First-class parents leaving the kids in coach?

Well once my husband did it to me! But I promise, I behaved back there!

I know of quite a few parents who would travel in either business or first class, seating their children in economy class in the care of their nanny. I wondered what those parents would do in the event of an emergency evacuation of the plane which does happen. Personally, I think it is poor parenting.

"I wondered what those parents would do in the event of an emergency evacuation of the plane which does happen."

Presumably the nanny would accompany them - they are in loco oarentis already anyway.

It's not that unusual. With prices as they are, travelers taking advantage of perks, separating on flights is very normal. In fact, the airlines often make it very challenging for a family to travel as a group. The presumption is that the children are not poorly behaved and rotten. Most are not.
What would be out of sorts would be checking the children as baggage. :-)

I used to travel as an unaccompanied minor from a very young age, about 6 or so. I never came to any harm. A few hours with your parents up in the nice seats seems harmless enough.

Absolutely. They are smaller and can get by with less room. Plus the adversity of flying in the cheap seats builds character.

I don't see a problem with putting kids in coach if the parents have first class. although I don't think it would be appropriate for kids who are very young.

Olivia, my daughter once flew by herself from Cincinnati to Los Angeles when she was 5 years old (she was meeting up with my sister who wanted some company for her drive back home from LA). Back then Delta provided an escort for her to the plane, and she was monitored while on board. She still remembers that experience. She sat next to a rabbi who befriended her, and later in high school, she babysat his kids.

In terms of kids sitting alone, I think if they're an appropriate age and decently behaved, it shouldn't be a problem.

It depends on how you look at it...

A few years ago on a transatlantic flight I was upgraded to first class. Sixteen seat. Two of the seats were occupied by toddlers who cried and caused a ruckus much of the flight. The parents were sitting nearby but couldn't be bothered. They expected the flight attendants to care for their kids. The rest of us in FC were not happy.

A few years ago, on another transatlantic flight, a somewhat well known celebrity, and his wife, were flying in first class. Their teenage kids were in business class. Well behaved. A couple of times during the flight the father did come back to check on them. (They were seated across the aisle from me.)

But I think back to when I was about 12. I flew, unaccompanied, from NY to Miami to visit with my grandmother. In those days it was cheaper to fly after 9 PM. So, my flight took off after 9 arriving in Miami just before midnight. From the airport I took a shared shuttle over to Miami Beach where my grandmother lived. I arrived around 1 AM. It was no big deal in those days and my father wasn't springing for a cab.

Are the kids 3, or 48?

I would be really annoyed if I had paid for First and was seated near those horrible bickering kids!

Simon, Those nannies were not Norland Nannies, but usually young women with no formal qualifications, so not sure how level headed they might have been in the case of an emergency evacuation such as EK 521. Or, in the case of AF 447, I would have wanted to be with my children in those last few terrifying minutes.

IMO it all depends on the kids behavior.

I remember one flight where our family was headed to Hawaii. There was a family of 5 in coach with us as well. The parents were in the row ahead of the 3 kids. The younger one acted up the entire time and the other two provoked him. I can still hear them yelling "Henry!", and this flight was back in 2008. On our return flight home, there was another extended family on our flight that was also on the flight there. At the gate, the grandfather commented that he hoped Henry and his family were not on our flight again;)

I also remember a flight home from Paris and the kids were fine, but the mother, oh my! We were on the upper deck of the plane and there was a ledge along the wall of the windows. The mom behind me proceeded to put her bare feet on the ledge all the way up into my space. I should have spoken up, but you would have thought that me shoving her feet away, etc would be been a clue.

So it is't just kids that can be awful.

For us, we always stayed together as a family, and still do. Our kids are grown adults, but we still travel together on occasion and we either all go premium or economy, we don't split up. My husband is always getting upgraded due to status, but he won't leave me in the back.

Posted by Mardee

In terms of kids sitting alone, I think if they're an appropriate age
and decently behaved, it shouldn't be a problem.

I agree with Mardee.

And bickering siblings might straighten up quicker with a reprimand from a flight attendant than from their parents.

