Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer - Youngest Solitaire PPS

Just to make some of you jealous http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif:
A friend's boss has a son which became the youngest Solitaire PPS at just 4 years old.
The kid's mom automatically became the supplementary card holder.

StarG

And I thought it was you, the new Solitaire PPS member!

No champagne for the youngster. I guess he does not care about status at the moment.

At four years of age...? What about the consecutive years thing...? Isnt it 1+4 to get Solitaire or.....?

SQ-PPS relaxed the 4 years QPPS requirement for Solitaire eligibility. I got mine. I was still QPP2 when I flew end of Nov to surpass 250 sectors. And in Dec, I became TPP3. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Unfortunately, I am no longer 4 years old. So I am not so sure whether I can get my Life Solitaire. It seems this youngest Solitaire PPS will be the youngest Life Solitaire if the parents have the same near future travel patterns.

[This message has been edited by CGK (edited Feb 21, 2004).]

flamboyant 1: I am still a QPP unfortunately, 8 sectors away from TPP http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

The dad of this kid actually qualified as TPP one year after the son. The son travelled extensively with his grandparents.

StarG

I thought there was a minimum age requirement to join PPS? Or was that the Marco Polo Club?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by StarG:
Just to make some of you jealous http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif:
A friend's boss has a son which became the youngest Solitaire PPS at just 4 years old.
The kid's mom automatically became the supplementary card holder.

StarG</font>

At 4 years old, and he is already a Solitaire? I don't envy him, I pity him. At his age to be bombarded by radiation when flying. It's hard enough for us adults to balance the atitude changes on the ground and constantly in the air, so it's even harder for a 4 year old to go through that kind of rigorous flying.

Just make sure the kid gets lots of apple juice and green vegies (anti-oxidants) before and during the flight, since he probably won't take any antioxidant tablets. Constantly moisturise his skin.. or else time won't be gentle to him when he reaches his 20s.

Exactly the first thought I had.

Those cosmic rays have probably done irrepairable damage to his fragile young brain and other assorted tissue and cells. Recall that the radiation dose of one long-haul trip equals to one shot of chest X-ray. This kid is clearly way above the recommended safety limit.

Maybe this is where the SQ company medical director should chip in and warn the customer and guardian.

One other thing. What are the grandparents doing with all their FF points?!?

I thought about the fatigue, but not the radiation. Well, I guess you may be right.
Solitaire: 250 sectors minimum.
That is about 15-20 long haul return trips from Jakarta.

StarG

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by MillionMiles:
Exactly the first thought I had.

Those cosmic rays have probably done irrepairable damage to his fragile young brain and other assorted tissue and cells. Recall that the radiation dose of one long-haul trip equals to one shot of chest X-ray. This kid is clearly way above the recommended safety limit.

Maybe this is where the SQ company medical director should chip in and warn the customer and guardian.

One other thing. What are the grandparents doing with all their FF points?!?</font>

You're all sour grapes!

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Buster CT1K:
You're all sour grapes!</font>

Because we don't have a kid that flies 250K since birth or because we don't have the same status as the kid?

A bit of both http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif!

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by StarG:
Just to make some of you jealous http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif:
A friend's boss has a son which became the youngest Solitaire PPS at just 4 years old.
The kid's mom automatically became the supplementary card holder.

StarG</font>


Wow,
Alot of staff must ask him if hes in the right check in area if he travells alone.

I'm quite young and when i use my *G status to check in at the *G Counter alot of staff ask if im in the right place.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by ntddevsys:

Wow,
Alot of staff must ask him if hes in the right check in area if he travells alone.

I'm quite young and when i use my *G status to check in at the *G Counter alot of staff ask if im in the right place.</font>

i was thinking the opposite actually. if this kid has never checked-in anywhere but the F class lounge or counter, just imagine how bewildered he/she'd look among the unwashed masses on a busy day at EY check-in... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Buster CT1K:
You're all sour grapes!</font>

I hate to burst the bubble, however the previously raised concerns are well voiced, and with good reason. I am a doctor, and I would be very concerned, this child has obviously been exposed to a fair amount of radiation, while at the most cellularly prolific time of his life!

Elitism at what cost? Is that card worth it?



[This message has been edited by onlyflybmi/UA (edited Mar 02, 2004).]

This radiation thing:
If we fly on night flights, do we not get any radiation at all or not as much?
For example, at no time on SQ19 nonstop from LAX to SIN did we encounter sunlight.

StarG

If I recall correctly, a transcon US flight gives you an exposure of about 5 millirem.

But don't assume that's all the radiation you would be getting without flying.

A US resident's exposure from various natural causes is about 360 millirem per year. (see eg http://www.physics.isu.edu/radinf/natural.htm)

So I think you have to do a bunch of flying before it becomes of concern. But 250k miles would appear to give a cumulative dose of something like 500 millirem, which might be significant. Unsure how it would affect children. Or how significant if spread over a couple of years.

From memory, there are no significant restrictions on air hostesses flying while pregnant (correct me if wrong).

Radon in homes (which is a big, mostly unrecognised problem) gives around 200 millirem per yr, while smoking 1 pack/day gives 1300 ! (see eg http://info.lu.farmingdale.edu/depts/met/ind310/ionizingradiation.html)

I don't think antioxidants would do much -- they would probably work on a molecular level (ie free radical type scavenging) whereas the worst problems with radiation would probably be DNA damage (strand breakage) where those compounds wouldn't get to (ie in the cell nucleus)

A r/t LAX-NYC gives you about 2 mrad according to this website (http://www.physics.isu.edu/radinf/natural.htm). Calculate your personal annual exposure (incl. flying) here (http://www.epa.gov/radiation/students/calculate.html).

------------------
truly yours. airOli.

If I recall correctly, a transcon US flight gives you an exposure of about 5 millirem.

But don't assume that's all the radiation you would be getting without flying.

A US resident's exposure from various natural causes is about 360 millirem per year. (see eg http://www.physics.isu.edu/radinf/natural.htm)

So I think you have to do a bunch of flying before it becomes of concern. But 250k miles would appear to give a cumulative dose of something like 500 millirem, which might be significant. Unsure how it would affect children. Or how significant if spread over a couple of years.


But if he is doing significant transpacific flying, wouldn't the time spent at more northerly latitudes significantly increase the exposure to cosmic rays?

And I agree -- anti-oxidants are unlikely to help.

It seems this youngest Solitaire PPS will be the youngest Life Solitaire if the parents have the same near future travel patterns.

[This message has been edited by CGK (edited Feb 21, 2004).]
Has it happened?

One other thing. What are the grandparents doing with all their FF points?!?
LOL. Best line ever

What good is PPS if you can't enjoy it. At his age his parents can easily secure bassinet seats. And Y would feel like F to a 4 year old.

I would recommend a lead lined cap and (when younger) lead lined bassinet and blanket.