EFATO

Just got off what would have been a perfectly acceptable MEL-AUH were it not for the 2 unaccompanied minors (UMs), about 8 and 10 years old, seated in 7E/F. Older brother started screaming at his sister at the top of his lungs at least 4 times during the flight, waking up the whole cabin. I'm a heavy, heavy sleeper and he woke me up through my earplugs.

Of course, with no parents to be found, nothing could be done. The brat didn't seem to give a flying f*** about what the F&B Manager had to say and given the space of the biz middle seat he seemed to think he was in his own bloody living room.

Snotty brats. I'd love to find their parents and slap them. 8 and 10 year old kids should not be flown Biz class, certainly not UNACCOMPANIED.

m0hamed

They paid to fly J and have just as much right to fly as you do.

Children and adults can all be brats. There's a reason it's called public transport.

EFATO

They have a right to FLY, not to have screaming matches throughout the night disturbing the cabin.

If an adult had behaved like that during the flight they would have been arrested upon landing.

Interesting that you defend them. Were they your kids?

LyingFlat

I don't mind kids in J provided they are accompanied by their parents/caregivers. I always get worried when I see kids in J/F but usually end up surprised at how well they behave.

However, I fully sympathise with the OP. I for one would never allow my kids to travel in J/F by themselves (or with me for that matter!). Good way to keep them grounded...

m0hamed

Ummm no, given that I am married to another man we have no intention of ever having children.

To be fair, I find EY/EK etc less likely to deal with difficult children, or adults.

I had a family of 4 Aussies on my last flight in F who get very drunk and disturbed the other half of the F cabin. The crew weren't practicing Responsible Service of Alcohol nor willing to tell them to quieten down.

RTW1

The first part may be right.... but for the rest? You find it justified that they should have been bothering those eco passengers that can hardly sleep anyway in their crappy seats?

Havoc10G

Because you pay more for biz and it is meant to be for business travellers who have meetings to go to vs economy which is for holiday makers who can rest at destination. Economy is generally so uncomfortable and hideous that a couple of badly behaved brats makes no difference plus someone In economy will more likely tell them much more forcefully to shut the **** up!

RTW1

Of course that what it says when buying a business class fare.... only business travelers permitted and sleeping compulsory :-). Or maybe that's just in your imagination....

h1ghfly3r

I am wondering what Etihad's inflight Nanny did?

Had a similar experience about a year ago. The mum didn't care about her kid's and the nanny had to from Y cabin to J to calm the kids down.

subject2load

This sort of behaviour really should not be tolerated. If it happened in say, a department store, cinema or (high-end) restaurant, the kids involved would very probably be told in no uncertain terms to desist or if necessary made to leave. And yet ironically, in any such places, those affected do at least have the option of leaving the scene themselves if they so choose. Hardly possible on an aircraft in mid-flight, and that's why I consider it totally unacceptable. No way does buying a ticket imply the right to cause such a disturbance.

Havoc10G makes a sound point as regards the reason why 'business class' is so named.

I have (more by good luck than design of course) never experienced a flight such as that described. Other than in my early years, I have been able to sit in premium cabins for the vast majority of my long-haul travel, but I'm very conscious that by the law of averages I will surely suffer some screaming brats sooner or later. And when it does happen, I know for a fact that I will be every bit as annoyed as the OP, especially if it involves such a long sector.

Havoc10G

I have quite an imagination so no problem there!

Of course these days it's all mixed up although I think the majority still travel business for business. In the good old days Y was mainly for tourists or leisure travellers, business well as it says on the ticket and F for the more affluent leisure traveller.

UM's should really not behave as described though and maybe some fine or sanction on the parents would be warranted. It simply isn't fair on those who have to sleep or who paid alot for their ticket. Even the poor Y class travellers shouldn't have to put up with it! Although I personally would be more annoyed in direct proportion to how much I paid for the ticket and what schedule awaits me at the destination.

RTW1

So it comes down to unacceptable behavior by two UM's, class of flight is totally irrelevant.

Havoc10G

Errr no like I said my view is I would be annoyed in direct proportion to how much I paid and what I had to do the following day ergo a business class traveller would in my view be more annoyed and have a right to be more annoyed as he/she likely paid more and is likely to have a meeting to go to (with exceptions but more likely). It isn't excusable in any class but reality is you pay your money you have expectations in proportion to that money paid. Unless you live in N Korea of course!

EFATO

I do agree with Havoc10G - i arrived off that 14 hour MEL-AUH at 7am, took a shower and got dressed in the lounge, and progressed immediately to 2 meetings in AUH, 1 meeting in DXB and a final meeting in AUH. I then headed straight back to the lounge, where I am presently waiting for my 2am to FRA. Little bas***ds are now sleeping in their beds.

I didn't care to have my paid for and banked upon sleep disturbed by UMs that were out of control in a family feud. Do consider the perspective difference of a 10 year old sitting in the 2 middle seats of an EY J cabin as opposed to an adult in the same seat. For us it might be an oasis of space - for them it is an entire desert in which they can scream to their heart's content with impunity.

These little creatures would have been perfectly accommodated in Y. Not only would they have had enough width and length in which to get a good night's sleep (goddamn it, how I wish I'd been taught how to sleep in a Y seat at 10 years of age, I'd be a much richer man for it today) but they would have also benefited from a positive interaction with their "public transport" peers (thanks Moh) in which they may have properly understood the idea of having to behave appropriately in a public space (and, given they were Aussies, perhaps benefited from a good old "shut the f*** up" slap that would not have been astray).

I guess their parents must have booked them for the food. Asparagus soup, steak sandwiches, Champagne, Marlborough and Bordeaux at high altitude. I look forward to the little f***er being the next Jamie Oliver, at which I will retract all I've said.

EFATO

oh, i did forget to mention:

when i finally struggled out of my chair to actually eyeball these culprits before the top of descent, i was greeted with no less than the sight of two 8 year olds eating steak sandwiches whilst wearing coordinated multicoloured noise cancelling headsets and enjoying a movie as the sun rose over the right side of the plane.

i seriously did a triple take but no matter how many times i looked back i couldn't bring myself to blame them.

may their parents, however, have one supremely horrible and sucky day.