Originally Posted by
UALOneKPlus
Like I said, as long as the child doesn't intrude upon the aisle passenger, what's the harm to the aisle passenger?
With all due respect, I don't think that's responsive to my questions. When there are empty middle seats between myself and my row-mate, we generally share the space, putting our coats, reading materials, etc. in the seat, using the middle tray to hold our beverages, etc. Sharing the unplanned windfall makes sense. Automatically deferring to the passenger with the lap child doesn't.
The child is not going to take away the arm rest of the aisle passenger, and as long as its well behaved, the aisle passenger is no worse off with his aisle seat. However, the kindness of allowing the parent to take advantage of the middle seat is a minor act of decency.
Well, I'd appreciate it if you explain that. Why is it decent to do this, rather than share the space? I'm still trying to understand why some people believe that parents traveling with children deserve special deference or, to phrase it somewhat differently, have some sort of implicit entitlement to such deference?
The parent chose to take a risk of having the child on his / her lap for the flight, but if an empty seat is available, why not let the child or the parent take advantage of it?
The aisle passenger chose to take a risk of having a pax next to him in the middle seat. If an empty seat is available, why not let that pax take advantage of it? As I said, sharing the space makes perfect sense to me. Simply assuming an entitlement on the part of parent does not.
It's similar to the Person of Size policy on WN. If a plane is full, then the P.O.S. pax must buy two tickets. But if a plane is not full, the the P.O.S. pax is allowed two seats free of charge.
Oh, I'd be fine with a policy that says, "Parents of young children must buy two seats, but if there is an extra seat available, the additional seat charge will be refunded."
Aside from my usual displeasure with entitlement-demanding parents on aircraft, I have had the misfortune of being stuck next to a lap child, with me in the window seat and the parent in the middle. It was a miserable flight for me -- the child wouldn't sit still and was "handsy," constantly slapping and kicking me and, other than apologizing, the parent did nothing to prevent it (nor do I think it's reasonable to expect a child that age to sit perfectly still). I don't blame the child for acting like a child. I absolutely DO blame the parent. I
despise the concept of lap children because of the imposition on
other passengers. For that reason, I don't think it's "moral" or "decent" to defer to the parents of lap children who already made the decision, by not buying a seat for their child, to risk the near certainty of making a stranger miserable. Personally, I will do nothing that encourages, aids or abets people to fly with their children on their lap.