Pinchy

Hi All!

I am trying to plan a visit to California and would like to get peoples opinions on the best routes in and out in order to get the best plane experience. I am trying to decide between premium economy or business (I have a toddler!) and I am not fixed on which airport I fly in and out of, I am planning a roadtrip and will plan my itinary around the best flight options. I am looking for, the newest service, best service and most reasonable price (so it seems San Diego business class is out as it is extortionate compared to other airports!). I would really appreciate your expert opinions. Thanks!

Globaliser

Welcome to FT, Pinchy!It's not clear what you mean by "newest", "best" or "service". It would also help to know when you are thinking of travelling, and for how long.

The ground service and onboard service won't be very different whichever route you choose.

There might be differences between aircraft, but unless you are travelling in the very near future, there is no certainty that an aircraft type shown now will actually be the aircraft type operating on the day that you fly. So picking a route for (say) getting onto a new aircraft type is simply setting you up for possible disappointment later. My advice at present is to ignore the aircraft type when choosing what to book.

dnajockey

Excellent advice. A recent trip to SFO involved a number of changes of equipment prior to the flights - to my advantage homebound with club suites which was my first CS experience - very significant upgrade.

I usually use SFO; I have been through LAX, SEA, SAN, SJC and (when briefly BA) OAK. I think my preference for SFO is based on familiarity more than anything else, plus the ease of getting thE BART into downtown.

Pinchy

Great Advice! Thank you!

Pinchy

Thank you so much! very good and clear advice

dougzz

As you mentioned a road trip you may want to check car hire prices in various places too. They’re showing little sign of falling from some eye watering levels, so that maybe a factor in destination.

BAAMEXPP

With a toddler I would choose Premium Economy as I would be able to sit right next to my child. In Club, I might not be able to sit directly next to them (assuming, of course, that you want to sit next to them).

alex67500

Very good advice here. On the question of class of travel, I would always value a flat bed for an overnight flight but WTP is perfectly acceptable for a day flight if you're not too tall. You can normally mix and match cabins, so that could make the price more palatable.

LondonElite

How old is the toddler? Is this a lap child situation or will it have its own seat?

orbitmic

Welcome to FT! Agree with others aircraft type is the least of your worries, and I think basing trip on flights really is the wrong way round. North and South Cal are very different so just decide where you want to go, or if doing both fly into one and from the other to save yourself some unnecessary drive back.

as for w vs j, they are completely different propositions (more room and recline vs flat bed and some privacy) and of course can be significantly different budget. Your baby won’t care so it’s really more about your comfort/budget arbitration here.

BrianDromey

As posters have said, its probably best not to choose the route based on the aircraft type. For that reason I would choose World Traveller Plus because Club Suite just is not very good for toddlers or children. The nature of the Club Suite is that it is private and insulated from other individuals in the cabin.This is great if you are travelling solo/on business or in an unhappy marriage. It's less ideal if you have a toddler who needs their own seat for takeoff and landing and must be strapped in, you wont be able to see them so well and assist or reassure them at all.

In your scenario the rearward pairs in old Club World in the middle of the 777 or 747 were significantly superior as you were close to the child and in a fairly private/contained area. With schedules being so changeable at the moment this could go either way, with CS being significantly inferior for your needs, despite it being the newer cabin. For that reason I would stick to WT+ until the children are old enough to be content for an hour or so on own/with a book/iPad.

hyperspace

i've travelled several times with toddlers on both classes, and I would not recommend Premium Economy just because you can sit next to your child. The lie flat seat, with its space and better service, will always be a much better option, even when traveling with young kids. Especially the "old" Club World experience, with the twin seats in the middle, they are just ideal for traveling with kids because you can create a private and spacious place for your child, while also be able to sleep much more comfortably than what you'd do in WT+.
Club Suite might be the newest and greatest, but if traveling with kids, you probably wanna wish you have the "old" Club World experience. I've traveled many times LAX-LHR on the A380 and the upstairs CW seat with its gigantic bathrooms nearby are amazing, especially when you have to go in with small kids.

fripperies

With frequent flights to several airports you have multiple options for an open-jaw itinerary and mixed class travel. I can tolerate PE travelling west but would always go for a flat bed on the overnight sector flying east. Factor in that premium fares ex-LAX are usually among the priciest from the west coast and it points to something like LHR-SAN [road trip] SFO-LHR or vice versa. Or LHR-LAX [road trip] SFO-LHR. The point about checking rental prices at different airports is also good.

aprilscot

I guess it depends if the toddler has his/her own seat but regardless, I would never travel WT+ with a toddler as the dividers between the seats make for a rigid barrier and impossible for the child to spread out, cosy-up, or lie down across your knee etc.
If I couldn't go club I'd go WT and buy a seat for the child if possible.

orbitmic

Unless I misunderstand what you mean, I must admit that I am a bit puzzled by the argument. Whilst I agree with you that the WT+ rigid armrest between seats can make it hard for the toddler to do all those things and for you to check/control how/what (s)he is doing, it seems to me that this would be massively worse with the Club Suites where there is really no access across seats at all including in middle seats. Even with the old CW, this would only be better in the middle seats which one is not guaranteed to get unless one has status or pays for seat allocation.

In short, if the "adjoining seat" argument is to be made, it seems to me that only WT offers a solution (as long as one avoids bulkhead (in emergency exits, toddlers would not be allowed anyway).