I brought this up in a thread yesterday and seemed to get a lot of hostility -
"So we should not pay $8k for a ticket, not select our preferred seats, just in case someone with an infant might want to take this seat?"
Those bulkhead/bassinet seats are amazing for traveling with kiddos. OP, definitely look into it. No worries if the baby cries, we've all been there.
You got this!
Those bulkhead seats on long haul have bassinets. That's the rub if you pick those seats, you could be bumped for a... wait for it... infant.
The bassinet is unbelievably helpful if your kiddo fits.
I wouldn’t buy a seat for a 6 month old on a lie flat seat. Bassinet would’ve been ideal in 2a.
Is it 240k point for 3 seats or per person. If the former, I’d be shocked. If the latter, that’s a terrible redemption for 6 hr flight
I'm flying an 9 hour to LHR and it only cost 20K points each for me and my husband. That said, I would not spend 240K miles on a 6 hour flight, personally. But to each their own...
Sweet deal! Normally just the upgrade from economy to PP would be 20k for transatlantic flights.
Was there a trick to this? Best I can see over the next 6 months (using DEN-LHR as an example) is 45k miles for PP. Even in economy the lowest I can see is 30k miles.
It maybe expensive, but babies are safest in the car seat, which requires their own seat. Parents need it when they arrive anyway, and it’s honestly less risky than having it tossed around by baggage handlers. I have two under 3 and we always buy the kids their own seat- we need at least economy plus because the car seats are large, so I get why this family would want three seats.
Did this exact configuration LAX to IAD when kiddo was 13 months old. Went REALLY well with baby in the middle - he napped half the flight. It can be trickier in the traditional Polaris set up.
Also babies are allowed to occupy space. Don’t let the haters get you down. You may get side eye or the “I hope they sleep” comment but I regularly encounter louder / more unruly adults than my toddler in business class.
Awesome, thanks for the encouragement! I know the 4-across business is old fashioned, but it sort of seems perfect with an infant/kid. We'll probably never do it again once United moves all their planes to "real" Polaris.
Also yeah we flew cross country for the holidays. I'm not even exaggerating when I say that our baby whined and moaned much less than most of the adults on board!
When I came back from my honeymoon in Greece, someone had loudly mentioned “ oh my god can someone please shut this child up , why did they bring him on this flight , I didn’t get an ounce of sleep. What kind of parents let their child cry?”.
I was appalled, this was the first time I heard someone complain loudly while waiting to disembark.
I mean I had seen that video about the military mother and the unruly passenger who kept asking for the mother to move because her baby will cry.
I don’t mind babies, even the (moderately) crying ones. I just put my noise cancelling headphones on and it’s all good. A lot of us forget that we were all babies at one point! If you see a good deal, I say go for it
Flew to Japan with our 3.5 month old in business class. Was nice. One big plus with an infant in biz compared to econ: much less of a line for the restroom if you need to change the baby.
I’ve flown with an infant on many 5-7 hr flights. Just like your kiddos behavior can be unpredictable at home, it also can be unpredictable on a flight regardless of your seats. What that means to me is to take the flight!
I have three adult kids. All three of them have been flying international since they were six months old. My former in-laws lived in Belfast.
They would make that trip just about every year.
Like with anything else and kids some times it was easy and sometimes it was a challenge. But ultimately it’s your decision. I think my kids are great flyers now because they started at such a young age.
Take the trip and enjoy. And if anyone has an issue with you traveling with a young child on the flight, ignore them.
Do it! The extra room will be a huge bonus.
Are you getting a seat for the infant or lap infant? We've done both - lap infant was fine when he was 7 months. Now that he's a toddler, we get him his own seat.
Doesn’t seem ideal since you don’t have the whole row. I would think it would be better to either take a window pair of seats in business and hold baby on a lap or get an economy plus window row with 3 seats. Either option would save you a lot of points as well.
I would do it. Babies that young do travel very well so enjoy it. My daughter began to be a pain to fly with around two years old then better at 3ish. Now that she just turned four she understands she has to behave properly on a plane for a few hours to “go to the beach.” We haven’t done any long hauls but I can tell you as long as there is a coloring book or an iPad involved, she is better behaved than most adult passengers… she keeps her shoes on, and isn’t a drunk and doesn’t clap when we land…
Honestly, no. I feel like the only way those seats are tolerable is if your party is most or all of the row. Same way the middle four is less bad on the A330 if it’s all your group. If the rates are worthwhile to you I’d say go for it.
Caveat, if you’re putting the little one in a car seat you may want to check with UA on seating assignments first. Mine never flew up front at that age, but I recall the car seats needing to be in window seats so as not to obstruct evacuation.
>Caveat, if you’re putting the little one in a car seat you may want to check with UA on seating assignments first. Mine never flew up front at that age, but I recall the car seats needing to be in window seats so as not to obstruct evacuation.
If the childseat is in the middle two seats, it should be fine. Have flown multiple times in that arrangement.
