Swearing passenger ruined first F
Nov 1, 2018, 12:59 pm
#122
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 17,395
Nov 1, 2018, 1:50 pm
#123
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 270
Most of my family live on the other side of the world, so flying is probably the only option for them to meet our child. We’ve been travelling in economy and club, I have to say, from my experience, people from economy seems to be more understanding.
In OP case, the cabin crew should really have a quiet word with the swearing man though. That is not acceptable behaviour on any public transport.
I’ve just booked our next year trip in First, so we will see.
In OP case, the cabin crew should really have a quiet word with the swearing man though. That is not acceptable behaviour on any public transport.
I’ve just booked our next year trip in First, so we will see.
Nov 1, 2018, 2:52 pm
#125
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Orange County, CA (SNA)
Programs: Delta - PM , MM; Hilton - Diamond, Marriott - Peon
Posts: 911
Buying a ticket in F does not come with a guarantee of silence and anyone who buys a ticket with this expectation is taking a big gamble. It is as one or two have stated still public transport, albeit a very expensive form. Would he have made the same outburst had he been disturbed by loud and prolonged turbulence with repeated announcements coming from the PA as well as the seatbelt sign pinging off and on?
I fly a lot, often up front, and mostly (95%?) in peace and quiet. When someone has a baby who cannot keep quiet, i don't go after them or the child. It's just a factor of public transport. And I've never seen a kid who could scream for 14 straight hours! After a while the kid calms down (the worst I had was about a complete hour).
Nov 1, 2018, 2:55 pm
#126
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 756
Sorry, OP, that sounds a bit miserable. Good to vent, though. We fly a lot with our one-year old. Amazingly, he's been mostly quiet on many, many flights in all cabins.
We've still had all kinds of comments, most amusingly, a drunk bloke (why is it always men, by the way?) in 4A of a BA 747 F cabin who shouted, "A baby? A f*cking baby? F*ck, f*ck, F*CK NOOOO!" as we walked on with our sleeping then-six-month old. I said something like, "I'm terribly sorry, but they said we couldn't put him in the hold." He (the swearing man) was fine after that, if comatose.
You'll laugh about it in time, I hope, as we have done, and I very much hope you won't remember your first First as being ruined.
Equally, though, we've had very many positive and kind comments from pax. Those can get forgotten when you end up in a nasty situation like the one you describe. Most passengers really do have a lot of goodwill toward infants.
And of course I am also that solo traveler, slightly freaking out when I see a family with a young baby get on board, and I'm desperate for some sleep. But, that's when Mr & Mrs Bose come to the rescue.
Anyway, I'm really sorry. It's a thorny issue, and I can see you're upset. Give it a few days, and I hope it really does become as insignificant as the "infants occasionally make noise, adults occasionally lose control and swear" mantra you've seen mentioned a few times in this thread.
From personal experience, please don't for one second let this put you off your next trip in F with your young family. Or, to put it another way: "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Sheer Look of Terror in the Faces of Other Passengers when I Enter Premium Cabins with my Infant-in-Arms."
We've still had all kinds of comments, most amusingly, a drunk bloke (why is it always men, by the way?) in 4A of a BA 747 F cabin who shouted, "A baby? A f*cking baby? F*ck, f*ck, F*CK NOOOO!" as we walked on with our sleeping then-six-month old. I said something like, "I'm terribly sorry, but they said we couldn't put him in the hold." He (the swearing man) was fine after that, if comatose.
You'll laugh about it in time, I hope, as we have done, and I very much hope you won't remember your first First as being ruined.
Equally, though, we've had very many positive and kind comments from pax. Those can get forgotten when you end up in a nasty situation like the one you describe. Most passengers really do have a lot of goodwill toward infants.
And of course I am also that solo traveler, slightly freaking out when I see a family with a young baby get on board, and I'm desperate for some sleep. But, that's when Mr & Mrs Bose come to the rescue.
Anyway, I'm really sorry. It's a thorny issue, and I can see you're upset. Give it a few days, and I hope it really does become as insignificant as the "infants occasionally make noise, adults occasionally lose control and swear" mantra you've seen mentioned a few times in this thread.
From personal experience, please don't for one second let this put you off your next trip in F with your young family. Or, to put it another way: "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Sheer Look of Terror in the Faces of Other Passengers when I Enter Premium Cabins with my Infant-in-Arms."
Last edited by newyorklondon; Nov 1, 2018 at 3:22 pm
Nov 1, 2018, 5:37 pm
#127
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Eurozone
Programs: LH SEN, HH Gold
Posts: 3,002
As a general rule, parents find it very distressing when their child is distressed. The typical response by a parent to a child in distress is to comfort them. Not to sit back and bask in whatever annoyance the child's distress is causing others. This point seems to be missed by many on here.
Public aircraft. Use earplugs and noise-cancelling headphones. If you don't want to spend money on the headphones, spend it on taking the private jet.
