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Parenting

12th Jun 2017

Gordon Ramsay explains why he refuses to fly his kids first class

Orlaith Condon

Gordon Ramsay is well used to getting backlash for his on-air antics.

However, it was his parenting decisions that made him the topic of a major debate online recently.

Yes, the TV chef found himself the topic of online discussion recently after it was revealed that he and his wife Tana fly their children in economy while they sit in first class.

Social media users were quick to criticise the parents who they said had enough money to fly their children in first class seats. They also claimed it was unfair for Gordon and Tana to sit in first class while they made their children sit in economy.

A post shared by Gordon Ramsay (@gordongram) on


However, not one to hold back, Gordon shared his thoughts on the issue after the broadcast of his show The F Word, saying:

“I got s**t last week from a major newspaper for not sitting my kids in first class,” the dad-of-four said.

“I did not fly on a f**king plane until I was 19 years of age. And when I sat on the plane, cramped for eight hours with food that was cooked three weeks ago, I was just happy to take off and be in a plane.

“The fact that I am going to sit a six-year-old in a first class seat for £15,000 to fly from LA to London… £15,000. You can buy a car for that.

“No. I have got to keep it real with the kids, and also I think just getting kids at the age of five, six and seven, used to first class and those big seats, they do not need the space. They get entertainment on their iPads.

“So I like to think about what you can do with the money when you land, rather than paying our thousands of pounds for eight, nine, ten-year-olds to sit in first class.”

Shutting down the online debate, Gordon finished by saying it was his and his wife’s decision to make.

“I am not embarrassed. It is my wife and I’s choice to discipline them and to keep them real.”