Kids in J on Qantas

[suparockin]

Hi folks,

Anyone here flown with little kids (mine is almost 4), in J on Qantas?

I'm on QF27 to SCL today, a 12 hour flight with my kid is terrifying - hopefully his many video games and colouring books will be enough to keep him relatively quiet.

Just wondering if they do anything different food-wise for them, any special treatment etc?

p.s. Apologies to anyone on the flight!

 

[gpearson]

We just flew with three kids (4, 3 and 18 months) in J. I have become a little pessimistic about Qantas of late but, to be fair, the crew were great and accommodating. The kids are allocated a child meal (on ours it was pasta, salad and ham, fruit, bar, juice box) however my son was fixated on the fish pie (who knows why!) and he ate that instead. My eldest children were occupied for a good deal with the tv (although the number of children shows were a little limited); something they weren't interested in a year ago. We also packed colouring books and stickers, and that got us through the balance of the flight.

Good luck.

 

[Mr_Orange]

No tips I'm afraid, but I don't think you need to apologise for having a child on a flight or that you are in J, so long as you invest time and effort in keeping them entertained and generally quiet. It is the parents who pretend their children/babies are not there and/or expect the FAs to look after them that get my goat. The worst example, IME, was a French couple on a CX flight CDG-HKG in PE. After meal service, they basically sorted themselves out and ignored their kids. One screaming baby which carried on for 3 hours and one 3-4 year old flicking lights on and off and generally being a nuisance when the entire rest of the cabin (and plane) was trying to sleep.

 

[Katie]

We've done J (and lucky Y+ in J seats) with our daughter when she was 4.5.
We always have a DVD player and her choice of DVDs; she can swothc between that and IFE. Also colouring books (Color Wonder are great, as they can't accidentally draw on other items). Books and toys (no small bits to lose) qre taken as well. She is responsible for her carry on. I always take snacks as she may not want to eat at meal times. Order the children's meal.

 

[Quickstatus]

hi Supaman


I have flown with kids in whY, W, J and F

Apart from lots of extra space - there will be so much space they will be unable to kick the seat in front of them.

There will be lots of entertainment via the TV screen. Games, kids movies etc. Kids don't do colouring books anymore - thats old school - whats on the screen is much better.



Did you prerequest a kids meal? I personally wouldn't - in my experience they get better food eating the normal meals. Others will disagree


Dont need to apologise to anyone on flight. your child has a ticket whether paid, discounted, award or whatever so is just as entitled to sit in Bizz.

Your kid as are all kids that age will have few expectations which is how we should all travel.

Its the adults who travel with a million expectations and therefore with a rude sense of entitlement that I hate to be in the same cabin with.



I recommend giving your kid the responsibility of carrying his own carry on and maybe involving him in the checking in process, maybe carrying his own boarding pass.

Carry panadol, nurofen, lollies for the descent (ear pressure)

I also go to my GP to get a bottle of antibiotic syrup. Get the chemist to not make it into a syrup - leave it in powder form and just give you the water to mix when needed. that way it will hast longer out of fridge




Enjoy the travel.

However now your kid will have an expectation that he will be turning left and wanting to sit in the bigger seats next time.

 

[Denali]

Im just going to say, meh. Ignore the judgey looks. Your kid is a kid, and kids sometimes whine and cry. Heck, adults whine and cry. Just be a responsible parent and parent when little one is being a pain to others but otherwise bub has the right to be there and get from point A to B, just like everyone else.

Hope you (everyone) has a great flight.

 

[NoName]

Can kids in J or F guest others into the lounge? If I travel J with a 3yp can we guest two adults travelling in Y?

 

[Quickstatus]

Hi NoName

Your question is answered here:


Airport Experience | Qantas then click airport lounges and select lounge at your departure point

a J ticket holder can guest another passenger travelling on the same flight on the same day (no restrictions to age or any differences in cabin - J can guest Y)

a J ticket holder who happens to be a frequent flyer can still only guest one pax. (not one due to J plus additional one due to status)

 

[juddles]

....QF27 to SCL................ any special treatment etc?.....

suparockin, in the early 80´s I had the pleasure of travelling ¨as a kid¨ many many many times SCL-SYD. Back then it was four flights, with refueling/change carrier at Easter Island, Tahiti, then AKL or NOU, etc. It was a gazillion hours of flying, and apart from a single screen showing a movie with sound PIPED to your ears via a crude tube/earphone system, the only entertainment for kids was a colouring in book and a couple of coloured pens. Even in Y these days, the IFE makes the trip so much better, let alone going in J!!

