First emirates with infant
 

First flight! and post!

Just booked a flight from Dubai to Chicago with my wife and 9 month old daughter and they reserved a bassinet seat. I'm contemplating using this seat, vs taking the 2 seats in the back and having the 9 month old on our lap. There is a 85% chance she will hate the bassinet. Any opinions on the room etc with a 2 seat setup vs being up front in the bulkhead area? I will be next to a bathroom as well.

Seat 23F/23G

On the 77W all F seats are quite far from the lavs (these are right up the front next to the cockpit door). The bassinet sits on the middle wall, not up front AFAIK.

There aren't bad F seats on the 77W.

And that's some serious lurking ;)

They said the seats I have, Seat 23F/23G, has lavs on both sides, and then a wall on the right handside, no seats after the walkway.

Sorry, I misread your post and thought you were going in first class.

Am sure others will fill in as I don't know.

On the 77W I prefer the rear 2-4-2 configuration as the aisle is a bit wider there and there is easy access to rear lavatories without them being in your face (as well as rear galley - it's not a protected area jealously guarded by crew so don't worry about going there for a break/with your daughter to take pics).

However, the bassinet is the bassinet, so you might find that is more comfortable for a 12-hour flight (one of you might get some sleep!)

I've done both seating positions with my wife and daughter at various ages 0-2. I've found the bassinet seat has a little more legroom, which gives you space to spread infant-related paraphernelia (change bag, blankets, mini whisky bottles etc) and makes it a bit easier for swapping seats or stepping out for toilet breaks / nappy changes. We also used the floor space to let our daughter lie/sit/play with toys as a break from the bassinet / lap.

Sounds trivial and it doesn't look like a huge amount of space, but it makes a noticeable difference.

And as you probably know, when your wife and child are happy...

From experience of other airlines (a long long time ago), a bassinet is always better than having kids on your lap or on the floor.
Even if your kid doesn't use it, you can put kid's stuff in it.

No need to tell you that the floor near the lavs will not stay super clean ...

My 2 dirhams.

You should definitely book the bassinet seat. Your daughter may actually like it as she will get some room to spread her arms and feet. Plus it is safer than putting them on seats as they could get hurt. And yes, you get lot of leg room too. Plus chances are that if the flight is not full, you may get the entire row for yourself as airlines typically keep the bassinet row for families.

Alternatively, you can even book the 2 seats from (2-4-2).

last year when my son had 7 months i booked the front seat with bassinet but sadly he was taller and heavier then the requirement.
please check before taking any action

the bassinet size is only 75 x 33 x 22cm and its limited to carry max 11kg

he is 20 months old now and we have another flight to take next week i also booked the front seat near the toilet.

We did a similar return flight OSL-DXB, and I would advise you to get the bassinet seat. If not for the infant, you can use this room for storage / toys / etc, instead of using the leg room (believe me, there will alot of bags, and little leg room). Our son didn´t sleep in the bassinet, by we could place him there and he would play a little (he was around 6months at the time).

The bassinet seats are also close to the bathrooms, which are REALLY handy if someting should happen.

Pro tip: if the infant can´t sleep (because of noise/light), take her for a stroll to the back of the plane, and go into one of the bathrooms there. Close the door, but do not lock the door, as this would make the light turn on. This is how I (finally) got our worn-out son to sleep. And bring a blanket to put over her head when you go back to your seat.