Nov 1, 2018, 5:43 pm
#128
Join Date: Jul 2017
Programs: Mucci Chevalier des Internautes Amables; BAEC
Posts: 967
Those who get offended by swearing or “foul mouths” must live a very sheltered existence. In most walks of life (outside of missionary tea circles) it is rather commonplace. And fortunately the blessing of infant amnesia will mean your son won’t be too traumatised by the nasty potty mouth man.
Perhaps the OP’s issue here isn’t the words used, but the passive-aggressive (or even cowardly) manner in which they were spoken.
Nov 1, 2018, 5:44 pm
#129
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Eurozone
Programs: LH SEN, HH Gold
Posts: 3,002
Those who get offended by swearing or “foul mouths” must live a very sheltered existence. In most walks of life (outside of missionary tea circles) it is rather commonplace. And fortunately the blessing of infant amnesia will mean your son won’t be too traumatised by the nasty potty mouth man.
Nov 1, 2018, 6:11 pm
#130
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 698
For me, an enjoyable flight, is an empty one. This thread and the body odour one confirm that.
Short haul, like LGW-BCN: BA, EZY, or VY? For me, Club or not, champagne or not, I would take empty VY over full BA.
The same applies in long haul. Day flight, empty W or full F? Empty W please.
Busy cabins aren't nice.
Short haul, like LGW-BCN: BA, EZY, or VY? For me, Club or not, champagne or not, I would take empty VY over full BA.
The same applies in long haul. Day flight, empty W or full F? Empty W please.
Busy cabins aren't nice.
Nov 1, 2018, 6:32 pm
#131
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 1,680
Originally Posted by thecoogan
Yes. For his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins to meet him plane travel is the only option.
Nov 2, 2018, 12:57 am
#132
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Ipswich
Posts: 7,543
For those advocating noise cancelling headphones, do you have some technology that I don't? My Bose do nothing for things like screaming children or indeed angry swearing blokes.they are great for eliminating constant sounds like engines or air con, but they can't cancel essentially unpredictable sounds.
I can understand that very well fitting earplugs could be effective for such things, but they would also prevent the necessary noise cancelling sounds getting in.
I can understand that very well fitting earplugs could be effective for such things, but they would also prevent the necessary noise cancelling sounds getting in.
Nov 2, 2018, 1:11 am
#133
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Glasgow and Asia
Programs: BAEC Gold, Hotels.com Gold
Posts: 510
Earplugs are the way. I don't have kids and never will (past it) but I don't understand the hostility to a screaming baby. I'm now off for a 12 hour flight and have my earplugs in my man-bag. Sorted.
Nov 2, 2018, 1:16 am
#134
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Jan 2009
Programs: Battleaxe Alliance
Posts: 22,127
For those advocating noise cancelling headphones, do you have some technology that I don't? My Bose do nothing for things like screaming children or indeed angry swearing blokes.they are great for eliminating constant sounds like engines or air con, but they can't cancel essentially unpredictable sounds.
I can understand that very well fitting earplugs could be effective for such things, but they would also prevent the necessary noise cancelling sounds getting in.
I can understand that very well fitting earplugs could be effective for such things, but they would also prevent the necessary noise cancelling sounds getting in.
I got these because those piercing sounds physically hurt my ears and I find them highly unpleasant and distressing (some kind of brain damage when I was born caused hypersensitive hearing and a few other problems with brain part of my ears, apparently) to the point it makes me feel like cutting off my ears (!) so that I can't hear them. Sadly, they only help a bit. Noise isolating earbuds are far more effective than the active noise cancelling part of them. Consequently, I spend quite a few flights in a complete state of quiet but utter misery because as I see it, it's my problem and not other people's so I have to put up and shut up, unless someone is being completely unreasonable (like shouting abuse at someone repeatedly or being genuinely unreasonably loud).
Sometimes though, the trouble is that the active noise cancelling reduces the background noise like engine droning, so you end up hearing other noises more clearly.
The combination works fairly well for blocking the snoring sound though!
Last edited by LTN Phobia; Nov 2, 2018 at 1:40 am
Nov 2, 2018, 1:20 am
#135
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: DUB/ORD/SIN/PVG
Programs: EI AerClub Concierge, EK Gold, BA Gold, BD Gold (Retired), HHonors Diamond, Bonvoy Lifetime Gold
Posts: 2,923
For those advocating noise cancelling headphones, do you have some technology that I don't? My Bose do nothing for things like screaming children or indeed angry swearing blokes.they are great for eliminating constant sounds like engines or air con, but they can't cancel essentially unpredictable sounds.
I can understand that very well fitting earplugs could be effective for such things, but they would also prevent the necessary noise cancelling sounds getting in.
I can understand that very well fitting earplugs could be effective for such things, but they would also prevent the necessary noise cancelling sounds getting in.
In very extreme circumstances* adding some soft classical music on top really does eliminate all other noise.
* such as the two bankers across the aisle who wanted to share their great tech deal with the whole of the 747 UD while working through every variant of whisky available on the plane from LAX-LHR. Kids eventually get tired, not these guys....
