flying business class with kids on United

M

m2cw2mhk

Registered User
Wondering if anyone can help me with this...
I'm flying alone with my 5 year old and 1.5 year old from HK to San Francisco on United this summer. We are on the waitlist for a business class upgrade. I am wondering if it will really work to have two kids in biz class with the current seat configurations.

The airline representative did say that carseats (which will be a must for my very active 1.5 year old to keep her contained) can only be used on the forward facing business class seats. But she didn't have any other information.

Also, I remember from the last time I flew biz class that there is a bit of a wall between the seats, and am wondering if that would make it hard to take care of the kids. My 5 year old does pretty well on planes, though.

And, I'm trying to remember if there is any part of the plane where there are 4 seats together. Seatguru.com shows that in the business class section on the lower deck, not the upper deck, there is a row of four seats in the center section...wondering if this would be better? If the seat belt sign is on I need to be able to help either kid, you know?

On the other hand, big bonuses of business class include the individual TVs (especially for a daytime flight), extra room to lay down and sleep/play, and the fact that there is a way to plug in electronics (critical for a long flight!) Not to mention the better food and service.

So if you've been in business class on United lately (particularly the HK-SFO flight) please chime in!!!
 
My son is now 2.5 years but we did the SFO-HKG flight on United when he was 21 months old . We were in business and it was totally fine -- actually probably the BEST configuration for int'l business class with a small child -- they did not have those inconvenient "pods" like Cathay and Sing Air. Continental b-class is good as well, but United is actually nicer...you should be completely fine (honestly I have done lots of long flights with my son - Continental, United, Singapore and Cathay --- United was the best) If I were in your shoes, and I will be soon, I would put your 1.5 yr old in the window seat and you sit right next to him in the aisle seat. Then put your 5-yr-old in the other aisle seat, he/she will still be pretty close to you - and as I mentioned they don't have those pods with the walls :)
 
Oops, forgot to mention that I DID bring my carseat on that United SFO-HKG flight and it worked well....again the "pods" are annoying with carseats and they are often banned (Cathay b-class, for example)
 
Thank you soooo much catcurran! We flew business class about 3 years ago on United but it was the old configuration of seats, they were just big seats. Do you have any insight into whether a CARES harness (which requires being able to strap around the back of the seat) would be able to be used in business?

matemate, thanks for the link!
 
sorry, not sure about a CARES harness, I would definitely call the airline and inquire...also if you are going to book a particular flight, you can look up or ask what exact type of plane will be flying -- then google a "floor plan" of the aircraft. I'm a nerd and always do this...can be helpful :) good luck!
 
Yes, I love seatguru, but they do not show what the actual seats look like - I can tell that there are 4 in a row in one cabin of biz class, and I know from googling floor plans that the seats have a bit of a wall between them, but was just looking for someone who had actually been on that plane recently, since it's just hard to tell because you never know what configuration will be in the plane you are going to be on.

the lady I talked to at the airline didn't know too much...I may need to call customer service.

another friend I talked to rec'd against the carseat, because without it you can lay the baby down and they can sleep lying flat...which would be nice! I can always bring it on and then pop it into the overhead compartment or store it out of the way somewhere...I think.

yes, carseats are not allowed now on a lot of Cathay planes. I posted about this but we had an awful experience flying to Sydney where I went to their office and specifically bought a ticket for my infant and they failed to mention I could not bring a carseat on the plane (due to new seatbelts.) Of course when checking in they couldn't tell us "the problem is the new seatbelts don't fit through the slots on the carseat," all they could say was "it's not safe." WTF. AND, the new seatbelts ARE designed to work with a carseat, you just need a special extention, it turns out, so either Cathay didn't order the extentions, or were too lazy to figure it out and help me. Bummer because usually their service is very good. Oh well, we're moving back to the States and won't have the chance to fly Cathay very much in the future.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top