AGuyAndADogInDFW

I don't know what all the fuss is about. Just hop in your Gulfstream and tell your pilot where you wanna go?

Vaze

I'd pay that, and more, not to have to fly with pompous self-righteous types but we all can't have what we want all the time can we?

benzlotkin

Sure - there are limits to what you can accurately screen for. Screening for children under 12 years old would be plenty realistic I'd guess.

The fact is that I pay (use miles for) premium class service when I'm flying overnight and for long hours. Daytime and short flights, I don't care. I do this so I can sleep. If one out of a dozen people in a cabin screams for half that time, I'd say that the other passengers have every right to be a bit upset. Same goes for any passenger who might defecate in their seat and then remedy it right there on the spot. The FACT is that the overwhelming majority of the time that these two things happen, a young child (sure, maybe they have irresponsible parents) is at fault.

No one here seriously thinks that the airlines will take any action to ban children, drunks, people with very bad BO, or odd staring issues. Some of us just wish they would.

BZ

tenmoc

No. But just as that would make you happy if those people were at least courteous of you, it would make me happy if parents of the majority of kids in america these days were courteous to the rest of us.

clbish

OP did not say poopy. It could have just been wet.

Some lavs do not have changing tables.

brp

I don't want to ban all kids; just the ones with the lousy parents . I'm guessing that's not you.

Cheers.

emaij

Women Rally for the Right to Feed Their Babies on Airplanes

loudgonzo

EMWV


everyones miles WILL vary

srallen

Screening for children under 12 might be "realistic", but it is entirely unfair. It's profiling. And it does NOTHING to screen for their parents, who really need to deal with these situations.

The fact that you pay for (in whatever manner) premium service means that you pay for more room, more/better food/drinks, more flight attendants. It doesn't mean that you get to screen the other paying passengers to make sure that they make the grade that you (and others) decide is appropriate for that class of service.

If you can't sleep because of noise -- try the cheap and effective solution -- EARPLUGS. They _really_ work!!!!! Maybe having a 50 cent solution to a "first class premium issue" is not attractive, but it will work just fine.

JPL9869

Last week when I traveled with my 8 week old, I brought an ample supply of earplugs for the whole flight (just a CRJ). The FAs and the other pax didn't believe I was serious untill I started passing them out. Everyone got a big kick out of it with the exception of my wife who was completely embarassed.

The ironic thing is that the baby didn't even make a sound on 4 flights.

Would anyone's view here change if the child was an elite. It is possible for my daughter to make PLT early next year.

NittanyFlyer

Well said. ^ ^

benzlotkin

Whether the reason for your child's excellent behavior is genetic or learned, you deserve praise for your awareness and effort. For the record, I am one passenger who routinely compliments parents when their young children are well behaved, and respectful of their fellow passengers. I see lots of well-behaved children on planes - AND HAVE NO ISSUE WITH THEM SITTING NEXT TO ME.

While this thread has been great fun, it has skewed towards a discussion which borders on a debate over the merits of having children. In the beginning, it was about the behavior of one parent (can't see that the child who soiled his/her diapers bears any blame). That parents behavior was, in the opinions of a few people here, wrong. Looking back over the thread, it seems clear that those who think it was acceptable to change a diaper in his/her seat, have children. Thus, they likely have greater sympathy for the "offenders" situation.

Some of us choose not to have children, and some of us probably try to avoid them at all costs. That's our call, and all we're saying is that we would welcome an alternative flying option that would be child free. Some people would love an airline for nudist smokers only, and that doesn't offend me at all - even though I would not be among their clientele.

BZ

mwhitted

Bravo! A voice of reason. ^
And that would make THIS thread different than the 100 or so other "versions" of this topic different how? (It happens every time. About every 2-3 weeks it seems.)

sjc_longhorn

Why is it so hard to just take the child to the lav and change it there rather than changing it in the cabin? It's disgusting, even if it's "only" urine -- does anyone really want to argue that it would be acceptable for men to urinate in a bottle in the cabin, even if they were able to conceal their activities?. Excretions and bodily fluids do not belong in the cabin. Defecation and urination should take place in the lav, or should at least be cleaned up in the lav.

Parents: having a child is not a handicap. You're not one of the poor pax who is paralyzed and can't make it to the lav without major help. It's unfortunate that the lav doesn't meet your dream specs for a changing station but that doesn't mean it's appropriate to be changing soiled diapers 1 or 2 feet away from adults not involved in your choice to have children. You made your bed, now lay in it...

One of the most disgusting airline experiences I've had was with a parent/infant unit after the infant had peed in his pants. The "parent" proceeded to use a blanket (you know, the ones unsuspecting pax sleep on) to wipe the infant's wet body. Use the lav -- I realize it may be cramped and uncomfortable, but tough. You decided to have children, so maybe you should be the ones to suffer rather than those of us who had no say in the decision. I don't want to sit on seats that have been used to change soiled diapers, whether they're in Y or F. I don't want to be around infants who are soiling their diapers, either. No amount of commentary about flatulent adults or people who've wiped snot on their seats will make infant-changing behavior acceptable. I'm sorry that diapers don't always do the job the way you'd like them to, but again, you made the choice to have children, so I guess you can deal with the consequences of that decision.

sjc_longhorn

Is there a better option the other poster didn't consider? Most of the time, the infants aren't even flying in paid seats (I'm talking about domestic flights, I've heard international may be different) so I would think they should be happy with whatever seats they're given.

Where exactly would you suggest placing them? In the middle, where they annoy both the front and back of the plane? In first class, where they can annoy the premium pax? In the front of Y, where many airlines put their non-F elite fliers who probably don't want to be subjected to the smells and noise associated with families traveling with children? If the families with children are making noise comparable to "the drunks," maybe they should be sharing rows with them. For once, many of them might actually realize how annoying it is to sit next to noisy and boisterous pax in a tiny aluminum tube.