Traveling with baby in business class

Take Business class especially if it is long international flight. There are less people in the cabin disturbed if/when baby is crying than in coach.

Will you be traveling with a seat for each of you or sharing a seat?

If you are sharing a seat, pick business class where you will get more space. If separate seats, you will really want to look at the layout of business class seating to decide if it is good match for caring for a young child in a separate seat.

If you come prepared with food, distractions, toys, etc for your child, I am sure things will go well. People will understand that sometimes babies cry and that you are doing your best. Don't get stressed out over this because that stress will transfer directly to your child and make things worse.

You will certainly be more comfortable and relaxed in Business Class.
Just be prepared, if the baby does cry, for negative attitudes from people around you who might feel "entitled" to peace and quiet because they paid so much for the seat. We have not seen that happen when flying Business Class, but I have read of it on various travel forums. Do not let that discourage you if that happens. I am sure you will do your best to keep your baby happy.

Business class! Better everything. Most folks will fully understand if your baby fusses a bit...regardless of flying in business or coach class...that's just life. Parents with children that literally wreak havoc while they (parents) ignore such behavior again and again, deserve criticism.

Aren't the parents with babies put in the bulkhead seats in business to use the hanging bassinets?
Or is it different now due to all the lay-flat seats? I remember babies sleeping and cooing in bassinets attached to the bulkhead in business.

OP would likely be unable to use a bassinet due to the age/size of the child. For several airlines the max age is under a year. And a 16 month old is probably over the average 20lbs that these are made for.

Disclaimer: I do not have children

If your question is about comfort, business class will definitely be more comfortable. So if you have the means, that would be my choice, especially for a long haul. With more seat width and pitch, you will have a little more "wiggle room" (and I mean that literally). If your little one will have his/her own seat, definitely pay attention to the seat maps- some business classes have seats that face one another rather than sit side by side.

If your question is, is it "okay" to have a young child in business class, yes! I have seen children and babies that young in business class. And if he/she cries, I would think most people would be understanding. And hopefully if you and the little one are a little more comfortable with more space and easier access to the bathroom for changing diapers, more flight attendant around to help with snacks and drinks, he/she will be easier to soothe. But again, no children, can't speak from experience!!!

Something to consider is how many people are in your party, what is the orientation of the plane, etc. If it is just the two of you, and the child will be on your lap, you will be in close quarters with at least one person next to you in economy and someone right in front of you within kicking distance. But if your littler one will have his/her own seat, some planes have 2 seats only on the outside aisles. So you would have a little area to yourself and may be quite comfortable, more so if you get a bulkhead or economy plus.

Good luck!

You need to check with the airline concerning babies in business class. Some airlines prohibit children under certain ages in business class. All things equal business class is always superior to coach.

I'm just not sure that there really are any airlines which ban babies from flying business class. I'd love to here of an example......

Sure. Flew United BC Denver to Hawaii last Dec. Five year old granddaughter not permitted in BC.

Flew United to Hawaii last month from Denver. Family of 6, youngest around 3 were in Business. No one said anything about it.

Of course each had their own individual seat and were not sharing with the parents.

But you know there are a lot of people using miles or airline employees with companion perks to fly in business. If a corporate account frequent flyer business person's company is paying full price to fly somewhere and insists on having complete silence what passenger revenue or non-revenue do you think the airline would defer to

Frank, was she not allowed to purchase a ticket there or not allowed to come visit grandpa from her purchased ticket in coach? That would be an entirely different issue.

Malyasia airlines has definitely banned kids under two

One other note... on international flights the parent will be required to pay a fee to bring the baby on (I am assuming this is a lap child) The fee is generally 10% of the adult fare at the time of ticketing. And that's ticketing of the infant.

So if you show up tomorrow for your flight to London with an infant in arms the airline didn't know about... it's not going to be cheap! A round trip business class Atlanta to London tomorrow is over $8,000. 10% of that is $800. I have heard about some hysterical parents when they find out the "free" child isn't quite so free! So book the infant when you book yourself!

Actually I have not personally witnessed the scene since it generally occurs at the ticket counter, but.... every so often on Flyertalk I have read rather hysterical rants about "how much it cost to bring my kid on the plane"

I think the confusion occurs because I don't believe there's any charge for a internal US flight so people assume it's the same thing.

(I was just on the Virgin Atlantic board on Flyertalk and while this family didn't discover it at the airport there was someone venting about an $800 charge to fly the infant in business!)

Whether people you reference fly full-price coach, business or first, unless airlines have a minimum age requirement, they will have to "endure" just as they would if someone behind were kicking their seat or a person sitting nearby reeked of body odor, the stench of cigarette smoke permeating their clothes, or overuse of aftershave or perfume. Those other people of any age causing such "offense" could very well be full-fare paying passengers too

Not true. If someone smells bad, and it is reported to the gate agent, the agent is allowed to ask the passenger to clean up or they can be banned from the flight. I've seen it happen.

I once flew in FC on BA from JFK to London. The FC cabin is small with only 14-16 seats. On my flight there were two infants in FC who did a lot of screaming on the flight. The parents didn't do anything to stop them. The rest of first class was not happy.

People here have to realize that not everyone flying to Europe is on vacation. There are numerous people, and many up front, who are on business. They want to get some work done on the flight. Screaming kids don't help.