We’ve been flying with our daughter since she was a baby, including a number of long-haul flights. But flying business class? That’s something Ryan and I usually reserve just for ourselves. However, for our most recent trip, we decided to splurge on business class for all three of us across four long-haul flights.
So, is flying business class with kids actually worth it? Here’s our honest experience from our long-haul flights on Lufthansa, Thai Airways and Air Canada – what surprised us, what didn’t, and what we’d do again.
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Are Kids Allowed in Business Class?
First things first, are kids even allowed in business class? The answer is yes. Yes, they are. Airlines do not have age restrictions for flying business class.
Whether or not they should fly business class… well, that’s a different conversation and one some people have strong opinions about!
What to Know When Booking Business Class Seats for Kids
Seat Type and Configuration Matters
Business class seats vary a lot. Some are just a slightly larger and plusher version of an economy seat, while others are fully enclosed lay-flat pods that feel more like a private room than a seat (like the Qsuite we flew last year)!
When traveling with kids in business class, the seat type is something to strongly consider. While adults may appreciate the extra privacy of a pod-style seat, younger children probably prefer to be in closer proximity to their parents.
Our daughter prefers to be close to us, so with this in mind, I purposely booked business class cabins with seats in a 2-2 configuration. For solo travelers, this is the dreaded business class seat configuration. No one wants to be climbing over a stranger’s layflat bed. But with a young child, it actually works quite well. An individual pod is great as an adult, but for a child, it can feel too isolating.
For cabins in a 1-2-1 configuration, we sat one parent in the window seat and the other parent and child in the centre aisle seats. Some centre aisle seats are configured so that some are closer together, whereas others have a large divider in between them. So, make sure to check seat maps carefully when selecting seats.
Car Seats and Bassinets Aren’t Always An Option
If you’re flying with a baby in business class, there are some important things to keep in mind. Not all business class seats are designed to be able to accommodate car seats so you’ll need to double-check the aircraft and seat configurations before booking. Some seats do have bassinets, but they usually need to be requested in advance.
Lap Infants Aren’t Free
If you’re planning to fly with your baby as a lap infant, be prepared to pay a fee – usually around 10% of the adult fare. This may come as a surprise as normally in economy class, babies fly free under the age of two if flying as a lap infant.
Seating Arrangements
When it comes to seating arrangements, airlines try to keep families seated together. In fact, many of them have policies about kids under a certain age (usually around 12) sitting near an accompanying adult in business class. For example, when selecting our Lufthansa business class seats, our daughter had to be seated no more than one seat away – either directly in front or beside one of us.
Business Class Lounges with Kids
One of the big perks of flying business class is getting lounge access before your flight. Taking advantage of good food and relaxing before our flight is something Ryan and I always love taking advantage of.
While our daughter is no stranger to airport lounges thanks to the unlimited access we receive with our American Express Platinum card (check out our referral link to learn more and apply!), our business class tickets allowed us entry into some extra-special flagship airline lounges.
One of the biggest surprises was the Lufthansa Senator Lounge which had an amazing kids’ play area – we were blown away.
Having dedicated spaces like this made a huge difference. It kept our daughter entertained between flights and allowed us some much-needed downtime to enjoy a coffee, food, and a moment to reset before the next leg of the journey.
Once we were on board, the real differences in flying business class with a child became even more noticeable.
The Pros of Flying Business Class with Kids
Extra Space
This is the most obvious difference of flying business class versus economy: the seats are much more spacious! Feeling less cramped and being able to move around a bit makes all the difference on a long-haul flight with kids. We all felt more calm which made the busy, long-haul travel days feel much more manageable with a child.
Our daughter usually likes to stretch out on long flights to get more comfortable, but we’re always worrying about her accidentally kicking the seats in front or bothering other passengers. With the extra space in business class, we didn’t have to worry about this at all.
She also mentioned that her favourite part was having a proper footrest and being able to recline comfortably – something she struggles with in economy since her feet don’t touch the floor.
The extra space definitely made her feel more comfortable which led to a calmer, more restful flight. Which leads me into the next pro…
Good Sleep Is Actually Possible
This was the biggest game-changer for us! Overnight flights in economy have always been tough. No matter what we try, our daughter just can’t get comfortable enough to sleep well, which usually leads to exhaustion (and sometimes tears) for all of us.
But on all our business class flights, she slept perfectly! I was actually surprised how fast she fell asleep on all the flights. Being able to lie flat made her sleep 100% better. She got so much rest that when we arrived in Thailand at 6am after two back-to-back long-haul flights, she had no problem staying up to explore the city all day.
Of course, when she sleeps better, we sleep better too. Win-win.
Meals and Snacks
Ryan and I always look forward to the elevated food in business class, but for our daughter, this was much less important. Like many kids, she’s happy with simple pasta, bread, and chicken strips.
