Whenever threads like this come up, there are usually 3 standard responses.

1. Fly in F with your child and it will be a wonderfully generous treat.

2. Send your child by DHL and cut some air-holes.

3. A child? On a plane? Are you mad! They might disturb me while I fart, burp, and rudely demand to be looked after because I'm very important.

Personally I follow Option 1, but that's because I enjoy spending money on those I love and care for.

M

My wife shares your wife's view - that's why I'm flying F with one of the children, and she's flying CW with the other for our holiday this summer :-).

I too got the completely innocent comment from my daughter, who must have been about 6 or 7 at the time, about whether it was a night flight (to Rome) and I said no, but asked why - she assumed that on night flights the seats all go flat.....

Being a silly child, I would have loved that option when I was a kid :eek:

When I was about 3, I did ask if I could experience what a parcel would experience, if they put me in a box and posted me to my grandparents...


Mod hat on

Since the main gist of the thread is not exactly BA-specific, I'm sending it to Travel Buzz.
(This thread was originally posted in BA forum)

LTN Phobia
Moderator: BA forum

Go with the two-yes rule.

It [fill in the blank] can be done if there are two yeses. You say yes, wife says no - it's a no. Wife says yes, you say no - it's a no. It only happens if you both say yes.

Put him in economy while you and the wife go First. The same spoiled argument applies to business class. He's already getting taken to New York

Sounds like a horrible idea.
Let me guess.. You aren't married? :)

Go in F. I think your wife’s point is ridiculous. It’s much more about how you discuss experiences with children and explain context than about what you give them. Having nice experiences isn’t what “spoils” a child; what does it is when they have attitudes of entitlement and obliviousness and look down on others. I also think it’s ridiculous when people travel in different classes from their children.

If you go in F, then ensure that at least one hour of the flight is a class on miles and points maximisation. Start them young. Your wife may wish to attend if she's still speaking to you.

Explain to the kid that this is something most people cant afford/wont spend money on, and that your hard work in life has got you there. If they are too immature to understand that then reconsider. If they understand that, then tell the wife that this kind of experience may inspire the kid to work hard enough in life to achieve such experiences themselves.

Last year, with my 14 & 15 year old travelling with my wife and I, we were in premium economy. Upgrades at airport counter were available to CW. We were seriously considering it but the kids talked us out of it since they perceived it to be poor value for a 7hr TATL and came up with examples of other things we could do with $2500

Years ago, I generally flew business/first class and if family was with me, my 3 girls were also booked nearby. I remember the oldest one (around 11 then) saying they wanted coach, so they could sit together. They later said they loved it when the curtain closed because they felt they were on an adventure.

Fly F yourself let the kid savour the J experience.