jamesteroh

Couple things with that scenario. The two people having the conversation are PAYING for the seat, unlike the infant. When I was on the DTW/SFO flight in June, I couldn't sleep even with the QC Headphones on (which are the same as yours). If it's two people talking, I won't have the risk of sitting next to them obviously and the QC's should block the noise out. If they are talking at such a loud level I can hear them several rows away with the QC's on, I won't hesitate to ask them to please be a little more considerate or ask the FA to ask them. Hard to tell an infant to keep it down on a flight

paramount

After reading the first page... javabytes has successfully determined the outcome of this discussion. End thread!

mickeydfly13

Agree 100% Wow.....Mother thinks flying with an infant is child abuse and that it is narcism to travel with children? That is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard. How about parents that are divorced and live in separate states? Or ones that have sick children and need to fly to a specialist? Sometimes, there are reasons for things and we all need to take our heads out of our bums and realize the world doesn't revolve around us. Get off the high horse and deal with things without complaining for one day! Get a grip, people (rant over).

mother-

Seriously. You people have spent an entire page putting words in my mouth and not even trying to read and comprehend what it was I wrote when this thread was in a different forum.

Now it's basically ad hominem attacks against me for things I didn't say.

This thread should have died long ago...

CDTraveler

Come out of your cocoon and learn what child abuse really is before you start using that term to describe travel by air. Look around the world and you'll see kids beaten, raped, starved, denied basic care: that's child abuse.

The statement that taking an infant on a plane "is pretty close to child abuse" is so wrong and so offensive that you owe an apology to every parent who has ever flown with a child. The rest of the drivel you wrote just adds to offensiveness; people who need to travel with a child, even on a regular basis, are people going about the business of their lives and dealing with a thousand and one issues of which you have no knowledge at all, getting on with one's life does not make one a "narcissist[s] of the first order" even if you might occasionally have to listen to a crying baby.

There's nothing wrong with the reading comprehension skills of those responding to you, or are you suggesting that you didn't write the posts appearing here under your name?

Eclipsepearl

I think we can read and comprehend just fine. While you have a right to your opinion, if you judge people, expect them to respond. Also others have jumped in so it's not necessarily what YOU said...

Just to clarify some misinformation that has popped up.

I don't believe that there is any airline which restricts children from any class of service. Someone did post here with a rumour that Malaysian did but this was false.

It IS true that the airlines have age restrictions for their own employees' children. I flew with two airlines and it was high, 8 and 10 years old to sit up there. So that baby crying belongs to a "real" passenger.

Babies end up in pain from the pressurization and they don't understand it and can't cope with it.

This is a common myth. I've been flying with mine since each was 4 months old and they never had any ear problems. I also never forced them to suck on anything (usually keeping them safetly strapped into their car seats and often asleep). Babies often cryin when the a/c kicks in after take-off. As a Flight Attendant, I rarely saw babies with ear problems. Only if they're flying with an ear infection are they bothered (and that can be painful!). Healthy ears, in adults or children, can handle pressurization changes.

Flyingmama

Really? You didn't say:

So you are saying that parents who travel with infants should not take umbrage at being painted with the broad brush of being virtual child abusers and narcissists? Kind of tough to do.

ZW4348

Being a 1K means that we usually get upgraded, even when reservations indicate lap children (9-month old twins). The babies have been flying since they were 4 months old, including 10 plus hour flights, and are quite accustomed to it. I've had fellow passengers come up to me after the flight, surprised at the fact that they didn't make any noise. Still, when sans children, I am one of those business travelers in a suit in FC with my laptop ready to go (and would appreciate infants a few rows behind, as opposed to next to me). Depending on the flight, we usually ask two fellow flyers sitting in opposing aisle seats in Economy Plus to please trade seats with us in First Class.