We checked over the menus before our flight and decided to request a child’s meal for her on all the flights. They don’t indicate what the child’s meal will be, so it was a bit of a gamble. I also wasn’t sure if there would be a difference between an economy child’s meal versus a business class child’s meal.
Turns out the child’s meal is just the same as in economy except they present it nicely on real plates with metal cutlery. The portions also seemed larger than what we normally get in economy – it always ended up being way too much food for our daughter.
She was also served all the usual business class extras like welcome drinks, snacks, and appetizers.
I had packed some snacks from home just in case, but honestly, she never ended up eating any of it on the plane. She had more than enough snacks, food and drinks offered to her throughout the flight.
Since she slept so well on the flights, she often slept through one of the two meals. If she woke up hungry, I was able to easily grab some snacks that were left out in the galley – chips, cookies, fruit, etc.
In-flight Entertainment System
Our daughter loved the extra-big screen in business class and fancy headphones. Each airline offered kids content, although some had better selections than others. She loved checking out the games, TV shows, movies, and even kids music and podcasts.
One thing to note when flying business class with kids is that the remote controls for the entertainment system are not always the easiest for them to figure out. This wasn’t an issue when I was sitting right next to my daughter and could help her. However, when we were in individual pods, this became a bit of a challenge as I couldn’t help her and she started to get frustrated.
Thankfully all the screens were touchscreen so when she couldn’t work out the remote, she would just move down her seat to reach the screen and control it that way.
Amenity Kits
Amenity kits were another highlight. She called them “presents” and enjoyed opening them.
Usually the amenity kits she received were the regular adult ones, but on Lufthansa, she got a dedicated kids amenity kit! It was adorable, complete with kids toothpaste and a kids airplane toothbrush, kids socks, etc.
Even with the regular adult amenity kits, our daughter enjoyed using the lip balms and eye masks, and one even came with a mirror which she enjoyed using.
More Attention from FAs
The level of service in business class really stood out. Compared with economy class, passengers get a lot more attention from flight attendants. They checked in frequently, not just with us but our daughter as well, making sure she liked her food and to give her drink and snack options that were kid-friendly.
What really blew us away, though, was when they surprised her with a birthday card and gifts, even though we hadn’t mentioned it was her birthday. That level of attention to detail made the experience feel extra special for her.
Priority Security and Fast Track Immigration
This is something that I had overlooked as a benefit of flying business class with kids but turned out to make a huge difference. Having access to priority security before departure and fast track immigration upon arrival saved so much time and eased a lot of travel stress.
Being able to bypass the long lineups at security and immigration reduced stress significantly, particularly for our daughter who can feel overwhelmed in crowded spaces.
The Cons of Flying Business Class with Kids
Creating a new expectation and baseline
Our main concern with taking our daughter in business class was setting a new expectation. We didn’t want her to expect the same level of comfort every time we fly. We made sure she understood that flying business class is very special and not something we will always get to do.
Of course, on a following flight, she excitedly asked if we were flying business class. When I said no, she was briefly disappointed but got over it immediately. She was content in her seat with her tablet for entertainment and snacks from her backpack. So, not as big of an issue as we had feared.
Adult-oriented environment
Business class is of course geared toward adults. The environment is more quiet and structured, with little to no kids.
We made sure to explain to our daughter beforehand the etiquette of business class. However, she then felt a little nervous because she didn’t want to “do the wrong thing” or accidentally be too loud. She also commented that it felt strict and serious in business class.
Some parents may actually feel extra pressure and stress to ensure their kids are on their best behavior and not bothering other passengers when flying business class with kids. This was definitely a worry of ours pre-flight, but everything went much better than we expected.
Our daughter was so content in her seat with her shows and snacks that she didn’t make any fuss at all. Everyone was so surprised with how well she did considering our flights were all at least 10 hours long.
Some Seats Are Not Family-Friendly
As mentioned above, some seats are more ideal than others for pairs traveling together. Some aim for maximum privacy and are angled away from each other, and are partially or fully enclosed.
We had purposely booked seats that allowed my daughter and I to sit closely together. However, flight cancellations disrupted our plans and we were rerouted on different airlines and aircraft. One of our flights ended up being in pod-style seats, and although all three of us were seated next to each other in a row, we still felt quite separated.
I was seated in the window across the aisle from our daughter. Our seats were angled away from each other so we couldn’t see each other unless we made the effort to turn and peek around across the aisle. We also couldn’t hear each other, which was a bit of an issue when my daughter needed my help and the seatbelt sign was on.
Ryan was seated next to her but there was a big center console that separated them and a divider that does not move up and down. So they couldn’t reach each other and it was hard to hear and see each other.
Judgement From Others
I’ve read a lot of arguments online from passengers complaining of kids in business class and how they don’t belong there. Of course there will always be misbehaved kids and inattentive parents in any cabin class that ruin it for others, making some passengers tense up at the sight of a child in business class.
