Children on Flights - What would you prefer to Happen?

Becky D
#1. November 6th, 2007, at 12:45 PM.

I think I like option 2. It’s a good middle ground-not too harsh, but at the same time addressing the problem of crying babies and such.

trashy
#2. November 7th, 2007, at 5:17 AM.

I understand that people need to take their kids sometimes but seems like every flight now I have to hear a crying baby. I like to be relaxed on my flight and enjoy the peace. when you have a crying baby on board it ruins the whole flight so I say I would def be in fo an adult only flight.

Nandina
#3. November 7th, 2007, at 12:30 PM.

2b - No minors beyond a certain point. In fact, they can even have the front half of the plane, because then the screaming will be projected only at other families. Plus they can on-board and off-board quickly.

I don’t think there should be “cheaper prices” for families above and beyond any discounts they already receive. Why should those without children be penalized?

Jadalina
#4. November 8th, 2007, at 4:40 PM.

Why would families get a cheaper rate? The seat should cost the same no matter who sits in it.

I’m all for putting them in the rear of the plane, with a nice big sound proofing divider curtain between them and everyone else. They can take out some seats and put some nice plastic playground back there, put vinyl on the floor to make it easier to clean up projectile vomiting, and have a few seats with wraparound restraints for the chilluns who truely lose their minds on the flight and need to be subdued.

A coach ticket from LAX to Beijing cost me $700 on Air China. Same ticket for first class ran about $10,000. Business class was only slightly less, at $6500. First class isn’t an escape route for those of us flying on our own dime.

What’s wrong with children? Spend 10 hours on a plane with some kid behind you using the back of your seat as a springboard the entire time, or a screaming 2 year old who is immune to the effects of laryngitis that most of us would succumb to after 30 minutes of such vocal theatrics. Then ask that question again. And yes, I was one once too, but my parents would have throttled me if I behaved like I’ve seen so many children on flights act.

Jocelyn
#5. November 9th, 2007, at 1:46 AM.

2 — people with children have to fly too! but if it’s a long flight,. children will start to be noisy and annoy other passengers. i think it would make everyone happy.

redsoxlvrx3
#6. November 9th, 2007, at 8:14 AM.

4.If you really want to get away from little kids crying or teenagers cranking up their ipod or playing with their cell phones, go to first class!Do you honestly think that children travelling alone can afford that?I also choose 5.My Word, DRIVE if your so worried about kids.But i like your question because alot of people feel this way (although i am not one of them =]

mamacatto2
#7. November 10th, 2007, at 7:56 AM.

adults only flights would be good but it would screw up the entire scheduling system even more, and tickets for that flight would be outrageous. I think a family section would be preferable. Perhaps when families book, there would be a way the airline could segregate those into their own romper room section. However if this began to happen, the airlines would find a way to make all seats outside of the romper room area a “premium” seat. Maybe the best thing to do is to pipe in sleeping gas so everyone falls out during the flight-including the kids? It’s hard to ask for a change without knowing that the airlines are just going to find a way to make more money.

SQ
#8. November 12th, 2007, at 10:36 PM.

None of the above… I think that parents should teach their kids (toddlers) to behave themselves, play quietly, respect people around them when traveling, and bring LOTS of toys/books to keep them occupied. As for babies… there’s nothing you can really do about a screaming baby except hope he/she will eventually get tired and go to sleep. I have found the most disruptive children on planes are usually the ones who are old enough to know better.

Eclipsepearl
#9. November 14th, 2007, at 9:49 PM.

5.

I was single for a long, long time before I procreated.

I was a Flight Attendant for 13 years, 2 carriers in five countries. I’ve been to almost 60 countries and flown on over 40 airlines.

Kids used to bug me too. Now I try my best to keep mine from bugging other people BUT there are some serious problems going on with the way airlines allocate their seats.

