Pollyana

I've done it a couple of times with spare seats but more often than not its been full, or pretty nearly so.
I can understand people not wanting to pay for a full seat but like you I'd be pretty cranky if I was stuck in a 3-seat with a child of that age as an extra.
I'd certainly be demanding the window seat so I didn't have to get up and down every 5 minutes - booking seats in the middle section would at least mean easier access.

Beoz

Worth noting the next few months have an Ashes series and a Rugby World Cup. Spare seats could be slim.

moneypenny20

Or you get the window seat but then 'they' get huffy because they have to get up and wake bub up because you need to walk and pee (not at the same time unless you're really really desperate)

Pollyana

A very rare occurence on my flights, trust me; I can't remember the last time I had to disturb anyone, I take advatage of the times the aisle people are out of their seats, works better for everyone. Preferable to me switching off ipad and music, having to empty my drink quick, and disentangle myself from the seatbelt every time the baby wants changing, feeding, exercising, stuff from its bag........been there, done that. Personally I would think parents would prefer the freedom to get up and down with the kiddie as they want?

Only advantage of an aisle seat would be that when the parent says 'hold him/her for me while I have my dinner' I can make my escape fast!!! (and yes, I've done that before too! Not a safe person to give your baby to, I have not a shred of a clue how to look after one)

stuartsummers1980

And the results are in!

I thought I'd check back in and let everyone know how things transpired. We're now back from our 3 1/2 weeks in the UK and this is how the whole seat thing went down.

Aus-UK

So initially we had to fly Melbourne to Sydney domestic, then Sydney to London via Dubai. (incidentally I don't recommend that even if it is cheaper). I'd in the end decided to book 2 seats of a middle bank of 4. We nearly got really lucky as 2 of the 4 hadn't actually been allocated. Annoyingly though the end one was given to someone while on the plane who had needed to move. (his original seat must have been bad to agree to be relocated near a toddler). We still had one seat though so can't complain. She didn't sleep though till right near the end and it was a tough flight. She's quite long so needed to stretch out and couldn't get comfy, but still better than being on my lap I guess.

Dubai to London. Now the spare seat was due to be taken on the next leg. Fortunately (although technically unfortunately) our little one was a little bit sick on the 1st leg, so we managed to use that as a negotiating tool at Dubai to have the seats all moved around. So Dubai to London we had a spare seat of a row of 4 and she slept much better thankfully!

And back again......London to Dubai. We flew at 1:30pm UK time on a Monday. This time we were allocated a spare seat of 3. But the flight was so under capacity on this leg that I saw a row of 4 spare at the back and they let us move there. It meant my wife and I could go far ends and our little one could have the middle 2. Somewhat unfortunately this flight fell on her nap time so she only slept for 80 minutes, but even when she was awake it felt awesome to have the whole row to ourselves.

Dubai to Melbourne. Much busier leg so we had to go back to our allocated seats meaning only 1 spare. This was a bit tougher as she did want to sleep but the arm rests wouldn't stay up. It meant I had to sleep myself in a position that meant I was stopping the arm rest from coming down on my daughters legs. It was tough and uncomfortable for me as her legs were across me while I was leaning to keep an arm rest up, but she slept nearly all the flight so my sacrifice was worth it I guess.

Conclusion. If you have a toddler under 2. Don't spend the money on a separate full ticket to guarantee a seat. Yes it's a risk but it's so unlikely that you'll have no spare seat the whole way. Other conclusion is book 2 of a 4. If you're fortunate enough to get no one else on the row then you really have hit the jackpot. Yes a 3 can give you more privacy, but the chance of having a 4 is worth taking the risk.

Lastly an observation on our way home to Aus. The Qantas cabin crew were so much nicer from UK to Dubai. They were all generally British. Comparatively the Aussie crew that got on from Dubai to Melbourne were damn rude and unhelpful. Generally I would have thought it would be the other way round, but it was astonishing how the levels of service and politeness differed.

Beoz

Good synopsis. Just booked some Q flights to London in Aug. Can't book a bassinet upfront which you can on Emirates. Being a gold FF I was a bit pissed off by that. They do it on ordet of age. Youngest to oldest. Its the second trip to London with the little fella. He was near perfect first time round. Fingers crossed for this.

Have to agree on the Aussie Q staff. They are a bit brash and a bit robotic. Not as robotic as the Emirates staff which I found a disgrace with infant.

Pollyana

A friend of mine was involved in desiging the training programme for the first London based Qantas staff a few years ago, and personally trained the first few batches of cabin crew. He said the feedback was amazing, everyone was commenting on the fact that Uk based crew were more polite and friendly and caring than the Aussie based ones. He worked with several other UK based airlines before getting the Qantas job and just carried forward the training he had used for other airlines. i had some fascinating chats with crew on board who had been trained by him -must be 6-7 years ago now - and they were all pleasant and friendly even before they knew he was my mate! Even now I can always tell the London based crew as opposed to the rest. Doesn't say much for the Qantas based training really.

Beoz

Yep. UK based ones are much better. Same has to be said on Emirates. There is a world wide cast of crew on Emirates. The British staff are by far and away better than the rest. They keep the whole thing under control.

Amazulu

The Argentinean barman on my Emirates flight to Dubai was the best cabin crew person that I have ever had to interact with

Top dude

Beoz

Top deck?

Amazulu

It was. There were certain times during the night when I was his only customer. I definitely drank more than my fair share!

Beoz

Best way to avoid jet lag.