Badenoch

If the behavior of the child in any way reflects the DYKWIA attitude and internet tough guy approach of her father in this thread then I side with Mr. L. I wouldn't want to be seated beside his wife and child either.

pinniped

*shrug* I guess I don't see why chartering your own plane is such an awful idea. There are tons of options out there - different arrangements, types of aircraft, various price points, etc.

If you use mass transit, you get the benefits of mass transit pricing and the drawbacks of being around other people who use mass transit.

If you go with private transport, you get the benefit of service and privacy at a higher cost.

It's a decision we frequently make when we're considering a taxi vs. a bus. In a lot of cases, the ratio of a taxi fare to a bus fare is actually greater than the ratio of a small charter aircraft rate to commercial F fares. (Clearly there are long-haul routes where this is not the case or there is no viable charter option.)

Sounds like a lot of us want to have our cake and eat it too. We like the mass transit pricing but we want to control what kind of people get to be near us on the bus.

LTBoston

^

exbayern

I stayed out of this thread, and especially when the entire story became questionable with the follow up posts from OP.

But I thought the same from the very start.

If the wife and child had all that spread out as detailed in later posts, and it was before takeoff, they would have to repack it all and store it. Tough with a lap child, and with a child that large, where exactly was all of this?

I can't judge the other passenger at this point since I'm not certain that events transpired as posted, but I do wonder if it was more a situation where he arrived to find his seat area encroached upon (either by child, or by toys/bags/electronics as listed), and went to seek assistance.

I boarded a BA shorthaul flight to find the window seat passenger (in the premium cabin) had an unwrapped painting which he had stored in my seat area. I took one look, turned around, and asked the FA to have it removed so that I could sit down. Now I wonder how that story would be presented on FT, from the window seat passenger's point of view.

wolfie52

The only time I don't like children on a flight is when they sit behind me and constantly kick or pull on the seat! As a parent who has flown with my kids since as young as 8 months, I try to insure they are well behaved and don't bother others. Tolerance is needed sometimes, and obviously this lady felt "entitled".

I have a strategy I use when there is any problem flying, whether annoying passengers or ground delays. I think back to the book I read years ago, "Woman's Diaries of the Westward Journey" by Lillian Schlissel. It detailed the life in the mid 1800's of families crossing the frontier by wagon, foot or horseback. It took MONTHS to go from Missouri to Oregon or California. There was heat and cold; occasional animal or Indian attacks: many broken pieces of equipment; starvation and or lack of water; death of children was common...well you get my drift.

I always smile when travelers complain about minor annoyances, such as delays, or food not being so "great" or whatever. I think about the fact that I can travel 600 miles in ONE HOUR, in reasonable comfort and safety, and don't have to pay much more than a couple of hours pay for the luxury. It is all in the perspective!

WBrinegar

The child in question is not any larger than any other 23 month old, actually she's a bit smaller than the children in her class at school. She's in the seat of one of the Saab turbo props operated by Silver Airways.

The items in question were a bag of pretzels, juice cup, iPhone (plugged in), two little books and her two bags (purse and backpack) already stowed in the overhead bin. Seriously not strewage, not encroaching and all carefully planned by time and experience to occupy the child during the flight.

The insult and frustration my wife experienced stems from her pre-planned effort to make the trip as pleasant as possible for all involved (again - we have some experience with this) and to be removed from her assigned seat (not poached) purely for the prejudice of another passenger is at issue.

Everyone has different personalities - one's accusation of being a doormat, may just simply be a personality of being cooperative, taking the higher road, and not wishing to inconvenience anyone further with an already uncomfortable situation she did not cause for other than being on the plane. She kept her mouth shut, let 1K tirade, and accepted the FA resolution.

I'm not playing DYKWIA or internet tough guy either. The OP reflected a statement on how she was made to feel because of his tirade, a request for tolerance, and an understanding of her right to be in her seat just as much as anyone else.

enviroian

Hate to say it but whether or not the OP's threat was obviously misguided and unintentional, the minute the OP said it coupled with the GS and 1K tirade all credibility was lost from there on.

I'm not agreeing nor disagreeing with my above statement, I'm only stating what appears to be the common undertone of all posts subsequent to the comment you made.

exbayern

You were not there, correct? Neither were any of us.

There is no guarantee that this story occurred exactly as presented. I don't believe that most of what is posted on FT is a verbatim, factual account. I didn't bother posting at first because I didn't believe that the story was an exact account, especially considering that you were not there to witness it. Your account is most likely coloured by emotion, just as many are on FT.

Combined with your follow up posts, I absolutely doubt that the first post is a factual account of what transpired.

I'll wait for 1K or someone else to post their account before I make judgement on 1K

This calls into question what you posted above. First it was a hassle for your wife to move everything, then it wasn't much at all. Why move her bags if she was only moving back a few rows?

And first you say that he boarded 'very late', then you say he ranted for '15 minutes'. So he was amongst the last to board, and yet there was at least another 15 minute before seating was completed?

The photo of your child shows her taking up almost an entire seat. I've sat next to a large lap child and it is very uncomfortable. There is no way for the parent to completely contain them without encroaching on the people next to them.

Again, I won't judge 1K at this point based on your total posts on this thread.

Badenoch

Your challenge of a bet (with 3-1 odds in your favour incidentally) and your threat to lie about what a another passenger said most certainly puts you into that category among several others.

WBrinegar

Sure - but I have to take history into consideration. Some 40+ flights under her belt with my child in tow, she has never had an issue with anyone on the plane ever or she would have told me. Child has once had a meltdown on the plane while in F, and which point she related she actually removed herself from the F cabin and went to the back of the plane until the child fell asleep. No reason to lie about her experience, nor inflate the details. This is how she was made to feel.

I'll take the hit for poor knee-jerk reaction to a hypothetical situation - but which one of us has never claimed to have handled a situation differently in hindsight. MY reaction post issue does not alter the experience.

WBrinegar

It's actually 2-1 - She is still a lap child.

Allan38103

Move on people. There's nothing to see here.

Ocn Vw 1K

Historically, children in premium cabins and demanding elite travelers have been the most volatile threads in the forum, where we've seen the most number of cases of personal attacks against other members. Here, these topics co-exist and have been stressed further by the OP's later post(s). Despite that, we've tried to keep the thread open as long as practical.

Nevertheless, the rule against personal attacks on other FT members is a key FT Rule and those posts have been growing. The OP has received a wide variety of member reaction and it's now time to close this. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator.