Seat selection LH YYZ-FRA 747 with lap infant
 

Hello folks,

Sorry if this question has been asked before, but I searched the forums and couldn't find an answer. Wife and I are traveling from Toronto to Frankfurt next month with our 20 month old. We have 2 business class seats and the plane on the route is a 747-400. Any suggestions or help with seat selection would be greatly appreciated! Currently we have 1A/C on the way there and 10A/C on the way back.
Thank you!

Hi,
I think row 10 is the only bassinet row. There are no bassinets upstairs.
If you need/want a bassinet, that's they way to go. Otherwise row 1 is great with the caveat that the toilets with a diaper changing table are the very back of the business cabin.

Unless your 20-month-old is a lot smaller than other children of the same age, a bassinet probably won't be large enough. Check with the airline regarding specific weight ranges for the bassinet on their 747s.

Also, based on my own personal experience with two little ones (the second is now 18 months) I urge you to consider booking a seat for the child rather than trying to hold him/her for 7+ hours on a transatlantic. Flying with a lap infant worked for us until 10 or 11 months, but holding the child for more than 20 or 30 minutes was just about impossible once they were strong enough to walk. They are much happier and everyone (including parents) will be less exhausted if they have their own seat.

If you do decide to book a third seat, Business class may not be ideal. I can also guarantee that at least one or two fellow biz class passengers will be annoyed to see/hear a toddler in the biz cabin. I have flown with my older child (now 4) several times in international biz class and once in first -- some passengers are nice about it and the crew will be polite, but inevitably there will be one or two who feel entitled to peace and quiet after paying a premium fare. There are other threads on this board in which this very topic is debated.

Of course, three seats in Premium Economy would probably cost less than two biz seats. Not trying to tell you what to do, but hopefully this perspective is helpful.

I don't know of any airline which has a bassinet big enough for a normally sized 20 mother.

As a Flight Attendant, I definitely got more complaints about children in the cabin. It's not just the money but many have paid to be up there specifically for the quieter atmosphere. They often had to go straight into meetings on arrival and needed to work.

Three seats also makes more sense because if you are using a car at your destination, it's smarter to bring your car seat on board. Those with rental car companies are usually dire, especially here in Europe.

Children are definitely quieter and sleep better in their own seats! I took my son from Frankfurt to San Francisco at the same exact age. He slept 20 minutes of the 11 1/2 hour flight. Your child will definitely be up and moving around when he's awake.