I have been lucky enough to do the same trip a few times in recent years with my own kids (QF J SCL-SYD). First up, the hard product is great and kids love it. Secondly, on every single flight the crew have been fantastic to my daughters

 

[GCC]

Hi folks,

Anyone here flown with little kids (mine is almost 4), in J on Qantas?

I'm on QF27 to SCL today, a 12 hour flight with my kid is terrifying - hopefully his many video games and colouring books will be enough to keep him relatively quiet.

Just wondering if they do anything different food-wise for them, any special treatment etc?

p.s. Apologies to anyone on the flight!

4.5 is not that little. There are many tales on AFF of travel in premium cabins with children much younger, and some great tips (as well as the ones in this thread) on how to mange the experience of you do a search.

If it makes you feel any better, we are about to fly SYD-DBX-LHR return with a 4.5 and 2 year old.

There is no need to apologise for being there. The funny thing is that just like adults, kids enjoy actually traveling in J much more than Y and will behave better there. Other pax are more relaxed and happy, Cabin crew are (generally) more relaxed, and there are few if any other children in various states of behavior and distress to set yours off.

I remember on a flight SYD - JBL with my well traveled 18 month old (now 4.5) daughter, taking her for a walk to stretch our legs and when I opened the curtain to Y she burst into tears. So you can always threaten junior that he /she will do rest of the trip down the back if they don't behave.

 

[Denali]

...... with my well traveled 18 month old (now 4.5) daughter, taking her for a walk to stretch our legs and when I opened the curtain to Y she burst into tears.

My 53yr husband does the same.

 

[lovestotravel]

Kids should not be allowed in premium cabins!

 

[Steelo]

Travelling with kids in premium cabins is great if you can afford it. It is all part of the socialisation of children and teaching them how to behave in different situations. It is the same a us taking our grandchildren to an expensive restaurant and showing them how to behave in that situation as opposed to a visit to Macas. If children misbehave in J or Y for that matter the FA should deal with it by bringing I to the attention of the child or parent. Unsupervised children or poor behaviour is often the fault of the parent or simply not addressed by the parent - on a recent JQ flight from Cairns I observed a parent taking the child up to the exit door and allowing them to swing on the handles - (JQ staff were no where to be found) - similarly I have experienced a flight in Y where a child has screamed for 2 hours - with the FA making the effort to walk the child because the parents were happy to just sit there. But if we are offended by children interacting with us in premium cabins - I think we need to look at our own values carefully.

 

[Quickstatus]

Denali Sorry to hear now you are forever doomed to only buy J Class fares

 

[Steelo]

Sorry to hear now you are forever doomed to only buy J Class fares

A point well said. Its like thinking you are smart introducing your children to oysters and other expensive foods - you pay for it for a long time.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

I have seen a kid sneak in, or maybe it was sanctioned, on the other Au airline, starting with V.
How dare the kid, I thought to myself.
But I wasn't game enough to question him.
It was a 330 no less.

 

[BD1959]

Whilst adults who misbehave are - rightly so - likely to end up wearing a couple of plastic bracelets and welcomed warmly at the destination by the local constabulary, children tend to be ignored by the cabin crew and left to the parents to "sort out"; this can be a problem when the parents are either more interested in their own sleep patterns or genetically blind toward their own offspring.

Not that I'm lumping the OP in this category - I think the fact they've asked here and are concerned enough to apologise in advance shows that they are considerate of the potential to upset.

However, the "they have a ticket, they have a right" should always be tempered by the "the parents have a ticket, they have a responsibility...". Cabin-type should irrelevant.

[flameproofsuit/on]

Regards,

BD

 

[Denali]

Denali Sorry to hear now you are forever doomed to only buy J Class fares

Tell me about it. I should never have started!

Its funny, at work I can hear a guy 30mtrs away jingling the coins in his pocket or a strobe light starter buzzing but I barely notice the 4 people standing at my door having a stand up meeting about something. I guess that's why crying kids don't really annoy me.

Rarely does a kid cry for the fun of it and kids seem to have so many spectrum issues these days, what some may think is a undisciplined brat is actually very stressed with his/her enviroment.

Of course, the kid could just be a brat with ****ty parents.

 

[JohnM]

My 53yr husband does the same.

So do I .

 

[JohnM]

A point well said. Its like thinking you are smart introducing your children to oysters and other expensive foods - you pay for it for a long time.

The offset is that there's always the hope that they will end up being wealthier than the parents and be able to take over to keep the aging parents in an even better manner .