Recommended age to fly in First-class Suites (Ex: Etihad)
 

All - Wife and I have flown four international flights (east coast of the US to western Europe) with our now Two year old (first international flight @ 10 months), including First and Biz. We're looking at the possibility of flying from IAD to Abu Dhabi in Etihad First, which happens to be individual suites. At what age do you think a toddler/kid can handle this? The most important portion is being able to stay in their seat during take off and landing. Aside from takeoff/landing, we can take turns playing/keeping company in the suite. Thoughts/recommendations?

It really depends on the kid. Do you think your child will stay seated during takeoff and landing? That is really all that matters.

Will the child stay seated? Can he see either of you from his seat?

You can give him a new toy just before pushback, to keep him occupied. Is he very verbal and can understand that he has to sit still for a certain length of time? Sure that he wont get out of his seat and try to sit with either of you?? Mine couldn't have. At age 2, mine would have bolted but some kids are much more placid.

I don't know...I think 2yo is too young. We're planning a trip to Europe next year with our 8 and 6 yo and I wouldn't consider those F seats even for them. Firt of all, if we hit turbulance, I want to be close to make sure seat belts are buckled and projectiles are put away. Plus, they both still like to cuddle and be close to us; I don't think they would enjoy being where they couldn't touch us.

the center seats on etihad are very close together. we juts flew them auh-jfk in f. if you sit next to kiddo you will be able to keep control just fine. enjoy - it is a phenomenal product!

Perfect, thanks. I'm just in the planning phase right now. I'm looking for a bit in the future when kiddo will be around 3. I figure by that age, she'll be fine during takeoff/landing and then we can take turns hanging out in her (center) suite in the time between (not counting sleep time).

I would also think you could hold her for take off and landing with a lap belt. Some airlines allowed over 2's as a lap child under certain circumstances in the past (and thus allowed holding) - though this is not common anymore.

Depending on age, put him in a car seat

I am flying EY F (A380 / 77W) from LHR - AUH - SYD. Our little one will be four months old at the time...does anyone know of any issues which may prevent her from being able to fly F? Seems as if all comments apply to babies who are already able to self support / sit, as opposed to bassinet-aged babies...

Yes, I would have a big issue flying in F and seeing a 4 month old in the cabin! ;)

Are you speaking about a lap baby, or buying your baby a seat? It will be expensive either way.

While in general I am a *strong* proponent of buying children their own seats, EY 380 F is no place for a child who is not fully self-managing to fly in their own seat. You will literally be 10s of feet away.

Agreed - we're not in the F bracket but when flying longhaul J I won't go herringbone as I can't see what the younger ones are up to or hold their hand. I would be ok with my 8yo and 6yo in this config but not the 4yo and 3yo. Whilst they would probably be fine, I'm not willing to take the risk - what can you do if they take their seatbelt off midway down the runway or in the first stage of the climb in order to get a better look out the window (as an example)...? You may even struggle even to make eye contact with them from your seat to theirs.

Sorry - time to slum it in J - plenty of time for F later on when they are older, remember this inconvenient stage doesn't last forever! :-)

My little one flew F twice by the age of 4 months. She was a lap child LAX-RDU. No issues. For a flight such as yours, you may want to consider her own seat since that is a long flight to have a lap baby. Also remember, that for intl flights, lap babies aren't free but are ~10% of the fare you pay.

This poster is discussing an F seat for an international flight on EY which is totally different then an F domestic seat. Did you read the posts describing the F configuration?

This is what I have always done when I flew EY F. The centre seats are close enough for one of you to keep an eye on the toddler during take off and landing. It does mean you can't sit together but the window seats are quite far away once the seat belt signs are on you won't be able to stretch out to the toddler.

Also once you are in the air what we have always done is make one of the seats into a bed and let him play on the bed. There is more then enough space for you and a toddler on the bed.

None whatsoever. Enjoy your flight!

You (and other posters) seem to be missing a key part of the question: the (most recent) OP is considering A380 F---i.e., the apartments. The first part of your response is quoting a poster who (like you, I presume) has flown 777/A340 F, which does indeed have side-by-side suites. The latter part of your response is to the A380 question, which, IMHO, is an entirely different scenario.

I strongly suggest one views the following before providing a recommendation to the (recent) OP:

http://www.etihad.com/en-us/experien...rst-apartment/

(Since they've only been flying for a week, I trust none of us have first-hand experience.)

The first OP is flying IAD-AUH which is a A346 or a 789 though? That doesn't have Apartment.

If it is the A380 apartment then I would avoid it as you won't even be able to see your kid but I would guess that its easier and cheaper to pay 10% and take the kid with you on your lap then get him a seat on his own.

Yes, IAD-AUH is supposed to go 789, although it keeps getting pushed back. Hope they take delivery before my flights in July. :D

We're taking the A380 apartments next December and when I called EY for help picking apartments I was old that there are 3 different "sets" of apartments that have a retractable divider. So we were able to snag 2 of those sets so we can actually be a bit closer. My youngest will be over 2 then so needs his own seat anyway, but the agent I spoke with said it's comfortable for 3 kids to hang out in one of the sets with the divider down.

We flew EY F suites on the 777 a few months ago and it worked out pretty well even for my son who was only 18 months at the time. We got him his own suite and he slept sprawled out in it for a good portion of the flight, and it was a beautifully calm flight most of the time so that worked.

We connected in JFK to the AA 321 and I have to say that F product (1 seat on each side of the plane, tall divider) is probably the most challenging for little kids. Thankfully our little guy slept the entire flight curled up with my wife and my two older ones were pretty wiped out and content to watch movies for 6 hours.