Originally Posted by fastair

I'm not a fan of the decision either but except for a few markets (leisure for most,) I think the majority of you are blowing this way out of perportion. Excluding the nightmare of MCO or other beach destination, I would bet that the quantity of families with children under 3 is a a few percent. If you travel often to MCO, o any beach/cruise destination, those numbers will be much greater, But I average around 1 infant on most RJs I board. During Christmas and other holidays where people with kids travel together, it shoots up, but for 85% of the year, the volumes are consistently low.

The sky is NOT falling.

By the way, an echo to the fact that the opinion of FT is a microcosm of reality, I can say that when I do turn away either a) military NOT in uniform from pre-boarding or B) families with small children from doing it, I get jeers from most of boarding groups 1 and 2, who have consistently lined up blocking the disabled and GS from getting thru to preboard. If FT was a true sample of those in groups 1 and 2, I would say, that a) they are not, and b) most sympathize with families, and military not in uniform.

FT isn't a representative sample of frequent flyers, it is a sample of flyers whose spare time revolves around airline status and it's perks. Most "road warriors" use their status when necessary, and then don't think about it until their next flight is being booked. It doesn't define most people who fly frequently and they aren't bothered by 30 extra seconds of waiting a couple of times per week.

Sorry to be harsh, but these are the facts as I see them. YMMV