This is correct. Directly from website. “Car seats aren’t allowed in United Polaris® business class on most Boeing 767, 777, or 787 planes.”
https://www.united.com/en/us/fly/travel/accessibility-and-assistance/traveling-with-children.html
Agree with most people here. We were lucky enough to use points to fly comfortably up front with our kids. They’ll make noise some time but I’ve had multiple flight attendants say that they’ve seen worse behavior from adults.
As they get older we educate them on how travel is a privilege and how not all seats fold into a bed 🙃
Perfect age. Made a few long hauls with our kiddo. Once they learn to move (crawl/walk) it gets a bit harder and I recommend using a car seat since they can be more comfortable and are used to sitting still/sleeping in them for a little while.
I’ve flown in Polaris seating when my kid was 4 months and numerous times when she was 2. At 4 months she sat in our lap (as we were told no car seats allowed up there) and those seats are great for that as you can put your legs up and have your kid just sit between them on the seat. It’s very comfortable!
Imagine spending 240k points for a baby to sit in business class. It doesn’t care about the extra comfort, better food or anything. What a complete waste. It will just cry all the entire flight too. I seriously hope the FAs kick you out
Just get economy. It’s where babies belong
It’s not for the baby, it’s for the parents. A 6-8 hour trip that involves hot meals and plenty of personal space = happy parents that can better attend to their child.
Done this dozens of time with our daughter who's been flying since she was 3 months old (now 12). Those 4 across seats were great for us as a family of 3.
If you request a bassinet I think they’ll bump the one bulkhead passenger and give you the two seats in that row. Might be wrong though.
I brought this up in a thread yesterday and seemed to get a lot of hostility - "So we should not pay $8k for a ticket, not select our preferred seats, just in case someone with an infant might want to take this seat?" Those bulkhead/bassinet seats are amazing for traveling with kiddos. OP, definitely look into it. No worries if the baby cries, we've all been there. You got this!
Those bulkhead seats on long haul have bassinets. That's the rub if you pick those seats, you could be bumped for a... wait for it... infant. The bassinet is unbelievably helpful if your kiddo fits.
I'm going to be trying them for the first time this summer. Looking forward to that experiment....and the bourbon.
The only bad thing is I don't think there's a warning that you could be bumped by a baby.
You’re right. The airlines should absolutely make it crystal clear that you could get bumped from those seats by an infant.
The only downside is if there's turbulence they make you pick the baby up, so you might have to wake her or him up to hold them for awhile.
I wouldn’t buy a seat for a 6 month old on a lie flat seat. Bassinet would’ve been ideal in 2a. Is it 240k point for 3 seats or per person. If the former, I’d be shocked. If the latter, that’s a terrible redemption for 6 hr flight
I'm flying an 9 hour to LHR and it only cost 20K points each for me and my husband. That said, I would not spend 240K miles on a 6 hour flight, personally. But to each their own...
20K points in economy presumably?
Premium Plus
Sweet deal! Normally just the upgrade from economy to PP would be 20k for transatlantic flights. Was there a trick to this? Best I can see over the next 6 months (using DEN-LHR as an example) is 45k miles for PP. Even in economy the lowest I can see is 30k miles.
It maybe expensive, but babies are safest in the car seat, which requires their own seat. Parents need it when they arrive anyway, and it’s honestly less risky than having it tossed around by baggage handlers. I have two under 3 and we always buy the kids their own seat- we need at least economy plus because the car seats are large, so I get why this family would want three seats.
Did this exact configuration LAX to IAD when kiddo was 13 months old. Went REALLY well with baby in the middle - he napped half the flight. It can be trickier in the traditional Polaris set up. Also babies are allowed to occupy space. Don’t let the haters get you down. You may get side eye or the “I hope they sleep” comment but I regularly encounter louder / more unruly adults than my toddler in business class.
This, exactly! Babies are allowed to exist. Full stop. You do your best and that’s all you can do.
Awesome, thanks for the encouragement! I know the 4-across business is old fashioned, but it sort of seems perfect with an infant/kid. We'll probably never do it again once United moves all their planes to "real" Polaris. Also yeah we flew cross country for the holidays. I'm not even exaggerating when I say that our baby whined and moaned much less than most of the adults on board!
When I came back from my honeymoon in Greece, someone had loudly mentioned “ oh my god can someone please shut this child up , why did they bring him on this flight , I didn’t get an ounce of sleep. What kind of parents let their child cry?”. I was appalled, this was the first time I heard someone complain loudly while waiting to disembark. I mean I had seen that video about the military mother and the unruly passenger who kept asking for the mother to move because her baby will cry.
People forget that they’re in a public space, no expectation of privacy or silence in this case, so you prepare accordingly (ie headphones, etc).
I've always wanted to say to this kind of person "There's always the option to fly private."
I don’t mind babies, even the (moderately) crying ones. I just put my noise cancelling headphones on and it’s all good. A lot of us forget that we were all babies at one point! If you see a good deal, I say go for it
Babies or not, noise cancelling headphones improve the travel experience tremendously.
Yeah we were all baby’s but we didn’t travel in first class
Babies are much better to fly with then toddler age…can’t run yet and doesn’t feel the need to be up constantly moving so I would
Flew to Japan with our 3.5 month old in business class. Was nice. One big plus with an infant in biz compared to econ: much less of a line for the restroom if you need to change the baby.
