Taking kid in First Class?
 

Going to NYC in CW with my (by then) 13 year old son, near Christmas for just 2 nights.
Booked CW cash & now there LOADS First Class availability to potentially upgrade.
However, my wife says NO.
She feels its too spoiled & will make him not appreciate it for later in life, eg big 18th or 21st trip.
I disagree.
Who's right .......
heehee.

For so many reasons he may not get the chance again. However only you know how spoiled it will make him feel. I say you should do it as a special family treat for Christmas.

Your wife is clearly right - that's just a given. But I would still do it. My 13 y-o has been in F 5 times already - however he's quite happy with any class as long as he gets to his destination. It doesn't appear to have spoiled him.

Personally, if I were you and you have the Avios just go for it but only First out and staying put in CW coming back which a relatively 'short' long haul flight. My own view is life is too short so look at it as a special treat perhaps?

AIUI there's no difference in cash, as in any extra taxes to pay, to UuA and going to the east coast USA is not a lot to spend Avios wise for the three of you and will give you access to the CCR etc. Quite a few years ago now but I have taken my Son in F a few times using UuA but it was worth every moment and I have very fond memories of those trips.

However as always YMMV and you'll get a range of opinions of FT :)

My philosophy in life is the Nike slogan, 'Just do It'.

We don't apply the same logic to the clothes we buy for our children, the cars we drive them around in, restaurants we eat at or the house we buy. Why should flying be any different?

Sod that! Live life as it comes, I've taken my 9yo in F. If I've got a chance to fly in F, then I'm not going to miss out on my own enjoyment because she might not think CW is special enough later in life. Anyway, chances are that she'll be flying Y when she travels by herself and that'll teach her!

LF

Spoiling, IMO, is to pay for the kids to travel in F or even J on their own. Family trips are another different matter. :)

It's only me & him.

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.

If sending children flying on their own, then economy is fair enough. Deliberately travelling separate classes as a family is ridiculous.

Take a step back and look at the big picture. Your son is already "spoiled" compared to the general population which certainly doesn't get to hop on a jet and go to New York for the weekend as a matter of course. Has this sort of priviledged life made him unbearable? Is he rude to others or feel superior to them in any way? If not, you have successfully kept from spoiling him so far and I don't think which class of service you ride in will make a difference.

So now we are down to the real issue, do you want to be at odds with your wife over this matter?

I used to live in New York in the eighties, flying a lot with Pan Am. My eldest son (aka Cost Centre number 1) was used to travelling in F on miles, now he is 40 and travels FR without any problems. Travel in First Class with your son!

Do it. As others have said, if he's spoiled he's spoiled already. If he's not, one flight won't do it.

DS, now 34, flew in Business Class when he was young because my husband racked up a lot of FF miles. Later, when he and I flew to Myrtle Beach to visit my parents, he asked why were weren't flying in Business. I explained to him that the extra cost of Business Class (about $1,000 at the time for the 2 of us) was about what we'd spent the month before to fly to Montreal on PeopleExpress (yeah, it was a while ago), stay in a nice hotel and do some sightseeing. He "got it". If he'd had a problem with it I would have just told him that he could choose whatever class he wanted when he was buying his own tickets but this was the choice I made.

For the record: he's extremely frugal as an adult and I think he'd choose the "DHL box with air holes" option rather than pay for Business Class.

Take him. If it "spoils" him, then next time reserve him a last row middle seat in coach.

I dont quite understand why this decision is based on your kid - you are not sending him alone right?
Where do you and wife want to sit? If you want to be in F - book F, in CW - book CW. Kid is more intetested in making sure ipad is charged, working and full of games/videos/music/whatever.

Go for it, and explain that "This is what business class is like on a proper airline."

OP, Please listen to your wife and others here. CW by itself is a tremendous treat....for a 13 year old or one who has never traveled upfront.
I had the luxury of giving brand new cars to my kids but they were given used ( second hand ) cars. Later they understood that itwas not a birth right and that one must learn to do less should the need arise later in their lives. Today they outspend me and times I yell at them for getting us in a suite on a cruise as overkill !
Besides the kid cannot enjoy the booze or some of the food treats in F .
On the plane in CW tell him he will go in F upon graduating from college with a proper degree. Give him something to work for.

Took my 14 year old from LAX=PHL-MAN over Christmas (EPL trip)...surprised him with business class...he was thrilled. (used 110K points)

Took coach back from CDG...first time on a 787 and really liked it. We were both fine, though my back hurt the next day from either the 10 hour flight or the really bumpy ride from DFW-LAX on a ratty old 321.

I still remember flying back in first when I was 15 or so on Pan Am from FRA-JFK over 40 years ago...