Only if the kids are older (like teenagers) and capable of fending for themselves, both in an emergency and just in taking care of basic needs. Leaving them in back to be babysat by a FA, or worse, a seat mate is a terrible idea.

A number of people mention their kids flying as unaccompanied minors, sorry, not the same. In that case, someone was responsible for them, a five year old did not simply wander the airport and take care of themselves on the flight. (Nowadays, you pay a fee for an unaccompanied minor)

As for "if the kids are well behaved", well, aren't all our kids just the perfect angels, never a problem, um...yep.

If I was a FA on a flight with a problem child in the back, I would have the parent exchange their first class seat for the coach middle seat of the problem child's seatmate.

In general, I would never book flights seating separately from my children, even though all our kids are in their 50s.
However, if we were upgraded to first class, we would take those new seats in First Class.
In fact, my Son flys a lot and was upgraded to Business Class from 2nd. No problem, he moved up.

Still, if the kids are under age, I would never leave them alone on an airplane.

I once flew on a transatlantic flight in Premium economy and there were two preteen boys there while mum and dad sat in Business Class. The boys did what boys do and started playfighting and punching each other while yelling. The poor man on the window tried to engage with them and talk them down. The mom finally shows up to check on them after dinner 3 hours later. When the mom asks how they are, the man in the window seat gave her the ugly truth. Instead of being angry at the boys she immediately starts berating a nearby FA and saying that the attendant should have told her about the trouble. FA basically tells mom she’s not a babysitter and you should check on your own kids. I will say after that kerfuffle, the boys settled down watched TV and napped.

Too many parents think their responsibility ends at the plane and expect the overworked crew to watch their kids.

So it is OK for mom and dad to enjoy a little luxury, peace, and quiet
while leaving their children back in steerage?

We did it with our kids. As long as you use quality duct tape, no problem.

I was on a long ago flight across the US and 2 young girls (maybe 4 and 5) were seated next to me. The Dad was 2 seats behind with the Mom. When he checked on them I said...I'd be happy to trade seats with one of you so you can sit next to your kids. He said no we'll stay where we are. I said. Well, if there is an emergency I'm not going to be able to help your kids don their oxygen masks or help them evacuate. He stared at me and again said...no, we'll stay where we are. I was so furious I can still feel it in recounting it. The girls were good, played quiet games and colored but the sheer gall of the Dad was shocking.

The situation never arose when my children were young, but if it had, I would have been fine with it once the kids had reached their teens. By then they were already well travelled, and had even travelled internationally without us (although they had us or a relative at drop off and pick up.)

Mr. E.
Is it cool for me to use the duct tape on someone else's kids? ( I do travel with strong tape, to pack up my packages, so I could just put that in my purse and carry it on......)

Mind you, if the kids are really young, you might be able to keep them closer by putting them in the overhead bin. FC and BC usually have more generous baggage allowances.

And for those who find misbehaving kids worse than nails down a blackboard, there's always this - an oldie that never gets old

https://youtu.be/M4SkoJy3D0M?si=Kh04M5gC0lI66s-6

Your kids, your responsibilty. Don’t pawn them off on the flight crew or the fellow passengers. IMHO
rude.

Your kids, your responsibilty. Don’t pawn them off on the flight crew.

They literally offer this service.

ekscrunchy, i always remind my children that silence is golden and duct tape is silver

Our kids have flown unaccompanied internationally and I certainly haven't been worried about the outside chance of an emergency.

What about the reverse situation?

Chelsea Handler tells the story, as a teenager, when they went on a family vacation, she bought herself an upgrade to 1st class with money from her part time job. As they boarded the plane, she sat in her 1st class seat and said "so long suckers" to her parents.

No it is not OK. They are your children, and therefore your responsibility. If you want peace and quiet, then leave them at home with a qualified sitter.

We were flying from Atlanta to Key West and got upgraded. Our daughter wailed "You're leaving me in coach?" We said "Yep, see you in Key West". We still remind her of the entitlement in her comment. BTW she had just turned 18.

