Adventures that take you across oceans and continents are exciting, memorable and sometimes even life-changing journeys … but if you’re going with kids, long-haul flights are probably not the part you are most looking forward to. In fact, you may be downright dreading them. That’s certainly been true in my case.
Missed bedtimes, cramped seats, unusual airplane food, jet lag and strangers as seatmates are not fun elements of travel for kids — or adults, for that matter. But sometimes, points and miles offer a solution to many of those long-haul flight problems in the form of upgraded seats in business class for the whole family.
Instead of uncomfortably sitting upright for upwards of 12 hours and praying for the landing to come as soon as humanly possible, you could use your miles to book business class and make the most of the flight portion of your trip, enjoying lie-flat seats and better meal options.
Related: 7 business class travel tips and tricks from one first-timer to another
But is it still worth the extra miles or cash to fly business class with your kids? Will they even enjoy it? Will you? Will your cabin neighbors hate you?
Thanks to points and miles, I’ve been lucky enough to fly business class with my kids multiple times. Let’s dive into when you can fly business class with kids, when you should consider it and some pitfalls to watch out for along the way.
Related: Guide to getting your child’s passport
Are kids allowed in business class?
While some airlines have tried to prohibit children in premium cabins (or other defined sections of the airplane), generally speaking, yes, kids of all ages — including infants — are allowed in business class.
However, if you want to use a car seat for your baby or toddler in business class, know that some seat types are not compatible with them. For example, when flying United Airlines, car seats aren’t allowed in United Polaris business class on Boeing 767, 777 or 787 aircraft, so be sure to check your airline’s website for any such restrictions.
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Related: 43 real-world family travel tips that actually work
It can cost more than you think to fly business class with babies
If you want to fly in business class with your under-2-year-old as a “lap infant” (meaning they do not require their own seat), it can cost more than you might think.
When flying domestically within the U.S., a lap infant is free. However, when flying on an international ticket, the cost can often be 10% of the adult fare plus taxes and fees. The actual cash cost of a business-class seat can be $5,000 to $10,000, in some cases, so 10% of that plus taxes and fees can be approaching (or more than) $1,000 just to hold your child in your lap.
Thankfully, you can book strategically via an airline program that doesn’t price lap infant tickets in that way. For example, Air Canada Aeroplan prices international lap infant award tickets at 2,500 Aeroplan points or 25 Canadian dollars ($18). On British Airways, the cost of a lap infant award is 10% of the price of a regular award in Avios rather than 10% of a cash fare.
Alternatively, sometimes child award tickets cost less than adult tickets when using miles, even in business class. For example, when booking with Flying Blue miles, award tickets for children up to age 11 cost 25% fewer miles than adults. This means that when there are 50,000-mile business-class awards for adults, those same seats cost just 37,500 miles each way for kids in that age range.
Related: Flying with a lap infant? Here’s what you need to know
Some business-class seats are better for families than others
Now that we’ve established kids are allowed in business class and that there are some ways it can end up costing more — or less — than you might think, let’s talk about how some business-class seats and cabins are better fits for families with young kids than others.
Assuming your child isn’t yet big enough to want or appreciate an ultra-private suite-style business-class seat, which is a model more and more airlines are moving toward since it’s generally better for adult travelers, some business-class cabins are better designed to keep you close to your seatmate than others.
Qatar Airways Qsuite is a great example of a business-class product that essentially allows you to combine either two or four seats into one section. My dream is to try this out as a family of four one day for the ultimate slumber party in the sky.
Others, like United’s Polaris business class, don’t operate quite that close and cozy, but if you select certain rows (typically the odd-numbered ones in seats D and G), you can be right next to your child in a pair of middle seats.
However, the alternating rows of even middle seats are angled away from each other, which makes it a little harder for your kid to feel like you’re right next to them while they are young if you select those seat options.
Less about the Champagne, more about the chicken nuggets
While you have a much better shot at a comfortable flight if you have more space to work with, if you are flying with a baby or young child in business class, you are probably still going to have your hands quite full. Naturally, this workload lessens as your children get older.
But with young kids, your business-class flight is going to be less about enjoying preflight Champagne, gourmet meals and relaxation than it would be sans kids, especially when they are in those squirmy and harder-to-fly-with toddler phases.
When you read complaints about kids in business class, they are often accompanied by a description of the parents sleeping or doing their own thing with headphones on and not focusing on their young kids, who may be listening to their devices loudly without their headphones on, kicking seats or running amok in the cabin.
So, don’t be that family, whether seated in business class or economy.
Unless you hit the napping or movie binge-watching jackpot, flying in business class with your kids will be more about keeping them comfortable and quiet. That said, I do recommend trading off duties periodically if you are flying with another adult so you can enjoy some of the perks of business class for yourself.
Pro tip: If you want your children to have a kids meal in business class, be sure and request it well in advance, either on the airline’s website or over the phone. Even if you do that, know that sometimes they won’t be available, so don’t board empty-handed with picky eaters.
It’s all about bedtime
The dream when flying business class with kids — and the main reason my family sometimes makes this mileage splurge — is having a better shot at good sleep compared to economy flights.
Not only does sleep make the hours of the flight go by quicker for all involved, but it’s sometimes crucial to the success of the first part of the trip. For example, if flying to Europe overnight from the U.S., the tone of those first few days of the trip with kids will depend on how much sleep they got on the flight over.
When prepping your young kids for a long-haul flight, talk to them about how the seats turn into beds and that they will have a pillow and blanket and will need to go to sleep either as soon as possible or right after the meal — depending on the details of your flight. Basically, set expectations.
That value of sleeping on the flight doesn’t end when the kids outgrow a stroller — it’s super handy in reducing the likelihood of having tired, grumpy teenagers while on big trips, too.
If business class isn’t a viable option for your trip and you want your kids to lie down and get good sleep, consider innovative economy products like the ANA Couchii or Air New Zealand Skycouch.
So, is it worth it to fly business class with kids?
International travel with a family is special, regardless of which cabin you are in. However, if you are flying a long-haul route and have the miles to secure business-class seats for the whole family, I’d say it can absolutely be worth it. And don’t assume it’s out of range for your mileage budget until you have done some research.
There are several ways to book business-class flights to Europe for fewer miles. For example, you can fly Iberia from the East Coast to Spain from 34,000 Avios (or sometimes even less with transfer bonuses). The Air France-KLM Flying Blue program often offers business-class awards from the U.S. to Europe for as low as 50,000 miles each way, too — in addition to providing a 25% discount for kids up to 11 years old. Sometimes, you can also effectively spend fewer miles by transferring points from programs like American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards during periodic transfer bonuses.
While booking business class as a family is mostly about the improved odds of sleep for us, I’d be remiss not to mention that it’s also just a whole lot of fun to spread out with your kids on the plane and really enjoy the journey in a way that hits differently at the front of the plane.
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SUMMER HULL/THE POINTS GUY
While spending thousands of dollars to fly my kids in business class would not be worth it to me, using points or miles to do so absolutely makes sense.
I do it by leveraging big credit card welcome bonuses, strategizing everyday spending on credit cards with good bonus categories and taking advantage of points transfer bonuses when they happen. That makes flying the whole family in business class on a big trip doable for us once every year or two.
At that point, when I am considering using a reasonable number of airline miles, it is definitely worth it to fly business class with my kids, as it means we all get to look forward to the flight, enjoy the journey and hopefully get some sleep in a lie-flat bed at 35,000 feet.
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