Fortunately we did not encounter, or notice, any judgement from other passengers in business class. If anything, it just seemed like others were surprised to see a young child so comfortable in business class, but we didn’t get any side-eyes or glares. In fact, it seemed like no one else even noticed there was a child in business class because she was so quiet and barely moved from her seat as she slept half the time!
Cost
I think the biggest con of flying business class with kids is, of course, the cost. It’s a significant expense and not always realistic. We are lucky to be able to use points to help book business class flights, but even then, finding more than two award seats can be a challenge.
Airline Comparison: Business Class with Kids
After flying business class with our daughter on three different airlines, we learned that each had its own pros and cons, and some were more child-friendly than others.
Lufthansa Business Class with a Child
I personally found Lufthansa to have the most kid-friendly amenities. The kids amenity kit for our daughter was a standout, as were the kids meals that they made extra fun.
The crew could not have been more kind to our daughter and paid special attention to her. Without us even telling them it was her birthday, they knew and went out of their way to make it extra special.
As for the seats, we were on the 747 and I know a lot of people complain about these seats. I personally didn’t find the seat itself to be that comfortable, but our daughter did (it was a lay-flat seat afterall). However the fact that we were right next to each other worked well for us. For Ryan, it was a different story as he had to be paired with a stranger who had to climb over him while he was sleeping.
Another con was that the kids entertainment was lacking. Out of the three airlines, Lufthansa had substantially less kids options, and many of the kids shows that our daughter wanted to watch weren’t even available when we tried to play them. The remote was a bit tricky for her to use as well.
Thai Airways Business Class with a Child
Our daughter said Thai Airways was her favourite business class of the three. She said the seat was the most comfortable, the food was the best, and she loved the flight attendants’ uniforms.
There was no specific kids amenity kit but they did give her two kids activity bags filled with lots of goodies. The flight attendants also gave her a birthday card signed by all the crew along with a birthday gift.
Our daughter found lots of shows and movies to keep her entertained throughout the flight. She slept very well and our seats were conveniently close together in the centre aisle.
Air Canada Business Class with a Child
Our daughter said she struggled with the seats in Air Canada’s 777 business class. She said it was too hard to get our attention when she needed help as our seats were angled away. However, the seats were the most comfortable (in my opinion, anyway) and the flight attendant commented how well our daughter slept. It ended up being her most restful flight.
As for the food, they didn’t have a child meal loaded for her despite my advance request. They helped choose the most kid-friendly options from the regular business class menu and she managed to eat some of it, though. There was also a snack basket above her seat so that kept her happy.
The in-flight entertainment on Air Canada had the best kids options of the three airlines. They even had Disney+. She was able to find all her favourite shows to watch, which ended up keeping her up later than we liked haha.
What We Didn’t Expect Flying Business Class With A Child
We didn’t expect the business class lounges to have such fun play areas! That was a nice surprise.
We also didn’t expect our daughter to get so much food on the plane, especially since we requested child’s meals for her. There was really no need to pack any snacks.
Finally, we didn’t expect our daughter to sleep as well as she did. Our goal of flying business class with her was indeed to have her sleep well on the plane, but we didn’t expect her to sleep so easily and soundly.
Final Thoughts: Is Business Class Worth It with Kids?
For a long-haul flight, we’d say it’s definitely worth flying business class with kids when finances allow. This was the first trip where flying long-haul was stress-free and not exhausting. And not a single tear was shed! Our family and friends were amazed how well our daughter did flying so many long flights. The comfort and space made all the difference.
For us, it wasn’t about the luxury – it was about making the long, tiring trip feel much more manageable and us arriving more rested to maximize our time at our destination.
If we’re flying less than eight hours, we’d say business class is not worth the extra expense. But for these ultra-long flights with a child, we’ll be willing to do everything we can to snag business class again in the future.
However, if you have a kid that easily gets bored and restless, and you’ll spend most of your time trying to entertain them on the flight anyway and not resting, it might not be worth flying business class.
FAQ – Flying Business Class with Kids
Do Kids Sleep Better in Business Class?
Yes. Of course it’s not guaranteed, but lay-flat seats make sleep much, much easier. If you have a light sleeper, light and sound may still be an issue but they’ll also have an eye mask and earplugs in their amenity kit that can help with that 😉
Is it worth it for long-haul flights?
It is definitely worth it and the only time I’d think about splurging on business class with kids. Arriving rested and less stressed makes the travel experience infinitely more enjoyable.
Which airline is best for families?
Based on airlines we’ve personally flown, we found Thai Airways and Qatar Airways to be the best overall for families.
Do you still need snacks and entertainment?
If your kid is picky about food, then yes, bring their favourite snacks just in case. But honestly, there were so many options that our daughter never asked for anything else. As for entertainment, bring some just in case. We found it helpful for takeoff when announcements were being made and the screen was locked, and also for in between flights while waiting to board.
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