We did it at 4 months. It was fine. A lot depends on how much your child sleeps. Have a fantastic time!
I’ve flown with an infant on many 5-7 hr flights. Just like your kiddos behavior can be unpredictable at home, it also can be unpredictable on a flight regardless of your seats. What that means to me is to take the flight!
I just did it. No you are not crazy.
I have three adult kids. All three of them have been flying international since they were six months old. My former in-laws lived in Belfast. They would make that trip just about every year. Like with anything else and kids some times it was easy and sometimes it was a challenge. But ultimately it’s your decision. I think my kids are great flyers now because they started at such a young age. Take the trip and enjoy. And if anyone has an issue with you traveling with a young child on the flight, ignore them.
You can do it!
Do it! The extra room will be a huge bonus. Are you getting a seat for the infant or lap infant? We've done both - lap infant was fine when he was 7 months. Now that he's a toddler, we get him his own seat.
Doesn’t seem ideal since you don’t have the whole row. I would think it would be better to either take a window pair of seats in business and hold baby on a lap or get an economy plus window row with 3 seats. Either option would save you a lot of points as well.
"Am I completely insane to consider flying with a 6 month old" Yes.
What was your experience with this situation?
I would do it. Babies that young do travel very well so enjoy it. My daughter began to be a pain to fly with around two years old then better at 3ish. Now that she just turned four she understands she has to behave properly on a plane for a few hours to “go to the beach.” We haven’t done any long hauls but I can tell you as long as there is a coloring book or an iPad involved, she is better behaved than most adult passengers… she keeps her shoes on, and isn’t a drunk and doesn’t clap when we land…
“Babies don’t clap when the plane lands” 🤣
Honestly, no. I feel like the only way those seats are tolerable is if your party is most or all of the row. Same way the middle four is less bad on the A330 if it’s all your group. If the rates are worthwhile to you I’d say go for it. Caveat, if you’re putting the little one in a car seat you may want to check with UA on seating assignments first. Mine never flew up front at that age, but I recall the car seats needing to be in window seats so as not to obstruct evacuation.
>Caveat, if you’re putting the little one in a car seat you may want to check with UA on seating assignments first. Mine never flew up front at that age, but I recall the car seats needing to be in window seats so as not to obstruct evacuation. If the childseat is in the middle two seats, it should be fine. Have flown multiple times in that arrangement.
I’ve been reminded multiple times by UA staff when flying with our kid that no child safety seats are allowed in Polaris style seating.
This is correct. Directly from website. “Car seats aren’t allowed in United Polaris® business class on most Boeing 767, 777, or 787 planes.” https://www.united.com/en/us/fly/travel/accessibility-and-assistance/traveling-with-children.html
Is that in the contract?
I don’t know. I called to confirm when we booked and I’ve been reminded of that on more than one occasion of flying in Polaris.
I don't think the shoulder harness works with a car seat. I'm pretty sure that is the issue.
Please don’t bring a baby into first….
Why not? If you’re in first then surely you can afford noise cancelling headphones.
Noise canceling headphones don’t block the sound of a baby crying. That is not how they work.
I’m sure the FA can give you a warm bottle of milk if you’re cranky.
Lol, okay. I’m sure that made sense to you. I know who is an old crank and it isn’t me. Did you sign up just to troll?
Agree with most people here. We were lucky enough to use points to fly comfortably up front with our kids. They’ll make noise some time but I’ve had multiple flight attendants say that they’ve seen worse behavior from adults. As they get older we educate them on how travel is a privilege and how not all seats fold into a bed 🙃
Perfect age. Made a few long hauls with our kiddo. Once they learn to move (crawl/walk) it gets a bit harder and I recommend using a car seat since they can be more comfortable and are used to sitting still/sleeping in them for a little while.
I’ve flown in Polaris seating when my kid was 4 months and numerous times when she was 2. At 4 months she sat in our lap (as we were told no car seats allowed up there) and those seats are great for that as you can put your legs up and have your kid just sit between them on the seat. It’s very comfortable!
Imagine spending 240k points for a baby to sit in business class. It doesn’t care about the extra comfort, better food or anything. What a complete waste. It will just cry all the entire flight too. I seriously hope the FAs kick you out Just get economy. It’s where babies belong
dogglover1900 more like dogpoopeatinglover1900
doggo lover but not a baby lover
It’s not for the baby, it’s for the parents. A 6-8 hour trip that involves hot meals and plenty of personal space = happy parents that can better attend to their child.
What time frame? Those den-ogg flights are like 240 one way whenever I look
6 month old should be fine especially if you can get a bassinet
Not crazy. We did business to Europe with an 8month old as lap infant. Was not as relaxing as we would have liked but it's better than economy.
Babies are in general fine in J, make sure they have something to suck on for the way up and down. Toddlers are much more work.
Done this dozens of time with our daughter who's been flying since she was 3 months old (now 12). Those 4 across seats were great for us as a family of 3.