This is my FT first post ever!

I am contemplating purchasing a ticket from the US to DEL on 9W in J. I will travel along with my wife and 2 YO son (but I don't want to start a conversation as to whether kids should be in J! ). My question is this: a 2YO cannot be partitioned away from his mom and dad without causing big problems. Since 9W has a herringbone configuration in J, is there any way to maintain contact with the kid? Or would it just be a really bad idea to travel on 9W, and I should pick an airline that has a side-by-side configuration?

Thanks,
Chris

Can't really help you in regards to 9W, but that is precisely the reason my wife and I fly on BA instead of VS with our daughter in J.

Maybe some children can handle it, but we know it would be easier on our daughter and ourselves if we skip the herringbone configuration flights till she is a few years older.

Oh, and ignore all the grumbling about kids in premium cabins. I'm sure any FTer (or anybody who is aware that children in J and F maybe an issue with some) aren't the type of parents to let their kids run rampant in planes.

2 years old just about qualifies as an infant, right? So the kid wouldnt be sold a separate seat, would have to travel on a parent's lap.

After the second birthday, you need to buy a seat. Airlines ask for the child's birthday at booking time and won't allow in-lap travel if he's 2 or older. You can lie at booking time, but on an international flight where they'll be checking passports it seems like a bit of a risk.

I would not really recommend the herringbone layout for really small kids. The config is based on individuals and not really appropriate for couples, families, mums with kids etc etc

Even travelling with my wife, i would hesistate to use herringbone layout.

Firstly, welcome cjermain !

Per my last information, 9W has in all likelihood, stopped the herringbone config on all flights except BOM-LHR-BOM and maybe DEL-LHR-DEL. So the config should not be an issue - suggest you check with Jet locally.

In any case, 9W flies a lot of kids (with parents, of course!), and your kid seems to be at the cusp of "infant" and "child", going by 9W's terminologies. The FA's will definitely not mind the child sitting on a parent's lap. I've done this myself a couple of times, when my son was a little over 2.

Seconded - my daughter is almost 3 and is not old enough to be in a herringbone config. Apart from the fact that you can't closely supervise them, she needs to hold someone's hand during takeoff and landing, which must be fairly difficult unless the layout is a conventional one. And on flights that long you'd really want to buy a seat for the kids anyway - having a lap child is not practical on really long flights. 2 hours BOM-DEL, yes, but not 9 hours BOM-LHR...

[QUOTE=aniruddh77;12221385]Per my last information, 9W has in all likelihood, stopped the herringbone config on all flights except BOM-LHR-BOM and maybe DEL-LHR-DEL.QUOTE]

Dont the A333's have the herringbone configurations as well? And aren't they used on the US-India sectors? Sorry if I'm mistaken, but that's what I remembered last.

Herringbone C is terrible (if not impossible) to fly with kids

Yes, my kids *hate* it - they first enjoy the flat bed, popcorn, AVOD, but then they are not too secure when they can't see the rest of the family...

Then LH gets the vote, unfortunately - and they are very happy with that.

All the 77w's and most of the A332's have herringbone - except for some HKG sectors and maybe these a/c have been shifted to the Gulf routes - no idea - they *do* have some forward-facing A330's.

Yep, agreed.

Yes, lallyr brought this to my attention - the center section of Club seats looks very nice for parents + 2 kids...

My wife and I flew with our then 9 month old twins as lap children to India on 9W in Dec 2008 and returned Feb 2009 (them not me - I nested a trip so I could keep my job!!!).
We flew out first class from EWR all the way to BOM. This was the last flight before they leased out the 777 to some other airline. Since we were the only ones in First class they made four beds and went out of their way to help us take care of the kids etc all the way to BOM via BRU.
On the flight back we were in J class on the AIrbus (herringbone). Flight was not comfortable at all as kids were squirmy.
I agree that herringbone is probably OK for a night flight if the kid is a good sleeper. But for a day trip you may want the BA layout.
From a service perspective (especially if the kid throws a tantrum or you need some assistance including on the ground) I feel from experience that 9W is by far the best airline in terms of the crew not having an attitude.
FWIW and I hope I don't get too flamed for this.

have to agree with most...having flown cross the atlantic at least 4-5 times with my now almost 3yr old..herringbone would be horrible....lots of logistics involved when the kid changes there mind mid take off or landing they want to be in mom/dad's lap...and as most of us parents know..most kids these days get what they want no matter how loud they have to yell
as this is a great forum regarding mileage discussions...i would Stongly encourage use to use some on F txts if you have any..or upgrade...
If your purchasing J-- best bet would be the traditional side by side seats hands down.