Is it OK for parents to travel in Business Class while teen kids travel in Economy?

[Anonymous]

I don’t get so many of the comments here! I really don’t think this is a moral issue at all, and I also think it is fine for parents to spend more money on themselves than their kids for some things. When we stay in hotels, we often get a basic room for the kids and a slightly better one for us. I haven’t split us up on a plane yet but I absolutely would, and I know my kids wouldn’t care either. I wouldn’t have cared if my parents had done this.

+1000
I really don't get the people who are saying this would be wrong or that the whole family needs to be in this together, etc. We often fly business with our kids (older teens) on long-haul trips, but there have been times on domestic flights that there were only two business class seats available or only two of us were upgraded and so parents sat up front. It would not occur to my kids to care - and frankly, I do think they are lucky that they get to travel and would really have no standing to complain about us sitting in "better" seats. We were upgraded on a three hour flight last week with two of our kids and told them to take the business class seats as a "treat," and they insisted we take them because they just did not care.

[Anonymous]

I am planning to do exactly this - overnight flight with parents in business and teen in coach. Teen is really grateful to be traveling abroad and is fine in coach. Has already done overnight flights where we tried to put the whole family together in economy plus but the airline reseated us and scattered us all over the plane - behaved perfectly. We old folks don’t sleep well sitting up and have back problems that can flare, and we need to function to get us to our hotel and around town safely after the flight. You do you, OP. Like you, I was in my 40s before I ever flew anything but coach.

[Anonymous]

My concern is if something happened- like an emergency. I would never want to be far away from my kids for that reason alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My concern is if something happened- like an emergency. I would never want to be far away from my kids for that reason alone.

Do you go to school with your kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In a few years, both your kids will be old enough and out of the house. You’ll wish you had more time with them. Buy tickets so you’ll all sit near each other. Spend some time with your family.

The kids will stuff earbuds in their ears and play with their phones or laptops the whole way. When not doing that, they will sleep. What kind of quality time is that? Besides, the worst thing for other passengers is chatty neighbors.

When I travel with my husband in business class, we're usually split up. I see him when we board and see him at the end of the flight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The message you'd be giving them is not that they are entitled at an early age, but that you deserve the upgrade but they don't. Do you make them live in a less nice house than you do? Drive in a cheaper car than you drive? Are they going to be staying in a cheap hotel distant from your luxury lodgings?

I agree with those who suggest Premium Economy for all, if that's what you can afford for all of you to travel together as a family.

Er...yes? We live in the same house but DH and I get the biggest bedroom with the ensuite. They get a small bedroom with a hall bathroom. When they get their first car, it would definitely not be as nice as mine! Come on.

I mean sure but it's still really weird to leave your kids in a different class without access to you on a family vacation instead of just like upgrading everyone to a middle ground and sitting together.

Teens are plenty independent but flights can hit turbulence, teens can need things, and you'd be in a section they couldn't reach you in without having to explain to overtaxed flight attendant.

Back in the day, my father started working at 15. People married and had babies at 18.

Teens are not incompetent. They're not 7 years old. They speak English like the flight attendant.

What are you going to do for them if there's turbulence? My fear of turbulence only kicked in when I was in my thirties - before I treated it like some fun rollercoaster.

[Anonymous]

Yes, it’s fine. My parents did this to me and my siblings when we went on a trip. 35 years later we still sometimes joke about it but neither my siblings or I are scarred for life. I agree with you that there is some value in teens not thinking they are entitled to all the best in life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've done it, when flying with 2 other families. We had, collectively, enough points to upgrade 5 business class tickets for three adults, and the 4 kids sat in coach. My daughter, now 18, still makes snarky comments about it to this day - she was 10 at the time. I think it's totally fine.

Time to shut this down. That’s bratty behavior from a near adult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, it’s fine. My parents did this to me and my siblings when we went on a trip. 35 years later we still sometimes joke about it but neither my siblings or I are scarred for life. I agree with you that there is some value in teens not thinking they are entitled to all the best in life.

+1, we still talk about them in first class and us in coach

[Anonymous]

Pp here - adding we knew better than to complain that they were in first and we weren’t.

[Anonymous]

How times have changed. When we were kids, we slept on the floor in sleeping bags at hotels and relatives’ homes for vacations. Also spent several vacations in a backyard tent at a family member’s home. We were fed sandwiches for dinner while adults ate steak. There was a recognition that kids did not equal adults.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The message you'd be giving them is not that they are entitled at an early age, but that you deserve the upgrade but they don't. Do you make them live in a less nice house than you do? Drive in a cheaper car than you drive? Are they going to be staying in a cheap hotel distant from your luxury lodgings?

I agree with those who suggest Premium Economy for all, if that's what you can afford for all of you to travel together as a family.

Er...yes? We live in the same house but DH and I get the biggest bedroom with the ensuite. They get a small bedroom with a hall bathroom. When they get their first car, it would definitely not be as nice as mine! Come on.

I mean sure but it's still really weird to leave your kids in a different class without access to you on a family vacation instead of just like upgrading everyone to a middle ground and sitting together.

Teens are plenty independent but flights can hit turbulence, teens can need things, and you'd be in a section they couldn't reach you in without having to explain to overtaxed flight attendant.

Without access to you? Have you been on a plane before? There's not a locked door between coach and business class. If they need you they get up, and walk 40 feet up the aisle, tap you on the shoulder, and say, "Hey Mom . . . "

Some of you people are truly nuts. You don't just have a helicopter, you have a whole carrier wing. These are teenagers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My concern is if something happened- like an emergency. I would never want to be far away from my kids for that reason alone.

What type of emergency? I am serious - I what kind of emergency could happen on a plane that will require you to be in the same fare class as your teenager?

[Anonymous]

I would say no but thats because I was on a flight where the parents sat in front of me and the kids were back and forth 6 or 7 times standing in the aisle talking to their parents. That being said I paid for my 4 year old to fly business class with us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My concern is if something happened- like an emergency. I would never want to be far away from my kids for that reason alone.

What type of emergency? I am serious - I what kind of emergency could happen on a plane that will require you to be in the same fare class as your teenager?

DP, but we were on a flight and the engine caught on fire. We had to make an emergency landing. It was very stressful and would have been much worse if our kids had been back in coach. I am glad we were sitting with our kids so we could talk them through the situation and they didn’t freak out.