but for the second time this summer, on a united flight between the mainland and hawaii, we were seated across from a family that diapered their kid in the seat (actually, when it happened in may it was an infant on the tray table, twice and this time it was a 2 year old on the empty middle seat, with no diaper pad or blanket or anything between the child and the seat).

last time flyertalkers were like "take a picture," but i did not want to whip out my phone and flash it in their kid's butt...and the mother had been pretty upfront about how wild her kid was going to be on the flight and i didn't want to tattle on her....but is it too much to ask that united take some interest in mentioning to passengers that seats/ tray tables are not diaper tables?

is this just considered acceptable behavior? just like last time, the flight was not under seatbelt lockdown when this happened...just a routine diaper change...but once again a big yuck.

and then the used diaper was placed by mom -- raw- not in a baggie or anything-- in the seatback pocket until the end of the trip when the fa's collected our trash.

does this happen on other carriers?

Can't really complain until UA puts changing tables in all their aircraft.

gross and inconsiderate people have a choice of air carriers as well, I'm sure it happens on all. Not really a UA thing its a passenger thing.

I'd have said something or at least hit the call button so the FAs would know, that's just gross, imagine the next passenger that sits in those seats, or eats off the tray or reaches to get something out of the seat back pocket.

All UA aircraft that do the HI run (757, 767, and 777) have changing tables in at least some of the lavs. No excuse for inconsiderate parents to do this sort of thing...

Absolutely disgusting! As far as it only happening on UA, I doubt that. I'm sure it happens on WN pretty frequently.