Most importantly, bulkheads should be for families with small children! How many times do I get onboard while I’m *alone* with *three* small children, I’ve requested a bulkhead and there are all ADULTS seated there. Well great one folks! You just go ahead and enjoy the extra legroom (that you could have had in the emergency row where I can’t sit with my children) and then complain about my brats kicking the seats…

Parents, remove your kids’ shoes when you get onboard, especially toddlers. If there are children behind you, ask the parents to remove the kids’ shoes. This is a biggie. This will solve half the problem.

If there is a free seat and kids behind you, try to place the empty seat in front of the most-likely-to-kick passenger. I actually suggested that to the row of adults in front of us when I saw they had an empty seat in their row. Of course, I started with “We did request a bulkhead but as you can see, it’s filled with ADULTS so now my concern is…”

If there are children around you, can you please close the shades? A darker cabin means other passengers can watch the movies and the kids are more likely to sleep. How many times as a F/A I gently asked people to close them with a “but I want to read…” while they have a READING LIGHT right above them…

On the same token, if you want to sleep, can you all please TURN OFF YOUR READING LIGHTS. Again, the little ones, as well as the big ones will sleep much better if the cabin isn’t lit up like a Xmas tree…

If you really object to children, you should think about booking business. There are very few children up there and it’s much quieter.

No, a “family section” would NOT work. You would be the one screaming “but I want an aisle seat…” but they’re all taken because of the family section. Gosh folks, I flew with smoking flights and that was *bad enough* to sort out…Family Section=seating nightmare and YOU not getting the seat you want, stuck in the middle, five rows from your traveling partner…

Same thing will happen when you try to book your flight home at 5pm but it’s overbooked because all the families who were *not allowed* on the 3pm, which was an adult’s only flight, are trying to get on with you now…

But this one, I can’t emphasize enough. Children are allowed to travel in parents’ laps until age 2. Have you seen how big some 2 year olds are?? It’s not safe, not comforatable and shouldn’t be allowed. We F/A’s secured the coffee pots but the children were loose. Double seatbelts are dangerous so not a solution.

The only real answer is A SEAT FOR EACH PASSENGER. Will families have to pay more? Well, yes. What is the price of their children’s safety? Think Mastercard ad. We also need to get rid of a lot of stupid rules about carseats being on airplanes. Just let them onboard and stop fussing with all this palavah of what seat is allowed by what nationality, etc. Just let parents bring them onboard! I kid strapped in is less likely to run around and cause problems.

My seats have actually been *removed* by foreign carriers because they were U.S. made. I was forced to fly unsafely with my children. Nothing happened but it was harder to keep them “contained” so while I buy a seat for my kids, I do have experience with flying both ways so trust me, having the carseat makes a world of difference!

So please badger your congressman to support any legislation that requires parents to pay for a seat and/or liberalizes the existing carseat restrictions. Just creating the extra room will make the flight easier on everyone!

So let’s concentrate on getting real solutions to these problems. You can complain about “bad parents” until you’re out of wind or you can support some Real Solutions like freeing up bulkheads, supporting families who pay for individual seats and cooperating with the flight crew to make everyone more comfortable.

DougF
#10. November 14th, 2007, at 10:54 PM.

I have flown long haul (Australia to Europe) with my own children and equally regularly with children on board.

I have found that if there are real annoyances on a flight, it is not the kids. Sure they can be a little noisy and fidgety on short flights, but my experience is that on long flights they do settle down.

Over the years, I have been annoyed more by:

- intoxicated passengers
- the passenger behind me that kept pushing up my seat back when I wanted to sleep because he was so tall, he could not move without his knees pushing against the seat.
- morbidly obese passengers who have been allocated a centre seat, and who spill out both ways.

When the airlines have eradicated these annoyances, which last the whole flight, then I might agree that it is time to turn their attention to children.

So I am for #5. If you have a problem with children, bring your own earplugs, neck pillow and face mask. You need to address the problem, not expect that this will be done for you by the airline.