Would this be allowed?

so are we not allowed to question a question?
or put our own feelings forward?
Coz if that's so some of the threads on here are going to be very short and uninteresting. A lot has been said about it only being a question, ok, so why ask it if it's not being considered as an option?

I'm not critising any-one I'm just asking a question[:w]

My own thought on the original question is- my children are my children, not the crews, not some-one else sitting next to them.

If this is an ok thing to do by vs rules then ok but if you decide to go this route please consider all of the things that could prove to be troublesome to your-self and your fellow passengers. It isn't just your family that will be onboard.



I had the responsibility of younger siblings at age 13 and although it worked ok for 3-4 hours, 6 hours definitely would have been pushing it.

Let's just give peace a chance!

[Neil]

Healthy debate is great for the site, but when it comes to personal insults and posts taking the thread way OT then it is not good for anyone.

I personally think that the thread is not going to deliver any more worthwhile replies or posts that don't or won't end up becoming personal and won't add anything to the original point.

Wasn't going to pitch into this, but one question does remain. We travel routinely with a 4 yr old, in UC, PE and Y and I would expect it highly likely that at this age, they will continually wanting to see 'Mum & Dad', especially knowing they are on the same plane.
As mentioned before, this does run the high risk of constant 'commuting' between the 2 cabins, and in theory only by yourselves, as it shouldn't be happening the other way round..So are you going to be able to 'stretch-out & relax, and pretend they're not with you' as much as you hope....

A preemptive/ trial trip for needed UM trips in the future, i.e. expat needs etc.. At 13...you go for it.. should be old enough to understand/look after themselves (been there done that), however 4 does seem very young especially (and this is the point I feel seems to be bewildering & overall the crux of this) whilst you're on same aircraft even if little one with sibling?

Should there be an incident etc...can't imagine what position that may leave you in emotionally...

If VS o.k. with it, you go for it, but not surprised at some of the reactions on here...

NH

I am guessing the toddler will end up in UC and everyone else will just have to deal with it, I can't imagine another passenger feeling willing to demand the 4 year old goes back to EC and I imagine the OP might be thinking the same.

There was 11 years between me and my brother, I was told just how grown up I was looking after/changing nappies and babysitting was and how lucky I was that my parents trusted me so much....in all honesty no one asked my opinion and I considered it a complete pain in the ass.

[RichardMannion]

So 3 adults in Upper, and 3 children in Economy?

Mmm, if it were down to me and the adults really are going to lush it up on the luxury side - leave the kids at home and spend the saved Y fares on a better room, or a selection of nice meals whilst out in DXB.

Though I suppose it would depend on the composition of the three adults, as I'd expect the parents to count for two of the adults. Also depends on the capability of the 13-year old, as a lot of responsibility is being put upon their shoulders - I have a 28 year old brother that can barely be trusted with a warm cup of piss, let alone another human; one can't reasonably expect the crew to devote lots of attention to the children as they have all the other passengers in that cabin to tend to.

Actually come to think of it - why not compromise and all fly in PE, or put the kids in Upper and the adults in Economy.

quote:Originally posted by RichardMannion
So 3 adults in Upper, and 3 children in Economy?

Mmm, if it were down to me and the adults really are going to lush it up on the luxury side - leave the kids at home and spend the saved Y fares on a better room, or a selection of nice meals whilst out in DXB.

Though I suppose it would depend on the composition of the three adults, as I'd expect the parents to count for two of the adults. Also depends on the capability of the 13-year old, as a lot of responsibility is being put upon their shoulders - I have a 28 year old brother that can barely be trusted with a warm cup of piss, let alone another human; one can't reasonably expect the crew to devote lots of attention to the children as they have all the other passengers in that cabin to tend to.

Actually come to think of it - why not compromise and all fly in PE, or put the kids in Upper and the adults in Economy.



Nearly **ssed myself reading that lol.

Me too[y]

BTW, when I book flights for 'love-him-as-I-do-but..................', I book him on a different flight - he's yet to notice.

R-P

'"I have a 28 year old brother that can barely be trusted with a warm cup of piss'

Now that was a lighter note to a tense topic.... Very funny Mr Mannion"

Kingcole, you have my sympathy. We regularly have this problem. Cost splitting a family across different cabins.

We solve it by booking my mother on a different flight

We did exactly what the op is asking 2 years ago on a trip to CA. The key difference was our son and his friend were both 16 and they were both heading for A Levels at the time. We told them they needed to get used to travelling within their student income means but they still got to use UC Check In, the Clubhouse at LHR and SFO and their bags came off quickly.

While I suppose this could be looked at along the lines of leaving your kids in someone's care like on a cruise etc. I personally wouldn't want my 4 year old travelling in a different cabin with siblings or not simply because of the potential stress it would cause them and other passengers.

You know what kids are like if they know that mummy's just up there somewhere on the plane. Unless your kids are exceptionally well behaved there's a good chance that either you'll spend a lot of time with them in Y or one or more will want to spend a lot of time with you in UC. So that'll either waste your money and benefits of booking UC or cause other UC passengers a real headache which I think would be unfair if you decided to impose your kids on them without paying for the privilege.


For me the potential compromises you would have to make wouldn't be worth the hassle.

Miopyk[8D]

Hi All.

Just to go back to the original question.

If your youngest child is 4 years old at the time of travel then they MUST travel (in the same cabin) with a person aged 16 years or over.

If your youngest is going to be 5 years old (or over) when you plan to travel then they can sit in economy with their brothers/sisters while you, their parents sit in another cabin. They WILL all ( the kids, not the adults) be classed as unaccompanied minors and the paperwork will need to be completed for each child as normal, stating on the paperwork that the adults taking them and meeting them from the airports are travelling on the same flight, different cabin. They will ALL have to pay for an adult publised ticket as per the normal rules of UM travel.

Thanks xx

[Decker]

Thank you OW - very useful info.

Welcome to the site OW, thanks for the precise answer to the question.

I was just looking through the FAQ on the VS website for something else and noticed the following:

'Q What is considered a family?
A CAA regulations mandate that carriers make every effort possible to seat families together. As in most instances we will not know whether or not you are checking a family in together, we treat any check in group as a family in trying to seat you together.

In the cases of children and or infants travelling, if we are unable to seat at least one adult member of the check in group with the child or infant, we will not be able to check you in online and instead you will be directed to check in at the airport as usual.

To ensure we comply with this CAA regulation, and for other operational reasons, we occasionally have to change your assigned seats at the airport. For this reason, seat numbers can never be guaranteed although we make every effort to honour your request.'



The above 'policy' seems to contradict some earlier responses from CC, however, I guess that if CC are saying it's a fairly regular occurence then there can't really be too much of a problem with it from a VS perspective.

Personally, I have no problem with what the OP is wanting to do. The only thing I would ask is what they would propose to do if their kids (despite being 'seasoned flyers') did start being disruptive to other pax? Would they leave it to the CC to deal with as if they were unaccompanied minors or would they swap seats mid-flight with either a) one of the kids or b) the pax being 'disrupted'?

I'm not suggesting that the kids in question are uncontrollable, but we all know (at the very least because we were all children ourselves) that at times even the normally best behaved can be a little boisterous.

[HighFlyer]

rdm - I believe that is the 'general' policy, not when children are travelling as UMs. If parents are not in the same cabin as their children the children are classed as UMs, otherwise, yes, the airline will try to seatthe family together.

Thanks,
Sarah

One thing that no one appears to have commented on is the fact that the OP wants to take the children into the clubhouse.

Isn't there an age restriction for U/C guests?

I thought only children with tickets were allowed into the club lounge.