Lindlybee

I think that business class prices are supposed to discourage large families with children from sitting there. So rather than an age restriction, it's a way to limit certain people from sitting in business class. Now if you really want to stay away from kids on an airline, go first class.

mikeef

That hasn't been my experience. Still plenty of kids in F on three-class planes. Maybe not as high a proportion, but they're there.

And welcome to FT! This is one of the hottest hot-button issues on the forum. I usually try to stay away from it, but every time I think I'm out, they drag me back in.

My wish for you. May you never discover Omni P/R.

Mike

pinniped

Age restrictions in J? No, boors sadly don't outgrow their boorishness, so it's impossible to put an age on it. You might encounter an uncontrollable 8-year-old who disobeys cabin crew commands today and a liquored-up self-important 50-year-old in a cheap business suit tomorrow. (OK, I lifted that one from rankourabu's post. )

Fortunately, on 99% of my flights, I encounter neither one. Every now and then I see a little bit of odd behavior (again, age-independent) and think "Oooh, I could probably spin this into a great FT tale!", but I'd generally have to exaggerate the behavior. I remember the unruly child from an AA flight about 15 years ago that the captain threatened to offload. I remember a guy in PHL who'd obviously been eating beers all day and was thankfully removed by Philly's Finest prior to departure. Really, really rare occurrences.

Frorose

We travel with our children in first and business class. When they were infants/toddlers.... I would slip them a little baby gravol, especially on TATL flights.

Once they got old enough to know better? All they need is the look. They know full well what they are doing is a privilege, not a right, and a priviledge that can very easily be taken away. Not just the class of travel but the trip.

It's amazing to watch my rugrats who fight like freaks at home turn into angels upon arriving at a terminal and throughout a trip because the threat of "we will put you on the first flight home" has always seemed to work.

Those kids range in age from 12-20 now and are wonderful travellers.

The same can not be said about some adults I"ve been blessed to sit beside, or in front of as the case may be.

THAT said..... I won't deny the first time I had the priviledge of flying in Executive class was less than an ideal experience. The 12ish year old boy who used the lav probably ever 20 minutes then flicked the water off his wet hands on me every single time nearly drove me bonkers. It was then I vowed gravol and threats. It's worked. Manners matter.

speltrong

After just spending an 11 hour flight listening to two toddlers scream in business class on a BA flight from LHR-->SFO, I really find myself wondering why there is no family class. It would be so easy to implement on an A380. They could call it the "JetScream" cabin.

Yeah, probably opening a can of worms here. And probably one that's been opened many times before. But seriously.

I'm sure if we had a 'no kids' cabin, people would freak out. So why not a families only cabin? The rest of us would be thrilled!

hopingtofly

Actually those of us with families would probably be thrilled too. Then we wouldn't have to endure dirty looks from childless travelers. ;-)

speltrong

I would imagine that's true! It's a shame, because airlines market long haul business cabins as a place to sleep, and that is why most of us book that cabin. I can imagine it's a struggle being a parent with no designated place to book screaming children. You kind of have to be resigned to pissing people off. I have to wonder why family class isn't a thing.

84fiero

From the title I somehow thought this would be a suggestion for a version of the Etihad Residences.

There is at least one ongoing thread arguing about kids on planes right in this forum. But thanks for coming out of a 4+ year posting hiatus to beat the dead horse one more time!

speltrong

awww, you cared enough to look at my posting history? So sweet. Why does it matter what I choose to post about after a 4 year hiatus? Clearly I'm annoyed at an experience I just had... annoyed enough to ask a question when I typically wouldn't. And, just because I haven't posted doesn't mean I'm not reading.

Plus, it's still a valid question, even if it is a dead horse. No clue why the airline industry ignores families, unless they're a low revenue segment? We'd all be a lot happier if there were appropriate accommodations for children.

speltrong

Also, until the A380, I've not seen a plane whose layout would lend itself nicely to a cabin designed for families.

Hoch

Like all travellers families book when it suits them. Any cabin design would have to be adjustable quite quickly. Then there's the practicalities of who goes in the cabin because a toddler would not be good for an infant trying to sleep.

A propos, I've seen adults behave worse than my three-year old (and no, Master Hoch is no saint).

H

SFO777

Unfortunately, other than flying private, there's not much you can do about it. Every now and then you get unlucky.
Earplugs and Bose noise canceling headphones can help.
Too bad this Westjet KargoKids idea never became reality.

speltrong

Agreed, adults can be annoying too. Maybe just a quiet zone cabin would help. One like they have on some train cars in Europe. Then at least, regardless of who books there, it would come with a reasonable expectation of quiet.

I mean, I would think that us having paid an obscene amount of money to fly in a cabin marketed as a sleeper cabin with lay flat beds would have that same meaning, but clearly it wasn't specific enough to sink into the family of four sitting in two business class seats on my flight.

planemechanic

Why? Because no one, yourself included, is willing to pay the money it would take to implement. You paid for business class, not your own private cabin. In the real world kids cry, most adults deal with it.

seawolf

Hire a private jet. Problem solved.