For many of us (the childless ones, anyway), few things about flying are as excruciating as a crying baby. We know, babies have to travel too, but when you're trapped in an aluminum tube six miles in the air, nerves get rattled and fuses get short. (now.msn.com) More...
I like this idea... I know there are restaurants that have gone child free and have really caught on... really gripes me when people let there kids just throw food, yell, scream, run around... This has gone too far.
I actually had an interview in an airport terminal and 2 brats during my interview started running around me and the interviewer and throwing paper balls at me while I am trying to answer questions. The parents did nothing.... I wanted to say something, but did not want to blow the interview.... Some how I got thru it and got the job :) so it was not a total bust.
I am an old grump - because of things like a kid kicking the back of my seat every few minutes for an entire trans-Atlantic flight (don't they ever sleep?). In my experience most kids have been okay but every once in awhile I get seated by a real brat that provides an experience I will never forget. Put them in the baggage compartment.
I suggest we put all obese passengers in a section by themselves. Let them sit three across and work it out among themselves. Then I can have my seat without being encroached upon.
Yeah, great but this is one the airlines that is going to install connections at every seat so that passengers can bring out their mobile phones and chatter the hell out of the entire 12-hour long 300 passenger flights, go figure (LOL!!!!)
OK, maybe I can see a point here. I do not really know, but families need to travel as well. How about Airbus and Boeing designing a family cocoon area up against the bulkheads and lavatories. enclosed in a separate cabin with readily positioned and removable wall sections ? I don't know how this can work. The German Rail operator DB has "family rooms" on their ICE Long distance trains. Any clever and inventive engineers/designers out there could maybe look into this idea!?
Okay, look at it another way. I have had dogs and currently parrots. In Europe it is possible to travel with pet animals on both airplanes ( in the baggage hold ) as well as boats and other mass transit vehicles under your supervision but there is one major proviso....YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ANIMAL AND IT'S BEHAVIOUR AT ALL TIMES. Any violation and there are consequences and in my view parents or guardians of accompanied human juveniles and infants should be held to account.
I believe this is already covered in the terms and conditions of travel, what used to be printed upon those wonderful paper tickets we used to get from the airlines.
Every ticketed passenger has the right to a safe and comfortable journey but despite popular beliefs, not a guaranteed seat. An obscure point of law but it remains that any and every passenger is responsible in some way for his/her plus child's behaviour in flight. A drunk is liable to arrest upon landing, handcuffing in flight etc. so why should roudy kids be treated differently?
I have endured many 12+ hour flights from Asia to UK to suffer one or two uncontrolled youngsters bouncing about in the seat in front or behind whilst trying to get some sleep!!!
Farting is indeed a problem as is garlic ridden food served in flight but the air exchange situation is in the gift of the flight crew, in my view, infrequent and insufficient.....much can be done to improve the flight experience but it takes a brave airline to risk expensive legal challenges to blaze a trail for offering the majority a very enjoyable experience on their airplanes!!!
We've seen far more selfish, immature behavior from adults than from children during our travels, and some of the posts here confirm that fact. Yes, it would be great if all airlines could provide specific areas for families. But the shaky economics of the business mean that's not likely to happen anytime soon.
Ever had to fly in/out of MCO for business? I would pay extra to be on a kid-free flight to that destination alone! It amazes me how poorly behaved the kids are, but worse how oblivious the parents are. Either that or they just don't care. I just LOVE having the back of my seat kicked by some crumb cruncher for the entire duration of the flight! It's okay though, go back to playing games on your iPhone and sucking down your Starbucks, you vapid d-bag soccer mom.
What a stupid idea....Newsflash...sound travels. I vote for kid free flights. Sorry. I have been through the kid thing and I an intolerant of bratty kids and especially their doting helicopter parents who think their little cupcake is an angel and the greatest kid on earth.
