Where would you want an infant to sit in business (other than outside on the wing)?
 

Aside from whether you think infants should be in business class, where do you think is the best place for an infant--where the infant is least likely to wake up on a transatlantic flight?

I'm on a 767-300ER (76L) (1-2-1 configuration with 9 rows) and will be in the middle section with my traveling companion. I was thinking rows 4 or 5 so that anybody using the lavs at night won't wake up the baby (and FAs talking in the galley at night). Seems like this would keep everyone happiest. I also don't see the point in being in the back of business class, as this would be closer to coach and therefore louder (which is more likely to wake up the baby, defeating the whole purpose). I am not worried about needing to be close to the lavs for my own baby's changing.

What do you all think?

Are you talking about a lap child, and are they even allowed on these seats?

Some flat beds do not allow lap childs.

Yes - lap child. They are allowed on this flight.

Have you checked carefully? AFAIK all of the DL flat beds have airbags in the seat belts, which I understand is a safety issue for an infant.

Well, I discussed the lap infant taxes with two different agents, and then paid the lap infant taxes with a third agent after asking him "are you sure I can have a baby on these flights" (and he said yes), so I'm not really sure what else I can or should do. Are you thinking of carseats, where the baby has his/her own seat that is strapped through the carseat?

I wouldn't really worry about coach waking up the baby - it's not really that much louder, and the white noise of the plane will likely make it irrelevant (plus babies can sleep through an awful lot!). How old is your infant?

The infant can sit wherever you have a ticket for them. I usually sit towards the middle/back of J/F cabin with kids, but you can sit anywhere you want. And yes, infants are allowed in J.

Baby will turn 11 months on the trip, so I guess not an infant anymore at that point.

Yes, I'm seeing that the airbag/seatbelt issue is either an issue for carseats or for other carriers who don't allow lap infants. Delta seems to have no such policy on its website and it hasn't come up with the multiple agents I've spoken to, so I'm not going to worry about it.

DavidAL, thanks--yeah, that's what I'm thinking.

I would honestly say at the back of the cabin - row 9BC. Those seats would have almost no foot traffic since lavs are at the front and a bulkhead behind you and then coach. And people are not allowed to (err supposed to) cross from coach to business. I think the middle of business class would be more of a nuisance with foot traffic, if the baby started crying, etc so I'd say the last row would be the best for baby. The seats are all the same so no real difference except foot traffic and proximity to the lavs/noise of the galley closer to the front.

We flew this with our 18 month old, and took the seats in the middle section of the last row of business. Once the lights are off after meal service it was quite and little/no traffic going by.

For meal service, we just had the FAs put both trays on one passengers table, while the other held our son and ate off the other plate. Worked out pretty well.

Sleeping was tough since the seats are a little narrow (and our son is a big 18 month old). I layed the duvet down on the flat seat and he slept there for a while. I sat up stradeling the seat and watched movies, but found it tough to sleep side by side there.

Why is this a question to be asked ?

If the customer is paying it should be no issues.

If the baby is over 2 years old he should have his / her own seat.

But to answer the question the last row of the BE cabin would be the perfect seats.
Less noise and usually a bit darker.

The overhead bin, or under the seat in front of you.

Okay, so if I pick the last row of the plane, what are the chances DL will change the equipment to a plane with lavs behind business class? This is for a BOS-CDG flight in July 2014. I just don't want to change and then get stuck with bathrooms in the back, which is more likely to wake my child (and in turn the whole cabin) up, and then be unable to change seats. Right now I have a fairly wide open seat selection.

I'm not up on whether the newer planes would have lavs in front vs. back, and what kind of planes DL would be putting on the BOS-CDG route. As stated, it's currently a 767-300ER (76L) with a 1-2-1 configuration, 9 rows total.

I would hope they don't allow lap-infants in an airbag equipped seat. The kid would be sitting on the bag. In the event it went off it would almost certainly catapult the child around the cabin with some rather macabre/fatal outcomes.

Don't be cheap, buy the kid a seat and put them in a CRS approved child seat.