Best plane red eye seats for families going to Europe?

I wasn't sure whether to put this on the family site or general for Europe ( maybe both? ) .We are taking a red eye from SF to AMS this fall & I am reading conflicting advice on what seats to ask for...some say bulkhead,some say thats the worst.


Whats been your best experience with a young child ( almost 6 at departure)?

I am sure you know this, but just in case, www.seatguru.com breaks down the pros & cons of the seats throughout the cabin (what recline, etc.).

I don't know what the difference having a child with you would be; I would assume you would have all three seats, but beyond that, just make sure the seats recline. You may get lucky and be on a lightly-loaded flight where maybe you can have extra space.

Thanks ( and sorry about my bad english in the title..its my mother tongue..I was just going to fast).

kids are really wiggly & high energy so thats probably the main difference...needing room & more up and down time.The actually HAVE to move thier bodies more than adults do.

WT - Just so you know, I created a shortcut in the Traveling With Kids forum for this topic.

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kids are really wiggly & high energy so thats probably the main difference...needing room & more up and down time.The actually HAVE to move thier bodies more than adults do.

Don't underestimate the importance of moving YOUR body during a long flight. DVT can happen even to people that are in many outward respects perfectly healthy.

For a really long flight like the one you describe, if you're not in business class or better, my experience is that you'll all wake up pretty cranky no matter what. Sorry.

In coach the kids never had enough water to drink and were pretty dehydrated by flight's end. Next time we brought extra water on board, and felt much better during and after the flight. Mostly, whatever is true for you the adult traveler will be true for kids too.

I would say, then WT, if you have to move around alot, go to the back of the plane where there is a little more room in the back galley area, and thus not too bothersome to other travelers.

Thanks all!

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my experience is that you'll all wake up pretty cranky no matter what

Yep,thats so true.

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Originally posted by WT:
Whats been your best experience with a young child ( almost 6 at departure)?

Proximity to the bathroom was important for my daughter - which means near the back of the plane. Unfortunately, that's also a bumpier ride, which can be a problem if the child has a sensitive stomach.

When traveling long distance with my daughter (London at 2, Tokyo at 7) the biggest challenge was making sure she could sleep comfortably. When she was little, a lap wedge pillow was her favorite, and later she liked the little horseshoe. We actually did sleep sitting "dry runs" for the Tokyo flight to make sure it all worked for her. A sleepy kid is a cranky kid and a cranky kid on an overnight flight is a horror.

Good luck with the trip!

La