I'm of that school, probably because my parents were of that school. They could afford to travel in whatever cabin they wanted, but when travelling with me, they went Y so that I do not take things for granted and become a brat with over-inflated sense of entitlement. Not that all children who have the luxury would become brats but some can, I guess. I have to say I was a very quiet child because I hated noise and hated it when other people were being noisy, except in a playground or somewhere where it's supposed to be noisy.

Even when airlines were doing special offers where if you buy a business class ticket you get a free economy class ticket for the next trip and it worked out to be cheaper than 2 x economy class tickets, I wasn't allowed to do it as long as they were funding my flights. I was firmly told that I must earn luxury travel, because travel itself is privilege enough.

I really do thank my parents (particularly my mother - my father was quite un-fussed despite being the payer, he would have been happy to pay for whatever) for that, because I appreciate my privileges and I do not take things for granted, and I value my privileges of premium travel. Not that I would not have appreciated them if my parents allowed me to travel in premium classes at their cost, but I may have considered it 'the norm'.

Even now, I would fly in Y even though it's not so comfortable and happily travel on the tube and buses, and I feel happy that I can actually do that and still find it quite OK. If I hadn't encountered it before, I'd probably be horrified!

But of course, that's not to say children shouldn't be in premium cabins. As long as they behave themselves, and not disturb me, they are none of my business! They do become my business when they affect me adversely - it really can ruin the trip by causing excessive tiredness. I pay for premium classes so that I can sleep, and if I can't sleep, I've lost the value of having paid extra and I might as well have travelled in Y.


I think the concerns about babies travelling is also quite valid. Many of them really have problems with their ears when flying (they cannot pop their ears) and it causes them serious distress. Adults won't like it if they can't pop their ears and they are hurting like crazy because of pressure changes. Of course, it's more distressing for babies and children because they don't understand them and they can't do anything about them. If they happen to have ear infection etc, it can cause them physical damage too. But I also see that some people want to take the babies to see their elderly parents while they are alive etc, so it's really a difficult one.