RogerD408

Yes, separating your child is not a wise idea. Some airlines are not willing to allow a child to be too far away from the parent (your instinct will be to get the child in the event of a mishap and getting to them would be problematic). You don't mention if you have any status. I would suggest, if you can't get all three up front to begin with, book your wife and child in business from the get go. If you are not able to upgrade yourself before the flight there is a "VERY" slight chance of a field upgrade and if you have status and are next in line, it could go to you (DO NOT count on this).

Some airlines frown upon visits between cabins. The best to hope for is them coming back to visit with you. I suggest you all board at the same time and if you can, introduce yourselves to the Business FA and let them know you will be back in Y if needed at anytime. Some FAs will allow a one-time swap if you want to switch with your wife.

azepine00

Iirc you can rebook in higher class without paying change fees so i would just book 2 bus and one coach and quickly gather more miles to rebook the last seat in business or first if it opens up. If not, you can switch adults midflight to take a break...

VickiSoCal

The youngest our kids have flown in separate cabins was 7, but it was a very well-travelled 7 and 10 year old sitting together on a domestic flight with us in the very last row of FC and them in the first row of coach. We needed up never having to go back and forth or talk to them at all. Since then we have flown many times in various configurations based on who got upgraded and who didn't and been told on FT that none of it is allowed but noone at AA from the EXP desk, to the gate agents to the flight attendants have had a problem with it.
That said I would NOT put a 7 year old in the back alone, regardless of policy.

dw

Ultimately, this may all be moot. What are the chances of snagging three business class North America-Hong Kong award seats on the same flight on CX these days anyway?

Hengilas

What exactly do you think will happen? The child will go missing?

dickinson

Are you serious or just being argumentative?

Dave Noble

I think he is just being sane

There are good reasons not to leave a 7 year old alone in economy for a long flight while sat up in business class, but not the insinuation about other passengers

VickiSoCal

I think he will be hungry/thirsty/have some other need and not want to bug strange adults. It depends on the kid but I can imagine all sorts of social or environmental scenarios that a 7 year old might encounter and not know how to deal with.

upinsmoke

As a father, I wouldn't want to be away from a 7 year old. What if there's a depressurization? You can't get up from your seat to go check on him. Sure a stranger will help them put their mask on, but you really want your 7 year old to go through such an event without a parent next to them?

arlflyer

When people make statements like this, it sort of makes me wish my father was in the room to start spinning some yarn about how he was plowing fields with teams of draft horses when he was 7...

All kidding aside, I see it both ways. But there are definitely 7 year olds who would be fine alone in coach TPAC. A coach seat to a 7 year old is like an F suite, proportionally, to an adult (I remember it!), and...oooh! An IFE screen!!! A lot of 7 year olds these days would have to be dragged away from anything electronic, even after 15 hours!

azepine00

People sent kids away to school every day - what if an earthquake hits or a tree falls on the building? What about unattended minors traveling by plane?
I dont see a bid deal with a seven yo sitting alone as long as he is comfortable/familiar with the environment and knows the rules. He ll get his ipad and play games for 12 hr straight.

Box5

When I was 9 years old, I flew overseas alone (had adults at departure and arrival). In flight, I was offered to stay overnight in the hotel room of the passenger next to me. I declined, not wanting to be raped or molested. I didn't know those terms but knew bad things could conceivably happen.

Dave Noble

I would tend to agree, there are 7 year olds that could be left unattended for a 12 hour flight - the main issue in this thread isn't the being separated (imo) , it's that the OP is actually trying to book economy but have the child be in the business cabin

If the OP is happy that the child can be left unattended in the economy cabin, then fine to book it. Depending on the route and crew, a parent in the business cabin may be able to look in on the child from time to time

JDiver

There's too much argument in some posts. Let's try to keep the argument and finger pointing down; that's not what FlyerTalk is about.

Thank you,

JDiver, Senior Moderator

In the possibly unlikely event two C and one Y seats become suddenly available for this summer, the OP needs to contact Cathay Pacific to determine the airline's requirements for a seven year old child; if the child is allowed to be seated in Economy whilst the parents are in Business, that can occur.

If it is not allowed, the family could possibly experience delays or difficulties at check-in - CX will allow one parent to fly in Economy and the other parent and child to be seated in Business class, but I have no idea if CX desk staff is sufficiently assistive and flexible they can do this.

Many good suggestions have been made - using AA and MCE seats for all, trying for seats ex-YVR, etc. Better because the OP doesn't claim to have found any inventory at all on the preferred routing. But seats began becoming available 330 days prior to travel, so it's an uphill battle unless the OP is willing to be very flexible and hope seats are released a few days prior to desired departure.

MSPeconomist

NO, NO, and NO. Your kid cannot be in business class when he/she has a coach ticket, regardless of how small he/she is for age 7. He absolutely cannot share your wife's seat. Nor will he/she (or you) be upgraded into business class on CX from a coach award ticket. CX is likely to be particularly strict about even having business class passengers go back to coach periodically to check on other family members. Coach passengers cannot visit business class during the flight, and again CX is likely to be very strict about this.