's a funeral or something you're travelling for, why put yourself, the child and other passengers through all that?

I think the logic for many people is to visit family before the need for a funeral arises. If you have elderly and/or unwell parents who live on the other side of the world, you don't necessarily have the luxury of putting your next trip off for several years when your kids are young. In my case, I have twice travelled to Europe with young kids, so (a) my family got to meet my kids and (b) so I got to see my family, including some new nieces and nephews.

 

[JohnK]

I do not see any issue with infants in any cabin on the aircraft.

Had 2 infants in row 43 on a recent QF SIN-BNE flight and they were both well behaved. I cannot remember either of them screaming or crying loudly and if they were it was only for a minute or 2. One infant had both parents while the other infant was with the mother only.

On the other hand I have no time for spoilt, uncontrollable, brats in any cabin. And I am not talking about the ones that run up and down the aisle. They are harmless. It is the ones that sit in the seat and have tantrum fits throughout the flight and refus to listen to anything their parents tell them. If you cannot control your child then you should not less them loose in an aircraft cabin.

 

[Vim Fuego]

I think the logic for many people is to visit family before the need for a funeral arises. If you have elderly and/or unwell parents who live on the other side of the world, you don't necessarily have the luxury of putting your next trip off for several years when your kids are young. In my case, I have twice travelled to Europe with young kids, so (a) my family got to meet my kids and (b) so I got to see my family, including some new nieces and nephews.

That's spot on, we traveled to UK with a 2 and 6 year old in 2008 to see their great grandmother. She was adamant she was going to die at age 85 so we got there when she was 84, ended up she was out by a year and passed away at age 86.

Remember getting off the plane at Gatwick pretty stressed, the 2 year old boy was not naughty but needed to move around a lot, which resulted in a minimal sleep time. We got seats at the back of the plane for all legs so as to minimise disruption. Emirates staff were also a big help, but as a parent we were always mindful of limiting the impact on everyone else.

 

[docjames]

This topic gets re-hashed every couple of months.

Basically it's rarely the infant that's the issue but the parents being completely uncaring of their impact on others / being unprepared for the infants (predictable) needs on a flight. Which in reality is a tiny % of parents who travel, but of course are the ones you remember.

/conflict of interest disclosure/
Repeated travel with minidoc in premium cabins. No complaints so far...

 

[NoName]

Which seat number would a mother with an infant in QF F or J be given on the A380?

 

[jamesatfish]

Which seat number would a mother with an infant in QF F or J be given on the A380?

Not sure of J, but the basinets in F are 5A and 5K - they are cutouts in the back wall behind the seat.

 

[Flying mermaid]

That's spot on, we traveled to UK with a 2 and 6 year old in 2008 to see their great grandmother. She was adamant she was going to die at age 85 so we got there when she was 84, ended up she was out by a year and passed away at age 86.

Remember getting off the plane at Gatwick pretty stressed, the 2 year old boy was not naughty but needed to move around a lot, which resulted in a minimal sleep time. We got seats at the back of the plane for all legs so as to minimise disruption. Emirates staff were also a big help, but as a parent we were always mindful of limiting the impact on everyone else.

Initially when I read the stuff about why did people travel with infants or children, I felt quite guilty - we had no compelling reason to do so and mothers always feel guilty of bad parenting very quickly.....

But when I thought about it I realised that parents do not need to apologise for travelling with children. They are not a communicable disease, nor can your life stop for 20 years, just because you have children!

Obviously things change - I don't think I read an adult book for something like 15 years and I can count on one hand the number of times we went out at night, for many many years.

However would anyone question a family who drove down to the coast for a family holiday, even if the group included young children? So what is the difference, apart from a lot of kms and $ in taking them overseas.

A few days ago, I heard the youngest Miss FM, describing the wonderful apartment she had seen in Barcelona "by the same guy who did the Sagrada Familia Cathedral" She couldn't remember Gaudi's name, but she was in raptures over the apartment and the roof area. She was 9 at the time, but obviously it made a huge impression on her. We took the two oldest to Disney in LA when they were 3 and 1 respectively and I can still close my eyes and see the look on Dr FM's face as she sat on Peter Pan's knee listening to stories, with Chip and Dale next her. Or a 18 month old Miss FM at Disney world and running after pidgeons and asking for a hug (if you can hug a giant mouse, why not a little bird?)

We've taken them to so many things - the Louvre, catacombs in Kiev, palaces in Yalta, cathedrals everywhere (I really love Cathedrals - as they got older I was rationed to one per town). Neither they nor Mr FM and I would have missed it for anything. We made sure we always spent time explaining things so they didn't get bored and they have a fantastic world understanding and view and love travelling as much as we do.

Obviously the kids need to be well behaved , that is a different issue, but I refuse to feel guilty for travelling with my children, even when they were very young!

 

[flychrisfly]

Not sure of J, but the basinets in F are 5A and 5K - they are cutouts in the back wall behind the seat.

Not sure 5K has a bassinet - Qantas.com and seatguru.com show nothing for 5K, but do show a bassinet for 5A. But I've never sat there so...

 

[jamesatfish]

Not sure 5K has a bassinet - Qantas.com and seatguru.com show nothing for 5K, but do show a bassinet for 5A. But I've never sat there so...

I have been allocated both 5A and 5K as bassinet seats when our daughter was younger, but only ever used the bassinet at 5A so can't remember exactly if it was there in 5K also.

Have a couple of flights in 5K in a few weeks time, will double check.