canadiancow

But... the staff didn't do that.

My (rhetorical) question is whether it's acceptable anywhere, even if it's an objectively public space.

I know your opinions on MLL behavior, and I tend to agree with you 95% of the time. But I don't want this discussion to digress into "children are allowed in the MLL" when IMO there's a more important discussion.

CanadianConnection33

Should people make a habit of stomping on cookies in a lounge or at the terminal or otherwise? No.

Can MLL staff take corrective action against the family with a child who has stomped a cookie? No. (If they did they would be opening their employer and themselves to sanction later).

Can you quietly and piously judge the supervisors of the cookie stomper? Yes! But do you really have all the facts?

billdokes

Maybe we should start a new thread called "Parenting 101, Lessons from the MLL", move the discussion away from here so everyone can weigh in with their opinion on Children and how they should be parented...those who actually HAVE children get to speak first.

vancouver25k

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a child in the YYZ cafe who appeared to have punctuality issues with development. The mother (I'm assuming, or perhaps caregiver) was very skilled in speaking and reacting to the child, and you'd never knew the child was there if you weren't paying attention despite the child having permission to go get food without direct supervision. I ended up spending most of my visit admiring her care, and wishing the world had more people like her.

RangerNS

They absolutely can. For that matter, so could an airport authority at a gate.

Arguably, the behavior it is criminal: Mischief

• 430 (1) Every one commits mischief who wilfully
  
  • (a) destroys or damages property;
    
  • (b) renders property dangerous, useless, inoperative or ineffective;
    
  • (c) obstructs, interrupts or interferes with the lawful use, enjoyment or operation of property; or
    
  • (d) obstructs, interrupts or interferes with any person in the lawful use, enjoyment or operation of property.
    

But is for sure a violation of the MLL TOS:

• Air Canada reserves the right to terminate any membership or remove any guest for inappropriate conduct, including, but not limited to, conduct that is disruptive, abusive or violent, or for failing to comply with membership terms and conditions.

bocastephen

Yes they most certainly can - "get your child under control, clean up and mess they made, or you'll need to step out into the terminal to wait for your flight"

Why do you think MLL agents are powerless to enforce rules?

Heyden

They aren't powerless but are probably not inclined to get into a confrontation in the absence of a complaint. It's easier for them if they can begin with, "Sir, we've had complaints about the behavior of your child from other guests...."

Same applies to bad behavior by adults. Bring it to the attention of the MLL agents at the desk and you're more likely to get action taken.

YVR4Ever

Reading through this, I am sure feeling lucky that my son who has spent the most time in lounges has always behaved impeccably. It may be because I made efforts to let him know that being in the lounge was a privilege that not everyone has, and that if he didn't keep that in mind, we would both be out at the gate in the uncomfortable chairs with no free food and drinks.

Now that he is an adult and travels on his own and with his partner, I can tell he really does appreciate the odd lounge pass / status pass, and I am sure he is just as well behaved, even after a G&T or two.

wjw

You are 100% wrong. They are public spaces under the law. A bunch of smokers near Ottawa tried to make “private clubs” to bypass the smoking laws. Went to the Supreme Court and they lost.

Despite needing a certain class of ticket/elite status to enter, the people in MLL’s are the public. Same reason they have to comply with accessibility legislation. Which is the same legislation that I was talking about.

I’m not buying the “it’s a private club” and therefore no children, no wheelchairs, no developmental delays, no autism, only wealthy businessmen in fine leather armchairs!

The MLL is really no different from any other public airport space, otherwise there wouldn’t be a fly dead in my whiskey right now.

edit: fly for context of how not special the MLL is:



edit 2: if this is going to be a pet peeves of the MLL: how about everything is dirty, no glassware, no forks, the second bar isn’t set up in the INTL MLL at YYZ, no guac, flies, dirt ground into carpet (with no children in sight!), over crowded with few places to sit, garbage/dirty dishes not cleared, washrooms dirty. Not yet have I been inconvenienced by another passenger. Perhaps if AC fixed its numerous operational issues then we could address that they don’t have family/play spaces in their lounges like other top tier carriers. Or instead, let’s just complain about kids stomping cookies. I know I’m gonna stomp a cookie every trip until the real issues are dealt with!

flyingcrooked

yeah, immediately after I pressed post on that reply the Flyertalk page went blank as I lost my signal, and I assumed there was at least a 50% chance the reply hadn't posted. I then thought that maybe wasn't a bad thing, maybe it was a dumb/needless reply.

RangerNS

That isn't the question. The question is obnoxious children, obnoxious wheelchair bound individuals, obnoxious developmentally delayed individuals, obnoxious autistics, or obnoxious wealthy (or non-wealthy) people should be tolerated.

People get kicked out of truly public spaces all the time. Places that must follow some laws but have restricted access, even more so.

MLLs have self service bar. I'd be wondering why I poured myself a dead fly.

yeeg

In YVR Dom MLL now and some guy has the volume blasting as he's watching something.


Edit: I turned around and asked him to turn it down a bit and he obliged although i can still hear it. Guy sitting next to me at the window bar stools was lookong for ear buds for him.

warpdryv

and this is the reason I collect the free earbuds from J even when I’m using my airfly.

Yhztraveller

Just spent a few days in hospital (nothing very serious) and every single patient I encountered would have FaceTime calls, watch movies and play games without using anything but the speaker on the device. Not a headphone to be found. Couldn't believe so many people were that oblivious!

Mostly over 60 crowd with low tech skills. Not as bad as the lounge lizzards who clearly do not have a clue.

Transpacificflyer

Sitting in a very crowded yul USA/TB MLL and had to change seats. A rotund middle aged man was having a voice speaker call with another male in German just behind me. Every British sitcom stereotype of Germans was being displayed. People who came to sit in the open space left after a few minutes. The muttering of profanities was similar across all languages. I tried subtle hints. No luck.
Meanwhile, an attractive young couple have their newborn with them.Quiet kid. Dad’s thrilled with his baby. Mom breastfed him out in the open, but didn’t make a show of it. I mention it because it was nice to see that no one cared or stared. I can recall a few years ago when some prude would make a fuss. Also, they are super chill happy people..Baby start gurgling and dad who looks like a young George Harrison, took him for a little calm down. And it worked. My takeaway as a person who dislikes kids in the mll is that I should not be so grumpy.