barnstaple

Am I correct in reaching the conclusion that there is no bassinet option in business on any aa aircraft?

Kate2015

Definitely not on the 772, can't speak to the rest.

MilesMath

Thanks everyone for the input. To clarify, my wife will be with me so we can share duties, but it sounds like I need to suck it up and use extra miles to book a third seat for my son for everyone's comfort.

fredandgingermad

Advisable, I just hope for both your sakes that he's happy to stay in the seat!

Redhead

I've never seen the ability for one in biz on AA but an 18 month old will be too big for a bassinet in any class

seadan

We're looking to take one last trip over to Europe before our daughter turns 2, so we can keep her as a lap child on the overwater flight.

What would you recommend as the best business (and even first) class options for a couple with one lap child? Specifically, I'm wondering if any seats are particularly wider or have more space around them that would make the trip a little more comfortable (e.g. something like Singapore's super-wide business class seat would allow her to sit next to us instead of on us).

If it matters, we're looking to use miles for the flights, and we have them on a few different airlines/alliances/credit cards (UA, AA, AS, and Citi TYP) which opens up a fair number of options.

icedancer

Don't forget -- taking a lap child in business/first usually requires payment of 10% of the full fare for that class, which could be a couple thousand $.

I'm going to admit, I don't quite get the benefit of what you're doing...if you're absolutely flush with miles, why not just get 3 "normal" business class seats on whatever route is most convenient, rather than getting two super-special ones, dealing with the discomfort of a lap child, and paying the fee? There's few things I can think of that would be less enjoyable than having a nearly-2yo (of the size and temperament that I breed them ) either on top of me or even in my personal space to the degree that the super-wide seats would likely require for the duration of a trans-atlantic flight.

seadan

Yes, I'm aware of this; it's definitely a consideration but assuming the cost is manageable we're OK with it. (We took her as a lap child in Lufthansa First Class last year, and that wasn't too bad cost-wise, but I guess it's all relative for folks.)

It's partially due to having a hard time finding 2 business seats available for routes/dates we want, let alone 3. And then there's the matter of actually having enough miles available for 3 tickets -- with recent devaluations it's a lot more expensive!

FindAWay

How big is the child? Too big for a bassinet or carrycot or child seat?

BA Child Seat:

azepine00

SQ is the only extra wide one (tried sq, aa, ua, os, lh, su, ib to europe in recent years)
The rest are similar - pick those with seats side by side and not herringbone if two parents are traveling. Get lie flat horizontal seats - your kid can sleep on one side while you can sit and watch tv on the other then switch with your spouse Cant do this on sloping seats.

MSPeconomist

Some FC cabins have buddy seats (with seat belts) where a toddler could easily sit, although the buddy dining option wouldn't make it easy to help the child as the table would be in the way.

seadan

She's 23lbs; probably too big for most bassinets, but not sure about the BA baby cot. Though I am trying to avoid BA due to the fuel surcharges

Thanks, good tip! I was definitely looking for fully flat options, and I'll keep the herringbone layout in mind. If two parents are opposite aisle in a herringbone configuration, does that still allow some ability to communicate?

Yeah, I recall NZ has a little seat like that -- any specific carriers (that fly US -> EU) come to mind?

jjakobv84

Air Berlin could be an option -- especially if you've got avios. They do have bassinets in business class, although I suspect your kiddo is too large. If you book with avios there's no fuel surcharge AND no 10% cash payment for kiddo -- just 10% extra avios. Their "love" seat configuration means you can have the kid sleep between you... if none of you are too big. It'll be a little tight for sure, but could be an option...

opus2002

If you're traveling from the east coast to the west coast and back for two adults, a 4 yr old, and a 1/2 year old (or 5 yr old and 1.5 yr old next year), what would you pick?

- Three domestic first class seats (2-2, 38 inch pitch, 21 inch wide)
- Four economy class seats (3-3, 32 inch pitch, 18 inch wide)

I will cost about the same amount of miles. No economy plus available.

seadan

This is a tough one, but to be honest I'd probably go for the 4 economy seats in this case. When our daughter was 6mo old, it was much easier to have her strapped in to her car seat for the flight, as she was more likely to sleep that way, and we were more comfortable. I'd take the 3 across, put the car seat in the window, the 4yo in the middle, and one adult on the aisle (and the other across the way). Despite the pitch, if you put the armrests up it will probably be pretty spacious width-wise, and I think everyone will be more comfortable.

(Ironic answer, I know, considering my prior posts in this thread about taking ours as a lap baby in intl business -- but aside from that trip we've always bought our daughter a seat and having that space has made things a lot easier.)