Club World and children

[Slip up]

Just a quick question. Travelling with wife and 2 children (age 5 and 8) on 777 club world but not sure which seats would be better to book, 4 seats in a row or 2 seats in front and 2 behind. It is probably the case that it doesn't really matter but without the pleasure of using rear facing seats on an aeroplane, I am not sure. Anyone care to recommend.

Cheers

[Agaricus bisporus]

Perfectly behaved children, fine, but...

As a general principle small children do not belong in Club ot 1st.

People pay £000s for the peace and civilization and it is not fair to inflict badly behaved children on them.

[Slip up]

I have witnessed better behaved children than adults on many occasions. Anyhow that wasn't the advice I was looking for.

Thanks anyway.

[strake]

As a general principle small children do not belong in Club ot 1st.

Breathtaking arrogance.

It's called public transport matey...

[warkman]

My child has travelled thousands of miles in Club/Upper Class since he was three months old.
I have paid thousands for his seat.
he has as much right to fly there as you do, or perhaps even more as we actually pay from our own pocket

(I am nor going into behaviour, as it is a given that my child is well behaved, more so than some of the arrogant seats paid by their company buisness men I have witnessed in Club!)

[Three Yellows]

My children (3 & 5) have travelled in Club on the BA777 several times (at my personal expense may I add).

We were delighted when we got off that the CC said that it had been a pleasure to have had our children onboard.

We've done both the four across and two in front/two behind. Both work equally well due to the layout.


Enjoy

3Y

[VAFFPAX]

I'd probably go for the 4-across, so that the two kids can see each other, and the parents on the 'outside' to ensure the kids are safe. It shouldn't be an issue.

I have to say that I'd rather have a well-behaved child sitting next to me than some rude and obnoxious adult.

S.

[radeng]

VAFFPAX

>I have to say that I'd rather have a well-behaved child sitting next to me than some rude and obnoxious adult.<

You and me both!

Many years ago, I was on a BA flight to HKG in Club. There was a mother there witha baby about 1 month old, who was discretely breast feeding it. Some obnnoxious British business type had the temerity to complain to the CC about it! Fortunately, he got very short shrift from the (male) CSD....I guess I've been lucky, never having real problems with kids in any class.

One is reminded of the supposedly true story of the 1890's in the US, where there was a crowded train and a very tired mother with a fractious baby. Eventually,. a well dressed gent gets up and says 'Give me the baby' and then walks up and down the aisle until the child goes to sleep in his arms. He takes it back to the mother who thanks him, and his reply was 'Madam, I am the President of this railroad, and I want all my cuistomers to be satsified with the service!'

Can't see it happening on an airline these days!

[jetset lady]

Slip up,

As BA crew that operated on the 777, I would agree with the majority and say 4 across in the centre seems to be the most popular. That way, you have the children on the two inside seats next to each other, therefore able to play card games etc. while you and your wife are able to sit either side of them. Due to the fact you will be facing the other way, you will be able to keep an eye on them easily throughout the whole flight. It also seems to make the parents more relaxed as no one can disturb the children and the children would struggle to get out without disturbing you or your wife, leaving you able to relax and enjoy a glass of bubbly too!

I also have to echo others in that we very rarely have problems with the children in club. It tends to be the adults!

I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable flight,

Jsl

[jetset lady]

radeng,

It does still happen occasionally. In fact, we did the same thing just 3 days ago when a mother was struggling with two very young children, whilst trying desperately to drink her cup of tea. As soon as she put one of the children down, he started crying so I asked one of the crew, who I knew was an experienced Mother, to hold the little one while I continued the service for her. Worked a charm. :p

Jsl

[strake]

In my experience, the crew are always exellent with young kids in Club and First..as are passengers. The people who complain are either ignorant boors or, on here more likely, sciolists..there, I've learnt a new word from Pprune..

