ysb41

Amex 241 voucher hit my account this morning, booked LHR - PVG for two + infant @ 176000 miles + £708.40, thought it is a real deal. this is my first redemption on BA, actually my first ever Redemption on air tickets, plz be kind to my questions, some might be silly !

1). do i need to contact BA to request a bassinet, or they will provide one automatically?

2). many suggest to choose 747 over 777 for CW, but all BA flights to china seems are 777, whats the bad about 777? not familiar with plane types.

3). whats the best seats on 777 for traveling with baby? how can we get those seats?

4). the flight arrive at PVG early morning 7:59am, is there BA arrival lounge in PVG that we can use? or any Priority Pass lounge for arrivals - wife and i both hv the PP card from the Amex Plat.

any other suggestions for traveling with baby will be much appreciated!!

thx

ysb41

trvllvr123

You'll be able to book your seats from now if you have an infant on your booking - so go for the ones at the back of CW (EF position which have the bassinet).
You just need to say to the crew when you get on that you need a bassinet for your little one.

When we travelled they did loads to help, heating bottles etc. and we used the club kitchen for extra snacks such as bananas!

I'd recommend taking cartons of milk with you - as this is a lot easier than faffing with powder etc on the plane.

potfish

There is no BA arrivals lounge. Don't know about Priority Pass.

Regarding the plane types, I believe the 747s were upgraded to the current CW format before 777s, but every time I've been on this route the config looked the same as a 747 to me (as I walked straight through and out to Economy...). Apart from no quiet cabin upstairs, of course.

gaz68

My worst nightmare - a baby in CW or FIRST

BA or bust

Oh oh... please let's not turn this into a long ranting tread on babies in F or J, with respect... the subject has been covered ad infinitum.

IIRC we ended in a truce.

GLA

Well, if that's your worst nightmare you really should get out more .


To the OP, 3 pieces of advice:

1. Ignore ignorant comments such as the one above.

2. Don't worry about all the comments on 747 vs 777. If you are not over familiar with premium cabins, the 777 CW cabin will be great. (I've never got the whole flying dormitory thing!) Travelling with little ones I would avoid the upper deck anyway, even if it was an option. Definitely go for the EF seats in the last row of CW.

3. (And most importantly!) Enjoy!!! ^

gaz68

If you percieve my comments as ignorant then that's your opinion, but please only state fact, & that is not fact actually - as I said it's "opinion".

Also when I have paid obscene amounts of money to travel in CW & FIRST, I expect a haven of calm, not feeding time at the zoo. Perhaps it doesn't bother you in WT, but then there just is no comparison.

GLA

Thankfully, since the kids came along, we have not had the pleasure of travelling in WT. CW every time, often with other well-behaved kids in the same cabin.

Perhaps you should invest your obscene amounts of money in travelling on private jets. Otherwise, whichever cabin you are in, it's public transport...

sunrisegirl

Please guys - can you be a little more understanding of those who don't like to see babies in CW or F. Those who feel that way have just as much right to express their feelings as you do to express the opposite view. There's no need for sarcasm and rudeness.

To the OP the comments made by trllvr123 are good ones to guide you.

GLA

Well, in the context of a genuine enquiry about a valid booking for a family travelling together, I think you will find the rudeness kicked in at reply 3! I am sure that gaz68 would never dream of doing so, but fellow travellers not uncommonly let such views be known publically in the cabin when they realise that their worst nightmares are being visited upon them!

Again, to get back on topic, do have a great trip, OP!

gaz68

Thank you Sunrisegirl. All I said that it was my worst nightmare - just my opinion. I don't think that is in any way sarcastic or rude as you quite rightly pointed out.

House

PVG was my home airport until last month, so all too familiar with the place. PVG Terminal 2, where you'l arrive, is fairly painless. There are luggage trolleys available airside for hand luggage, so worth asking ground staff to get one of these for you you if you have lots of stuff. Immigration will usually take no more than 10-15 minutes and baggage delivery is prompt.

There are no landside lounges of any kind at PVG, including Priority Pass lounges (there are PP lounges in the departure gate area, which you can't access on arrival). There is a mediocre airport hotel joined onto the terminal, but to be honest what you need to do is arrange a transfer into town and have a driver waiting for you. A people carrier or VW Passat (the usual options at reasonable prices) are a lot more comfortable with a baby in tow than a taxi will be - the journey into town takes 45 minutes or so, maybe slightly longer in the rush hour.

Your hotel can set this up but will probably charge a huge premium. There are car companies with websites who can do the job cheaper. I use Dazhong Taxi's limo service most of the time - RMB180 into town, compared to RMB130-140 for a standard taxi. Hotels will want to send you a Mercedes and charge RMB600 in many cases.

Hope this is of some help. One thing to add is that Chinese people generally melt in the presence of young children and you'll often find people in restaurants etc going out of their way to make sure you're OK.

itsmeitisss

(Tongue slightly in cheek) Unlike some posters on here!

If you have the money or the miles, why should you not book CW or F as a parent? Some sort of infectious disease? All the better to get children used to flying asap to get them used to flying. They are less likely to misbehave then. I'd rather have a few tears than kids sprinting around the plane any day. I think people should have a lot more patience.

Back on topic, I hope that OP gets a good flight. I was going to be going on CW to PVG to connect to Seoul as CX sold out on dates. My client insisted on putting me on EK in First as it is about half the cost of the CW combination. Can't really argue with that and I will get to experience two A380s at the same time. Will have to do a comparison with BA F which I didi in January to and from SFO

ysb41

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions, much appreciated!!!!

We are young parents, this is gonna be our first flight with our baby, have no any experience, so do have concerns/worries that if our baby will not settle, keep crying, also realize that some people get upset by the noise, we will try our best to minimize the noise, hope the little one likes flying, and sleep through.

Thanks again!

ysb41

trvllvr123

If you don't have any turbulence I'd recommend taking the little one for a stroll round the plane, or to the windows near the galley area. Our daughter cried for the first couple of hours (arghh....) but once she got settled and stole her Daddy's seat she was fine!!!

If you take new toys for your little one, the excitement of those are a great distraction.

Also don't worry too much as your baby will pick up on your tension (most people have headphones on anyway!!!)!