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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Going on a family vacation + cruise later this summer to Greek Isles. Originally booked for myself, DH, and our two kids (16 and 14). We invited my parents a few months ago and they decided to join us. Our family booked 4 first class seats IAD-ATH using FF miles on United (DH is Global Services on United and got a good deal) and my parents ended up booking 2 coach seats in cash many months later (no status). Well, yesterday my parents decided they wouldn’t go on the trip unless they flew first class and that our kids don’t need to fly first class and we should allow them to switch. My dad even offered to give each of my kids $50 to move from first to coach so that they could have lie flat seating transatlantic.

DH is super annoyed.  My parents are being real jerks about this and how kids don’t need first class and my dad’s back aches so he totally needs first class. What do I do?[/quote]

Do what you want but I can’t believe you would put your parents in coach and have your children sit in first class. I’m not sure that sounds great message to your kids.[/quote]

I've thought about some more, and the obvious solution is that the OP and the OP's spouse should sit in coach.

The kids should sit in first class to have an adventure, and the OP's parents should sit in first class for health reasons.

The OP and the OP's spouse should scrounge up another chance to take a first class flight in the future but let the kids and grandparents bond in first class luxury this time.[/quote]

The "health reasons" are complete nonsense that many of you are credulously parroting.  Op's parents *booked coach tickets*.  If there were real, legitimate health reasons that they couldn't sit in coach, they wouldn't have done that.  They would have booked first class, or told OP that they couldn't go, because they couldn't afford first class and couldn't sit in coach for health reasons.  (OP would have then had a choice to make, and I'd be a lot more sympathetic to the grandparents.)  But they didn't do that.  They fully intended to sit in coach until they realized OP's family wasn't.  [/quote]

But, on the other hand: At least health issues is a vague fig leaf of a reason for the grandparents to get the good seats, and giving the grandparents the good seats, if possible, falls under the “Honor thy parents” commandment.

And I just don’t see why any normal, healthy adult without blood clotting or muscle spasm problems needs to sit in first class for a pleasure trip at all. The idea of adults who travel all the time obsessing about getting a seat that goes back all the way!  and more drinks! is nuts. And maybe it’s utter bilge that the grandparents care about this nonsense, but maybe that’s a symptom of dementia, and maybe dementia alone is a reason to pamper them.

Whereas, children like baubles and toys and understandstably will have a lot of fun in first class.

And, if the parents want to teach generosity, selflessness and noblesse oblige, the best way is for them to be selfless and give up the first class seats, not to bully their children into doing so.

And, with any luck, the children feel guilty about the example the parents are setting and give up the first class seats, and the parents get to sit in first class, anyway. [/quote]

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