Just had a strange thought - I have never seen kids in First Class on any plane. With everyone having lots of FF miles and using them for upgrades, etc, I was wondering why I have never seen kids in First Class. I imagine it would be a real pain to be flying first class and find a really bratty kid next to you.

(This thought was also prompted by the fact that we - family of 4 including 2 teenagers - will be flying first class coast to coast RT this summer on free FF tickets - I can promise my kids will sleep wearing headphones for most of the trip since that is their standard behavior on planes.)

Yes, many times.

Let me finish. Many times on domestic flights, just once out of 5 on an international 'first' suite flight. You could only upgrade there from business which is expensive to begin with and/or miles, again you need a nice chunk, so maybe that's why they are not up in front on int. flights.

I asked my FA roommate the same thing not too long ago as I had seen many kids sitting in FirstClass as I traversed to the MainCabin as I always do.He said that in his experience most of the kids seemd to be children of airline employees.

Unfortunately, yes. The first time we were able to upgrade on an international flight we had a screaming baby directly behind us on BOTH legs. Same baby. Same stressed out parents. I was ready to change seats with anybody in coach to get away from the screams.

Of course they do. My friend's dad always takes her kids (his grandkids) 1st Class. Frankly, they are a lot better behaved than some adults I've seen (particularly drunk adults). (There's also adults who just like to hear the sound of their own voice, yap, yap, yap!). Another friend of mine used upgrades for his son, while he bought the companion tickets from Amex to Australia. His kid no doubt had his earphones on and played video games all the way; I can't imagine his father tolerating him being anything but cordial.

We've only gone business class with our kid, not 1st, but he's also quiet and doesn't bother anyone. When he was a baby, however, we took similar measures to those we used when taking him to restaurant -- instead of stepping outside however (not a good idea in this case!), it was off to the bathroom the moment he became restless. It's just respecting other people's space.

In first class on American from Hawaii to Dallas there was a crying baby who made sure I didn't sleep. And a good night's sleep is the only reason I chose first class. If I knew I would be awake all night, I could have flown coach and walked around!

On my trip back from sedona last week there were 2 kids sitting up in first class. Of course i only know this because i simply walked past them on the way to my innexpensive business class tickets from orbitz (because i refuse to pay that much for a plane ticket - unless i am using frequent flier upgrades). However i was a little jelous of the big leather chairs and extra leg room.

Sure I've seen kids in first and business class--my own. I refuse to use ff miles or pay to upgrade them because they're kids after all. They should be happy just to go on the trip. But several times when there is room, the gate agent has put them there just because my husband and I were there also--I've never asked for this, they just have done it--I would estimate about 4 times.

Rachael:
So you just leave your kids back in coach unsupervised while you and your husband sit in first class???
Hold old are they?

They are 12 and 17 now. We didn't leave them unsupervised until 2 years ago--and they are very seasoned travelers. Plus they know they are dead meat if Dad finds out they misbehave. They take their Gameboys and books and can literally entertain themselves for hours, especially if the flight has a movie.

I always have my kids sit in first class with me. In this day and age, if anything would happen, I would want them sitting next to me. They always know they have to be well behaved, whether they sit in coach or first class. They are now thin teenagers and most people would rather sit next to them than others just because they don't take up a lot of room. After 9/11, i want my children right next to me.

I wish All children would be in first class. Then I wouldn't have to listen to the screeming and get the back of my seat kicked.

Most kids can't reach the seat in front of them to kick it in first class. It's really not the kids but the parents. It amazes me that so many parents flying with small children don't bring anything from them to do. Of sourse they're bored. Babies should always be given a bottle when taking off or landing to relieve the ear pressure. I hate when children run up and down the aisles and the parents don't do anything whether your in coach or first class. Really it's the parents not the kids.

My kids have never been allowed to kick the back of the seat in front of them. If they did, they were in trouble.
I would much rather be seated next to one of them in first class or coach than many of the adults I have had the misfortune to be seated by. They keep their noses stuck inside the book they are reading or are playing their Gameboys (with the sound turned off) for the entire flight--unless there is a movie they are watching, unlike some adults who persist in talking to me whether I want to talk or not (especially annoying when I just want to take a nap).

We had a family on a Virgin Atlantic trip back from LONDON that had 2 monsters behind us...Even the flight attendants wanted to throw the kids off the plane...and of course,the parents were typically tuned out....

and this WAS first class!!!

Punani can't be for real,got to be a troll post.

Yes. I earn quite a lot of miles on business trips and when we take family vactions I use my upgrades to bump us all up front. On a recent trip to FL in May, my 5 and 6 year olds sat next to my wife and I and they were quieter and more well behaved than at least half of the other firstr class passengers. Screaming infants are another matter. When they were in that stage, my wife and I would agree to one of us in coach with the kids and the other one in first. Then we switched roles on connecting/return flights