AAaLot

Before I start I want to clarify that the children would travel with an adult (i.e. nanny, aunt, etc.).

How many people do this?

Have you ever had a problem at ticketing or check-in?

jcrb

I wouldn't know, I only go in F after I've gotten the rest of my family up there first....

I don't think the airline will care as long as the adult with the kids is on the same record as they are.

Centurion

I have traveled with my three children ages 10,9,6 in coach in the row right behind our last row in first class. If I can not get the very next row I sit with them on take off and landing and build the record with me sitting in coach and one child sitting next to my wife in first. I do not know what the rules are but I know in an emergency I want to be able to grab my childs arm quickly and that is what you should be concerned with and not the airline rules.

peter42

AFAIK all persons in one PNR must be in the same fare bucket.

onedog

I don't think the airlines care wether or not everyone is sitting in the same cabin. There shouldn't be any issue with the kids (as long as they are not so young as to need adult care) being in Y in you are in F. If the kids are running amok and causing a rukus, then leaving them unattended in Y may be rude, but I don't think the airlines can force you to sit with your kids.

erik123

I believe they can if you are paying a child fare.

UAL_Rulez

Have 4 kids and have travelled all over the world....here are a few of our experiences:

1) In any premium cabin on UA, a parent must sit with the children. UA STL-ORD-CDG x AF CDG-NCE. Bought 4 refundable Y tix upgraded to C with miles and redeemed miles for 2 free F tix. UA said in premium (C & F) could not leave 4 kids alone - so 1 adult had to sit in C with 3 kids, 1 adult + 1 kid in F.

2) OGG-STL on AA. 2 adults upgraded at gate to F, kids in Y, no problem.

3) LAX-HKG-LAX on UA, everyone on discount economy tix. Used SWUs to upgrade 3 of us. GA's in LAX and HKG both said could not upg any child under 11 years of age on SWUs (huh?!) - so 1 adult and 2 children were in biz and rest in Y.

FWIW, we now arrange things such that all of us are in the same cabin...either buy premium seats (cash or miles) or suffer together in Y.

Kids, just like us adults, do MUCH better in C or F than Y on long flights.

onedog

I am wrestling with this exact dilema and haven't decided yet what to do.

The Mrs. and I are planning a trip to Asia and I am dreading the long flight in Y. We will be taking the AuPair with us and so I am considering two F seats for the Mrs. and I, and Y seats for the AuPair and the two youngins (one will be ~4 years old and the other will be ~ 1.3 years old). I am not sure if the kids would really know/appreciate the difference between F and Y. The AuPair will be coming on vacation with us so I think she will just be glad to be coming along.

Should we do 2 seats in F and 3 in Y, stay together and do 5 seats in C, or or the dreaded 5 seats in Y? If we do go to Asia, I am considering Cathay Pacific or Singapore Airlines and would really like to experience their international F products.

Any and all comments, advice and suggestions are most welcome.

l etoile

People do this all the time. I don't know why you'd have a problem at ticketing or check-in.

As to onedog's request for comments, I'm with jcrb, either the three of us sit in F or none of us do ... then again I only have one child. If we're going on a family vacation, we're a family and we travel together. Sorry if this sounds terribly fatalistic, but if something goes terribly wrong, I sure want to be there with my child. OTOH, your children are very young and would be with a responsible adult. It certainly would be understandable if you did the F/Y combo. Me, I'd do all in C. Enjoy your trip!

magexpect

You seem the only one to have thoughts about this subject.

Now you are considering the case for a long trip which will be expensive. We know a family friend of ours who lives in a $ 3 Million house whith 3 cars. He travels with them from ATL to NYC in F, his wife and Junior (16) in cattle. They are bringing him back to private school... He is executive, she interior decorator.

We are personnally appalled by that. A family travels together, no matter what. Either one is able to foot the bill or not. This is my view, for a family. Just the thought there could be something happening, I would like to have my family around me.

Now your children are very small and the other person is an employee. Due to the expense, I would say fly F and the kids and au pair C. If you can't afford it, all in C or Y.

I am shocked when people call Y "cattle" in this forum. I used it extra above, just to jault a little.

My wife and I agreed that if either of us would do a thing like that, it would be a case for divorce. That is the reason why we avoid our "friends", since we heard of their travel arrangements. We are not snob, but finally one cannot have respect for anyone who treats his own wife and son as cattle....

FWAAA

I see nothing wrong with two seats in F and three in Y.

Not having the AuPair, the FWAAA family has burned quite a few miles so that the four of us can all sit in J or F, but then, what are miles for if not spending them sorta extravegantly??

Of course, I like to eat premium class airline food, and having my two girls in J or F has often meant that I get two or maybe even three J or F meals all to myself while my daughters eat what the really like - peanut butter and jelly. Of course they sample the meals they ordered, but I'm there to help them finish the salmon and fillet.

You wouldn't believe how disappointed the FAs look when I tell them "this sleeping daughter will have the lamb, the other one will have the fish, and I'll have the fillet."

But as I've posted before, I paid for those meals, one way or the other, and I'm gonna eat them.

kef0913

I am in a similar situation. The family (me, Mrs. Kef0913, 4 y.o., 1 y.o.) will be travelling to Europe with the Au Pair this spring. We went for all the seats together in J, not because the kids will appreciate the food but because the message it will send to them by not staying together. We thought about it for a while and then thought about the message that it sends to the kids. So we decided it was better to travel together.

erik123

Leaving an au pair (a recent high school graduate on a so called cultural exchange program) with a baby and a toddler on a long haul flight while you are in c or f is just outright cruel. I've done many long hauls with my small kids and know the extreme stress this can cause.

onedog

I also do this on flights with the youngin's. The FA's seem suprised (if not irritated) when I say that "this sleeping kid wants the filet and that sleeping kid wants the...". I have paid for the seats (either with $$ or miles) and the kids have assigned seats and so they have just as much right to the meals as any other passenger. Granted, I occasionally have to help them finish their meals...

At my house, there are no short order cooks. During meal times, my kids eat what we are eating.

onedog

???? Since I didn't start the thread, it appears that there is at least one other person who thought about this subject???