Travelling in J with Infant
 

we will be travelling in J class(all of us) with our 18months infant.

just wondering if there are empty seats in business class, can my infant child sleep in that empty seat?

thank you

that's more a question for the flight attendants to answer.. probably depends solely on them. However not sure I would do it anyway as it would be difficult to attach your toddler in the seat, which would be dangerous in case of turbulences.

If the seat is next to the accompanying adult, not being used by anyone and is readily accessible to the accompanying adult, then the cabin crew usually don’t seem to make a fuss about it. But as with bassinet use, if the seatbelt sign goes on, they will — depending on the flag of the carrier — want the child secured to a seat or belt somehow or to someone secured with a belt and want this able to be done without requiring the accompanying to unbuckle herself/himself, without having to move about to get the child, and perhaps without obstructing the aisles in the process.

It is very much airline and route dependent, but I would not count on a spare business class seat being available next to you. Under two years old children are meant to be in the arms of a parent.

I would carefully study the configuration and seats of the particular plane. Some of the angled seats do not allow easy access to or observation of the child and many cannot accommodate infant seats at all. One thing to consider is sitting in the 3 across section of Economy Plus (or whatever it might be called) and buying a seat for the child. That way, two people can share the row and there is guaranteed extra room for the child. Again, be certain the car seat can be accommodated. It is not a one size fits all situation across airlines and planes.

thank you all for the replies,

and yes we will certainly hope the airline will allow our infant to sleep on empty seats, and yes we will carefully study the seats configurations as well

Which airline?

Our toddler has certainly slept / sat on a spare seat in F and J when travelling (British Airways) without any particular associated drama, but the main issue is that during turbulence they may need to return to the parent's lap and that can be a real nuisance if they waken during the transfer!!

Hijacking the thread a little bit ... generally for J bassinets, will 17-18mth olds even fit? First child and first long haul flight, so no idea what to expect.

Google says that (i) "A bassinet measures 76.20cm (30″) x 38.10cm (15″) x 20.32cm (8″) and can carry up to 12kgs." and (ii) "Average height of an 18-month-old is 31.8 inches for girls and 32.4 inches for boys." ... so if the toddler doesn't fit in the bassinet, does it fall to the parents to carry him/her for the entire flight?

Most on-the-wall airline bassinets on my family’s flights haven’t been able to be used for height or weight reasons when my relatives have been 1.5-2 years old. When they don’t work for size or weight reasons, for equipment shortage reasons (ie, the airline forgot to bring enough functioning ones), or seat assignment reasons, then if you don’t have a seat next to you empty when having a lap-child ticket, then you’ll be stuck having to hold the child on your lap most of the time or possibly try to squeeze the child into the J class space for the applicable accompanying adult(s). Some may even do a cabin swap with someone in economy class once they realize that may mean an additional place to have the U2 child seated on board next to you.

The longer the flight, the sooner you may wish to have the extra space for the toddler to have a seat of her/his own. The bassinets generally can’t be used when the seat-belt sign is on. And I have been on flights where the seat-belt sign was on so much — or cycled between on and off soo much — that using the installed bassinet would be a counterproductive hassle or otherwise just useless except as an object storage place for inanimate objects.

No brainer
If you love your kid, but an extra seat and put her in a car seat. Next time you are one a flight, ask a senior FA how often she has seen a baby fly through the air

If the empty seat is next to you then it should be allowed. I've done it in F and J. Pro tip- keep the infant clipped into their lap belt, attached on to the seatbelt. In case of mild turbulence, you can slip in next to them, extend the seatbelt and wrap it around yourself.

It's better to use proper kids traveling accessories instead of carrying kids in arms. kids never left alone on the seat with a belt as in turbulence it may cause any problem.