Best Seats For Couple With Baby On 777 in First
Apr 1, 2019, 7:04 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2019
Programs: British Airways
Posts: 50
Best Seats For Couple With Baby On 777 in First
Hello all,
I've booked a reward flight from LHR to EWR in October for my wife and I. We are expecting our first child in June and always wanted to visit New York but never got round to it. The outbound flight is BA0185 which has 17 seats in first. There doesn't appear to be a 3E&F or 5K showing on the seat map (they are not just greyed out). I have selected 5E&F, 5F has a baby symbol next to the seat which I assume means it is a bassinet seat. Row 1 E&F is free. How does it work if you have a baby in a none bassinet seat? Can you just put the baby in its seat in front of your seat, is there room for this is 1st? It's a day flight so no need to recline the seat. I read on here in another thread that the bassinet covers the IFE so if there is room next to the seat then great.
On the return flight it is a 747 (744) day flight, 0755 from JFK and I've selected the upper deck 60A and B (club world). Are these OK with a baby. There does appear to be a bassinet in row 64A but its greyed out.
Any tips/pointers gratefully received.
Tim
I've booked a reward flight from LHR to EWR in October for my wife and I. We are expecting our first child in June and always wanted to visit New York but never got round to it. The outbound flight is BA0185 which has 17 seats in first. There doesn't appear to be a 3E&F or 5K showing on the seat map (they are not just greyed out). I have selected 5E&F, 5F has a baby symbol next to the seat which I assume means it is a bassinet seat. Row 1 E&F is free. How does it work if you have a baby in a none bassinet seat? Can you just put the baby in its seat in front of your seat, is there room for this is 1st? It's a day flight so no need to recline the seat. I read on here in another thread that the bassinet covers the IFE so if there is room next to the seat then great.
On the return flight it is a 747 (744) day flight, 0755 from JFK and I've selected the upper deck 60A and B (club world). Are these OK with a baby. There does appear to be a bassinet in row 64A but its greyed out.
Any tips/pointers gratefully received.
Tim
Apr 1, 2019, 7:20 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2019
Programs: British Airways
Posts: 50
Thanks, from 5e does one have to walk back through the galley to get to 5f or is there space between seats? How high are the dividers? Wondering if you can safely pass a baby across the seats.
Last edited by Tim330; Apr 1, 2019 at 7:21 am Reason: Spelling
Apr 1, 2019, 7:29 am
#4
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: BA - Blue > Bronze > Silver > Bronze > Blue
Posts: 6,812
You can pass the baby across easily enough
I did 3-4 F flights with my eldest and we always took those seats, the advantage of being able to pass stuff to each other easily is beneficial too over one of you being in the k seat, where it would be impossible
I did 3-4 F flights with my eldest and we always took those seats, the advantage of being able to pass stuff to each other easily is beneficial too over one of you being in the k seat, where it would be impossible
Apr 1, 2019, 7:54 am
#6
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: BA - Blue > Bronze > Silver > Bronze > Blue
Posts: 6,812
I’d definitely go for a middle row on the main deck if I were you, esp if you can get a bassinet, it’s one of the main benefits of the CW config and will be much better than a window aisle, even on the upper deck. Although if it needs to be done I’d call BA and see if you can get the Bassinet
Apr 1, 2019, 8:07 am
#7
Join Date: Jun 2003
Programs: BA, IHG, 5C
Posts: 4,413
Just for accuracy, you can't use the bassinet (cot) in F, only the child seat (photo here Bassinets / Child Seats in First / Club) which is in theory for larger infants. It also blocks to IFE as you noted. If you wouldn't use the seat, there's no advantage of the taking 5F.
We raised our 2 on these "nests" - , thoroughly recommended for non-travel reasons, and would squash* them into hand luggage to take on board. There was always somewhere to wedge the nest so it worked really well: e.g. the CE middle seat or at the foot of the F/CW bed.
* we were prepared to squash it into a cabin bag, but kept it in a larger carrier bag until required to do so ... and never got challenged on BA to do so.
We raised our 2 on these "nests" - , thoroughly recommended for non-travel reasons, and would squash* them into hand luggage to take on board. There was always somewhere to wedge the nest so it worked really well: e.g. the CE middle seat or at the foot of the F/CW bed.
* we were prepared to squash it into a cabin bag, but kept it in a larger carrier bag until required to do so ... and never got challenged on BA to do so.
Apr 1, 2019, 2:39 pm
#9
Join Date: Mar 2016
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 681
Go with the bassinet seat so that baby has somewhere to sleep and hope for a spare seat around row 5 so you can relocate there to watch the IFE while baby is sleeping. Also load up an iPad with things to watch.
That sleepyhead thing though is a horrendously dangerous suggestion. Unrestrained baby in severe turbulence becomes a flying missile and likely to injure itself and others. Let’s fly our kids safely people.
That sleepyhead thing though is a horrendously dangerous suggestion. Unrestrained baby in severe turbulence becomes a flying missile and likely to injure itself and others. Let’s fly our kids safely people.
Apr 1, 2019, 2:57 pm
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2019
Programs: British Airways
Posts: 50
Apr 1, 2019, 2:59 pm
#12
Join Date: Jul 2009
Programs: AC*E
Posts: 25
Enjoy -- my first flight with an infant was in First and the extra space (too many bags for baby!) certainty allowed me to not feel guilty about taking a whole row luggage bin!
Apr 1, 2019, 3:45 pm
#13
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: LHR, LGW
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 3,439
I was lucky to fly as a very wee baby and a few my close friends now have their own young ones who have flown being only months old. Start them young I say 
I wasn’t lucky enough to be in F though, albeit F was more akin to WTP back then!
Enjoy the flight
I wasn’t lucky enough to be in F though, albeit F was more akin to WTP back then! Enjoy the flight
Apr 1, 2019, 4:15 pm
#14
Fontaine d'honneur du Flyertalk
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Morbihan, France
Programs: Reine des Muccis de Pucci; Foreign Elitist (according to others)
Posts: 19,179
Talk to your Doctor or a Pediatrician about this. Babies can have problems clearing their ears - and it may be a good idea to ask him or her about Long Distance flying with one so very young. It's not the flight, it is the pressure change during the climb and the descent that could cause this. That said, you should consult a medical expert rather than listen to too much here.
Apr 1, 2019, 11:22 pm
#15
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2018
Programs: BA GGL, UA Premier Gold, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Explorist, Various Rental Car Statuses
Posts: 104
It can but feeding on take off and landing helps a lot. By the time our son turned 4 months he had done LHR-JFK-LAX-LHR and a LHR-PHL round trip. No ear issues. That has continued through to now. He is 20 months and has done six transatlantic round trips many with domestic connections plus two intra Europe trips.