CJean thanks for posting the video.

Posted by Sam Green Bay

What about the
reverse situation?

Are the parents lucid, well-behaved, able to physically take care of themselves on the flight?

“So it is OK for mom and dad to enjoy a little luxury, peace, and quiet while leaving their children back in steerage?”

If they are moving up because they want peace & quiet, then by default they’re handing off that noise & restlessness to the seat mates of their kids. No, not okay.

If it’s okay to have the children in a separate hotel room when they reach their destination, then yes. In other words, if these are adult children - yes. If younger - nope.

Am I the only one who is reminded of the first "Home Alone" movie?

"If it’s okay to have the children in a separate hotel room when they reach their destination, then yes. In other words, if these are adult children - yes. If younger - nope."

Our kids usually had separare hotel rooms from age if 11 or 12 - we certainty didn't wait until they were adults. They have to learn to be independent some time.

Flying unaccompanied under loose cabin crew supervision, ditto.

Having said that, if flying together we always sat with our kids to enjoy family time.

I was on a plane once where the Captain came OUT of the cockpit to discuss with the spoiled brat parents that ONE of them had to trade seats with one of their kids or else. I was in business so I have NO idea what those kids were doing but there had been several visits by the lead Flight Attendant to those parents and at one point she basically FORCED dad to go back to coach. But the pilots voice was loud enough to carry so I got the point (I admit I took my noise cancelling headphones off to watch this show, it was better than the inflight TV!)

I think "or else" was "we are landing and you are getting off" (This was ATL to Europe and as I recall we were not yet very far away from the US. I mean it's an 8 hour flight and one hour into it these kids were apparently causing problems.. wonder what was going on ) One statement the pilot made was "you will be charged for landing fees and extra fuel"

Dad did go back and stayed back there but we never saw any of the kids so I guess they seated them all in coach.

Those nannies were not Norland Nannies, but usually young women with no formal qualifications, so not sure how level headed they might have been in the case of an emergency evacuation

It's unclear that any given set of parents would have "formal qualifications" either .. . Or that they would be any better prepared than a nanny for an emergency evacuation.

bickering siblings might straighten up quicker with a reprimand from a flight attendant than from their parents.

That is not the job of the flight attendants !

It happens more often than not that my husband gets upgraded when we fly as a family. We trade and each sits alone for a bit on business and the other remains in coach with child.

But we recently flew Alaska on a short 3 hour flight from Mexico (our Delta flight had some delays so they offered us compensation if we flew on Alaska). Problem is all 3 of us ended up in different rows. Person at check-in said Alaska Airlines rule enforces that a minor sits next to the parent. So they had to figure it out at the gate.
I ended up on emergency exit and my 12 yo and husband on economy, then we traded spots since he is taller and needed more leg room.

But if I am on plane with child, I wouldn't leave child alone in coach with me in BC especially on overnight flights… well, not until a couple of more years when she is older.

However, last year we were on a short Delta domestic flight SFO-SLC and after boarding, flight attendant came to tell my husband there was an open seat on business he could move to (he is a high medallion member). Our kid was 11 and very well behaved and actually looks older. Husband asked attendant if child could sit there instead and they agreed (we were on first row of comfort+ so really close). But child did not want to sit alone there. We said one day she would regret missing on the opportunity. I took the seat since I never get free upgrade when traveling alone.

@Carol! Oh. My. Word! Good job to the Captain!

I would be more concerned with Uncle Frank in first class stealing the silverware.

As others have noted, it depends on the age. Young children, no (though I suppose an older sibling would count). In fact, I would think mom and dad would want to sit with the family. But I understand a situation where the kids are older and the parents have a chance to sit in a class other than coach.

Heck, first time I stepped on an airplane I was 24! I would have been thrilled as a kid to be sitting in coach.

No way in hell would I want to sit with someone else's younger-than-teen kid(s). People can sit with their own kids.

Maybe I should wear a button that reads like one of those signs that you see in some cafés: "Unattended children will be given coffee and a free puppy."