A civilized society takes steps to make sure the weakest among us, infants and children are taken care of first! Once the little ones are OK, everybody will be OK. Yes, there are those few apparently clueless parents, but I bet that they too are just exhausted from the demands of travel and child rearing and in need of a break too. Why not a dedicated parent/infant/child seating section with amenities to make traveling with infants and children easier instead of making it harder? This so called baby-free solution makes parents feel as if they are the scourge of the world by first having children and then having the audacity to take them with them on an airline! No way to treat the keepers of the next generation!
Isn't it possible to just exhibit some mature patience and realize babies do cry, and believe it or not understand that the parents are just as uncomfortable and embarrassed knowing how everyone on board feels about it? A baby is a part of the family folks, and deserves to go on family trips too. Suck it up. The flight is typically just a few hours of your time. You'll survive it, really, and you'll be just fine. Babies are cool little dudes.
No. Actually people who have young children should think of the kids and make certain sacrifices. Once the kids are in the family, life changes. Life as the parents know it CHANGES for the next 20 years. You don't have the freedom to do as you wish. It is what it is.
How about a psych eval and a parenting assessment before you are given a boarding pass. Ha... I am a parent of a 20 month little girl. We have flown quite a bit since she was born and I agree that the flight attendants have either made or destroyed our flight experience. Those horrid parents that you all refer to are the problem with our country. We have lost respect for ourselves, our heritage, culture and have no respect for those around us. I also agree that there are those people that live to complain . We had one on our flight home from GA. Her husband would ask for a drink every time she had a concern with someone or something... Needless to say he was two sheets to the wind upon finding terra firma again.
EXCELLENT! - and about time - always been my belief that unless a child is being flown to a procedure of medical necessity, or a relocation (ie. adoption), then they don't need to fly anywhere. The majority of the time, children fly only to satisfy the self-centered wants of their "parents", making their own lives more convenient while inconveniencing everyone else's (on the airplane).
All the folks complaining about babies and kids, need to do two things. First, they need to grow up and start acting like adults, and second, they need to realize that they were once babies themselves and nobody is perfect.
"We know, babies have to travel too"--The point here is NO THEY DON'T!! All travel with babies is optional or vacation travel!! No baby has a job & travels on biz!! Since the parents are too inconsiderate to leave them home, all kids under 3 or 4 should be banned--PERIOD!! THEN AFTER THAT AGE, a kid no fly list. Kid acts up once & ruins a flight by refusing to sit down & fasten seat belt--they don't fly for a year. Make parents more responsible for their 'little darliongs' behavior!!
Some years ago, I am proud to say, I took my son on his first flight. I was a military dependent and I took him home for Mother's Day to meet his Grandmothers. I had him strapped up in his 5-point infant car seat and then buckled his scar seat into the seat next to me. I took his picture for his baby book entry for "1st flight"! He really enjoyed both flights and loved everything about it! Not even a whimper! He got his first set of wings! He was about 6 months old. It was his Pediatrician who told me when he was good to go. Today, he is still enjoying flying as a professional 757/767 pilot.
At the last count, I read that most of the big flag carriers had up to 4 ( four ) cabins to cater from the ultra rich to the cattle seated at the back end of the aircraft. Each of the classes pay according to their wallets and needs so why not the airlines add another class of travel for nursing mothers? It needs just perhaps 3 ( three ) rows of seats suitably spaced from each other but in such a cabin the noise of other babies would be no problem to other such cabin members.
Of course, sufficient sound proofing would be essential and a dedicated cabin crew member qualified for child care would be an asset. Charge them between business class and Premium Economy maybe?
You can expect the Southwest/Ryanair types of carrier would not bother with this facility but perhaps BA/Emirates/Singapore/Qantas/Lufthansa etc might consider this as progressive?
Once you have kids of your own, crying babies don't bother you as much. You think but for the grace of God, there I go, and you sympathize with the poor parent.
Get a grip everyone! It's a mode of public transportation. In my neck of the woods, we already have a "no-pet"zone and a "no-nuts"zone (yea,right!) Enough, already. If you don't like it, a know of an outfit called LEAR...