To answer the original question, yours are reasonably old so you could always start off on the
mum/child, dad/child variant and then swop over as they settle down so you can both dine/chat facing each other etc..

Whatever you do, enjoy the trip and your destination.

[radeng]

My opinion of BA CC is that they could be usefully employed training many other airlines as to how CC should perform. There may be better CC than those on BA - I just haven't found them. God knows, I've found plenty far worse.

jetset lady, don't get too big headed, even though as BA CC you deserve it!!

The biggest downside on BA is their so called 'baggage tracing service'. It's not a service, nor does it succcesfully trace baggage. It does appear to succesfully deprive villages of their congential idiots.

[lexxity]

BA CC and children? They get my thumbs up. :ok: Found them to be accommodating, helpful and non-judgemental. Looking forward to our next flight with you in October.

[Bongodog1964]

You might be better off with 2 + 2 at the side as the exit from the middle seats in the block of 4 is through the feet of the passengers in the next row; which is a bit of a step over for small legs in the middle of the night, especially if the seats in question are occupied by child haters, whereas if you have the side seats its mum and dads legs they will be kicking.
Took my 5 year old daughter in club world last month LGW - MCO and the staff were very child friendly. One tip the 1st trayfull of food presented to children at mealtime which has sandwiches drinks etc is just the starter a full sized main course follows and if they don't like that Club kitchen has enough crisps and chocolate to keep them simling for a week.

As for the comments that Children have no place in Club World ~ beyond comtempt :sad:

[PAXboy]

How well/badly the children behave is directly linked to how well/badly the parents behave. And I've seen some shocking parent's in the front cabins ...

The last time I saw bad behaviour was two girls about 7 + 9. They were in Premium Economy - 2 in front and 2 behind, each sitting with a parent. The girls started fighting over the back of the seat with each other and the parents took some time to stop it.

The most amusing thing I saw ... Again I was in PE and in the front row of PE on the Port side (just in front of me) were two children about 10/12 a boy and a girl. Their parents had the back two seats in Upper and it seemed like a good idea, so that the children would not feel 'stuck' with their parents and (presumably) kept the costs down and they were within 2m of each other.

It was a daylight CPT ~ LHR and by half way through - the children were in the Upper seats and the parents snoozing the PE seats!!! However, the children were very well behaved.

[VAFFPAX]

The 'fighting over the seat back' part is why I tend to suggest a row across... then they can fight with each other across the seats instead of ruining the seat back. ;-)

S.

[jetset lady]

radeng,

Me, big headed? I perish at the thought! :p The sad thing now a days, is that many crew are wary of holding children due to the possibility of litigation if anything goes wrong. I still tend to work in the old fashioned way and anything that helped this lady and her fellow passengers surely had to be a good thing. This wasn't just down to me but also to the absolutely fabulous crew I had the pleasure of working with on this trip. It was worth it to see the lady and her children leave the aircraqft happy with a new image of British Airways and what we can do to help. And don't worry, if we ever come across you crying, we will also happily pick you up and comfort you! ;)

Jsl

[radeng]

jetset lady,

I doubt you could pick me up, unless you're a trained weightlifter!!!

Still, I've had 40 flights on BA so far this year, all of them with the usual superb CC service, so nothing to cry for!

[Bushfiva]

I was sat next to a kid who was clearly bored out of his skull. His parents weren't particularly interested, so he and I swapped seats so he could look out of the window. Once I had told him how to look for interesting stuff, he turned into a very interested, and interesting, person himself. I fly a lot, and love looking out the window. There's an entire planet passing by, and not looking at it is a missed opportunity.

Something I've done with friends' kids is give them a disposable camera, and ask them to take photos of anything interesting they see en route, including a photo of the airport they arrive at. They have to decide what's interesting, and also pace themselves.

Kids are great. They never, ever want to stop learning. They can do a heck of a lot in an airplane without annoying anyone.

This message was brought to you by the word "interesting"...