fishee

If there's not a large enough tray in the lav, why can't parents bring a disposable kitchen garbage bag that's large enough to put on the lav floor? They could put the changing pad on it and even kneel themselves on it, then change their baby without either person having to touch a disgusting surface. Just toss the garbage bag and have a few more in your diaper bag.

I could see that some parents might think it's disgusting to put their baby on the bathroom floor, even if there's a barrier between the baby and floor, but hey, imagine how we feel seeing baby excrement just inches from a tray table we might have to eat off one day.

I don't like using the lav myself, possibly contaminating the hem of my pants which can touch or drag on the bathroom floor -- but that doesn't mean I urinate in a bottle (taking proper precautions, of course) and expect other people to just get over it.

And maybe I didn't read carefully, but has anyone on this thread objected to breast-feeding? If they have, they're an idiot, if not, why does it keep coming up? To make it appear that those who object to in-seat diaper changing are "prudish"? I totally sympathize with over-wrought and exhausted parents but if you're not prepared to deal with keeping the most revolting aspect of a baby's bodily functions out of our faces, maybe you're not totally ready.

tenmoc

Still waiting for the "Your children are not welcome here" airline.

I'd pay a premium for the honor of NOT meeting your child.

If anyone were ever to change a child where I could see it you best believe every FA in the cabin is going to come running in seconds. You made a CHOICE to have that child. Now deal with the complications of it. Its entirely your problem. No one else forced you to do it. Go to the lav, small or not, or get off the plane.

steve32

Was that a flagrantly and fragrantly flatulant pax?

SAN-man

Disclaimer: I have never changed a diaper on a seat. And I certainly wouldn't expose the cabin (no pun intended) to a smelly diaper. But the objections to some of the content here are funny to me. It sounds as if people here think that changing a wet diaper involves plopping a kid's bare butt on the tray table, tossing the old one onto the tray wet side down, wiping it around, and then closing everything up as is.

I'd be grossed out if someone used the tray table. But the seat itself? Putting a changing pad down on the seat and changing a wet diaper would take about 20 seconds, and nothing other than that pad would ever touch anything. It's certainly more sanitary than the people who stuff used kleenex in the seat back pocket, or the guy who picks his nose and wipes it all over the seat, or having the same kid sit in that very seat with a soaking wet diaper (trust me, they're not always 100% absorbent).

loudgonzo

If you are willing to pay premium, why not charter a plane.

BenjaminNYC

Yeah, that's comparably priced to an F ticket.

benzlotkin

Im sure it would be rather easy for the airlines to come up with an average number of young children that fly in each cabin on any given flight. It would then follow that they could designate that the last row or two of the cabin be reserved for those passengers. If no babies are on board, then anyone could site there. This would in no way make changing a diaper in the seat OK, but it would help to isolate the screaming, kicking, and equally loud correcting that often accompanies our youngest flying companions.

As for the not child friendly flights - I second the idea. Maybe if a given transcon route has four flights per day, one could be designated as 'adults only'?

BZ

nimeta

I have done this a few times on european carriers where baby seats are not always provided. It's a last resort as sometimes it can smell pretty disgusting!!

DataPlumber

JMO, This should be expanded to include without proper common sense.

Blumie

I've sat next to my fair share of crying babies; I'm pretty sure I'd rather sit next to them than you!

When my daughter was in diapers, we found that the bulkhead floor worked well for changing non-stinky diapers. We'd lay a diaper pad on the floor and could take care of the entire procedure in a few seconds, with no other passengers having to witness any of it. For more elaborate changes, the changing tables in the lav worked just fine.

brp

Wow, someone needs to cut down on the caffeine. As one who does not have kids, does not want kids and is happiest in a generally kid-free environment, this is even too much for me. If you choose to buy tickets on an airline that allows kids, deal with it or find an alternative.

Cheers.

mwhitted

The LAST few rows of course. Because we all know that families with children are second class citzens at best. Maybe we could stick the drunks back there too.
Oh please... Milk quirting from nose... Must control myself...
(Maybe we could make it the red-eye. And make it a 757. Maybe keep a couple of the ex-TW 757s. ^ )

tenmoc

I dont think it would work to designate certain flights "no children".

But I would pay 10-15% more per ticket to fly an airline that banned them.

And if you want to ban booze too, go for it. Drunks are worse than children. At least most children you can argue don't know any better.

We all know there are good parents out there that will be very aware of their children on a flight and many many more these days that think flights mean vacation from even their kids.

brp

Wow, a much toned-down post from the previous one...and something I can agree with. "Yada yada I'm a good parent and my kids don't make noise". Well then, this isn't about you. But it is about the many who really don't seem to give a damn (and, sadly, there are many).

(I still can't believe I'm using the same arguments as I've dont countless times before...each time this comes up... )

Cheers.

Blumie

I wouldn't: adults are far more likely to annoy me than kids.