Babies in First Lounges
 

My friend and I met up with friends at Gatwick the other day. Two of them plus their baby were in Galleries Club and we decided to move across to the First lounge.

As we moved across I asked the podium agent if it would be ok to guest them in, and he pulled a bit of a face and eventually said that the First lounge was "a quieter lounge" and that with the baby the Club lounge might be more suitable, but that "it's up to you". I'm not sure there's any way to avoid that being awkward, but he wasn't cool about it at all.

My friend holding the baby was clearly very uncomfortable. We went into F Lounge and the child didn't make a sound.

I thought it was unprofessional. These parents would have taken their child out of ANY lounge if she was making a disturbance. But regardless I'm not sure a Gold card or F seat means you have a greater claim on a public space than a Silver cardholder in J.

But really I'm wondering if the agent was enacting some unwritten BA policy here? In which case seems to me they should just change the rules. Or whether he was acting unilaterally? Thoughts welcome.

Thanks

BA and families with young kids and babies is a bit like oil and water, they don’t mix.

In in my experience BA are not family friendly and the sight of my kids in premium cabins over the years and in the Concorde room had caused a variety of responses. From the downright hostile to the much rarer welcome. In 15 years of flying with my kids I have never felt comfortable and only Cathay and Qantas dealt with kids superbly. I flew F SIN to HKG on CX and forgot I had small children! Qantas were also exceptional but BA have been mediocre at best.

it my view it stems from their rather outdated internal policy of banning all kids of staff from F till they are 12. This includes the CEO and chairman. It’s a Dickensian approach but I have no doubt it influences heavily the thinking of staff at all levels.

for me it’s public transport and if you pay to be in a premium cabin, have status, or are following the rules then babes in arms and kids of all ages are welcome.

This can’t be correct? A 777 Captain I know, his wife and baby (now toddler) have flown in the F cabin on many occasions

We’ve flown BA mainly in recent times because of transferring in from bmi and having a pile of miles to burn. On the whole, BA have been OK with the kids.

That said, when they were younger and we flew TG (and even LH) a lot, that is the experience that always stays with me. The FA’s and the lounge staff were always utterly brilliant. There’s a definite difference with the Asian airlines (and to a certain extent even Lufty were wonderful in their own way) Maybe it’s the British “reserve”. I don’t know.

Hahahahahahahahaha

You assume pilots always sit in their assigned seats!!

If they were flying on commercial tickets, they have the same rules as everyone. But staff tickets do automatically prohibit access to F for anyone under 12. And yes that means everyone.

I agree totally. We're in the 21st century, the world continues to shrink, people become more mobile, and that includes families with babies and children. It frustrates me immensely when I read of incidents such as this. I would agree with the OP that it was handled in a very unprofessional manner. There was no need for any negative comment about the presence of the baby whatsoever. I would go so far as to say that I have seen more childish behaviour from adults than babies when it comes to lounges :)

Surely providing the infant with a double scotch will ensure quiet behaviour.

Never had an issue flying with our baby this summer on 8 BA flights. CC were great with her including in F. No issue in the lounges either including CCR. This included asking for some fruit for her and receiving a forest of berries!

The experiences reported above are, fortunately, nothing like our own.

Never had a bad experience as a result of travelling in F/J with a baby / toddler.

Helpful onboard and they carry baby food, help with bottles etc.

Passengers also pretty good, particularly at the end of a flight when we get congratulated for our offspring's behaviour. This is often done with a sense of suprise or reminiscing about being in a similar position.

My daughter is five and has flown 600,000 miles on BA, with vast majority of long haul flights in F. She is one third of the way to Lifetime Gold (which you accrue from when you start paying child fare at two).

We have never had a problem with BA staff, especially in F and the CCR. Quite the opposite, sometimes the treatment has nearly been too much - Captain coming out of cockpit to visit her on several flights, F check-in staff at T5 asking her behind desk to assist with check-in, etc. They are so welcoming.

Now other passengers in F, that is another story. Although the complainers and glarers are still rare - LHR - JFK route is where we have had most problems.

I recently was going through First Wing security at LHR being perused by a screaming baby . I know its wrong but I had a bit of heart sink
I nipped straight across to CCR and heard no more!
I know all are welcome ; just a natural selfish response
Still hate the ‘its only public transport’ argument though

Technically, if you are eligible to enter any lounge your entitlement includes an infant. If you are there because of status or flying F you are also allowed one (or if ggl two) guest(s). Whether the guests also include ‘add on’ infants might not however be similarly formalised and might have made lounge agent hesitate.

Thank you, that's an interesting point, I hadn't considered that. That's not what the agent was communicating on this occasion - but worth clarifying.

Could not disagree more. Just flew with our nine week old (then) to/from the US (out to JFK, back from LAX). Gate staff could not have been more helpful seeking us out for pre-boarding (especially given that we had SSSS out of LHR). Both times, we ended up being the first non-wheelchair passengers on the plane. Baby was also welcomed graciously into the CCR.

Crew was super-accommodating in both directions despite a drunk passenger on the LAX-LHR leg who shouted at the top of her lungs for baby to "just shut up" during his single fussy period as drinks were being served ex-LAX.

All of that say, I fully agree that staff children under 12 should not be allowed in F. Maybe 12 is a little old for the cutoff but certainly not kids under the age when they can be fully controlled (this of course differs. Maybe starting at 3-4 and up depending on the child/parents).

I know that this rule also exists at Qatar Airways. However, at QR under 12s are not allowed in both business and first. Also, you cannot put your 11 year old in economy while you are in business, you have to travel in the same cabin as they do.