Woman’s ‘Selfish’ Business Class Move Sparks Age-Old Debate

Selfish, or smart?

Woman’s ‘Selfish’ Business Class Move Sparks Age-Old Debate

Image Credit: Aircraft Interiors International

A woman has revealed on a Facebook mothers group that her friend flies business class, while booking her children into economy. Some people thought it was a great idea; others said it was rude (and an example of bad parenting).


A business class passenger’s act of self-care has raised eyebrows online, with some calling it selfish, and others calling it smart.

A woman took to social media to share how her friend likes to fly at the pointy end of the plane, while leaving her children in cattle class. She did not share how old her friend’s children were (a crucial detail).

This story was brought to our attention by ESCAPE, who reported that the woman took to Facebook in moral bewilderment, writing: “I just found out my friend flies Business Class with her primary school-aged kids as unaccompanied minors in Economy.”

“Nearly fell off my chair as it had never occurred to me not to be sitting with them, making sure they’re OK through takeoffs, turbulence, general supervision etc through a long flight. I figure we all fly Business or all Economy.”

“Maybe I’m too helicopter? Is this a common thing I just never knew about? Or maybe kids’ ages matter? What do you do?”

RELATED: Kids On Planes: Why Kids Shouldn’t Be Allowed To Fly Business Class

Some commenters said it wasn’t just bad parenting, but also bad citizenry (letting your children’s unchecked behaviour potentially disrupt other passengers in economy).

“It makes it pretty clear to her kids what your friend thinks of them,” one mum said.

Another said: “I find this completely disrespectful to the other passengers that end up sitting near the kids. Either everyone goes Business or everyone goes Economy.”

Others found it inspirational. One tagged their friend saying they should try it with their kids next time they fly (“why didn’t we think of this before”).

ESCAPE reported that an industry insider said it’s a pretty unlikely story (though they didn’t rule out the fact it could, technically have happened, so long as the mum paid the airline a fee to have her kids travel as unaccompanied minors).

Image Credit: SkyLux Travel Blog

Whether or not kids should be allowed to fly business class is a debate that crops up fairly regularly online. From AskThe Pilot to news.com.au, many outlets and travel bloggers have asked the question (with many people pointing out the fact that adults can, in some instances, be just as irritating as kids).

RELATED: Man’s ‘Innocent’ Act Sparks Flight Etiquette Debate

As for the whole letting children fly alone debate, quite a few publications have covered this too (from One Mile At A Time to Traveller). The quetion has been asked on Tripadvisor too, with one business class loving mother writing: “As somebody that has worked hard to be able to fly in Premium cabins, I am very conscious of our daughter growing up over entitled”.

If the kids were 15, for instance, letting them fly in economy on their own is quite a different situation to letting them fly alone if they are 5…

According to The Mirror, four in 10 parents would leave their kids alone in economy to enjoy a first class flight (according to a survey of 2,000 mums and dads).

The age-old debate continues…