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-   -   Rant: To Mr. L - Seated in First Class (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travelbuzz/1500157-rant-mr-l-seated-first-class.html)

WBrinegar Sep 4, 2013 2:18 pm


Originally Posted by Flyingfox (Post 21389013)
I appreciate your story, but when people refer to their OWN children as "angels", well..........

Sure - but don't judge that before you even sit down.

Artpen100 Sep 4, 2013 2:20 pm

Once I had kids, I never complained about them on airplanes again. Now that they are grown, when I hear some child crying on the plan, it just brings back nostalgic memories (seriously, though I also always fly with earplugs).

OskiBear Sep 4, 2013 2:25 pm

What a jerk

I will freely admit I don't really like kids and I don't really like sitting near them on the plane. However, that said, I don't get to choose. I sit where I'm assigned and roll with it. Sometimes the kids are great sometimes they're not. Ive sat next to cute and funny kids and one time i had OJ spilled all over my suit on the way to work. But hey, it's the same with adults!

Your wife was immensely polite. I'm not sure I would have moved.

heraclitus Sep 4, 2013 2:28 pm

I love all the no-kids-in-my-cabin posts that predictably follow on threads like this. I think many people misunderstand how common carriers work.

If any of those people find out a way to pick their seatmates, let me know where I can put in an order for long-legged Swedish blondes.

wobbly wings Sep 4, 2013 2:38 pm

1K should have been moved, preferably back to y. Moving 1L before any trouble occurred is outrageous. Inconveniencing a parent busy trying to make life better for everyone on the plane is selfish and tactless.

1K and anyone else should read the conditions of carriage and note pax have no say on who they sit next to. If they do not like what they see they should rent a private jet. Shame on UA for not siding with the parent.

Miesque Sep 4, 2013 3:01 pm


Originally Posted by nineworldseries (Post 21389021)
If only there were child-free airlines so these kind of confrontations don't have to happen.

And no, that doesn't mean I agree with the jerk from the OP. He didn't have the right to demand that your wife and child move.

I just prefer not to be around children (that's why I don't have any myself), especially in an enclosed environment where I don't have the option to move or leave.

Frankly, this is my sentiment as well. I view one of the benefits of first class to be that it will most likely be childless. With current climate of the airlines seemingly deciding to charge for anything they can get away with, I have been wondering if eventually there would be child free flights with of course a big fat premium attached to the fare.

WBrinegar Sep 4, 2013 3:12 pm


Originally Posted by Miesque (Post 21389292)
Frankly, this is my sentiment as well. I view one of the benefits of first class to be that it will most likely be childless. With current climate of the airlines seemingly deciding to charge for anything they can get away with, I have been wondering if eventually there would be child free flights with of course a big fat premium attached to the fare.

If you PAY for a first class cabin with a big fat premium to be childless, of course it is a reasonable expectation to not have children in your cabin, and I agree and respect the decision - don't place children there.

Today is not the day for such a cabin. This involves complimentary upgrades to both parties, audibly demanding a discount is classless, and inconveniencing someone because of your preconcieved notions is not acceptable. Our family flies just as much as others who earn the upgrade privilage from our loyalty to the carrier.

pinniped Sep 4, 2013 3:20 pm


Originally Posted by sanfran8080 (Post 21388866)
Children belong in the back of the plane. That's why god invented coach.


Originally Posted by steve4031 (Post 21388932)
Exactly.


Originally Posted by nineworldseries (Post 21389021)
If only there were child-free airlines so these kind of confrontations don't have to happen.

And no, that doesn't mean I agree with the jerk from the OP. He didn't have the right to demand that your wife and child move.

I just prefer not to be around children (that's why I don't have any myself), especially in an enclosed environment where I don't have the option to move or leave.


Originally Posted by Miesque (Post 21389292)
Frankly, this is my sentiment as well. I view one of the benefits of first class to be that it will most likely be childless. With current climate of the airlines seemingly deciding to charge for anything they can get away with, I have been wondering if eventually there would be child free flights with of course a big fat premium attached to the fare.

Aren't there already lots of aircraft owners/operators out there licensed to carry passengers who will provide exactly what you want, right now? :confused: Everybody cites Netjets as one option, but I'm sure you could phone your nearest private aviation airport and get a list of other operators as well. Outfits that will either fly one segment for you or sell you bigger blocks of time...

What exactly is the issue here? You ride a city bus, you have to deal with other people who ride city buses. You hail a cab, you get private treatment. Some thing applies here...

jacobitetraveller Sep 4, 2013 3:24 pm

it was wrong wrong wrong that the OPs wife had to move seats and that upheaval alone could well have upset and already settled child

I do have a certain sympathy for people not wishing to be sat next to children but cannot condone the behaviour and attitude of 1K

IMO the CC on this occasion made the wrong move and I would certainly have words with the airline about it

Finkface Sep 4, 2013 4:24 pm


Originally Posted by wobbly wings (Post 21389174)
.....If they do not like what they see they should rent a private jet.

....and there it is. Inevitable.

Waiting for PTravel to jump in about now.

PTravel Sep 4, 2013 4:39 pm


Originally Posted by Finkface (Post 21389761)
Waiting for PTravel to jump in about now.

Nope. No point. It's all been said before, and you know what follows "private jets" and "now that I have my own kids . . ." I'd just as soon avoid the inevitable unpleasantness.

Steve Weagant Sep 4, 2013 4:55 pm

Passive aggressive- saying nothing while you were on the plane
 

Originally Posted by mgcsinc (Post 21388973)
steve4031, you gonna answer about what you found passive aggressive here? Or is it passive aggressive merely to sit in your beloved premium cabin sanctuary?

Once I have kids, I intend to fly in F with them whenever possible. Seems much more pleasant that way.

And then coming here to vent.

Boraxo Sep 4, 2013 5:02 pm


Originally Posted by WBrinegar (Post 21388709)
1K should have been relocated instead.

+1 ^ ^ ^ I still don't understand why they would not have reseated the passenger that is unhappy with his seat. I don't care if he was Plat Medalion, GS, whatever - he doesn't like his neighbors he can move.


Originally Posted by mgcsinc (Post 21388973)
Once I have kids, I intend to fly in F with them whenever possible. Seems much more pleasant that way.

My kids generally fly in F for long flights. It is more pleasant for all involved, and their behavior tends to be much better when they are separated. And if there is time before the flight we generally go to the lounge if we can as we prefer to have them sitting in a confined area where they cannot wander off. :cool:


Originally Posted by sanfran8080 (Post 21388866)
Children belong in the back of the plane. That's why god invented coach.

I will enjoy seeing the look on your face next time you pass my kids sipping their pre-flight apple juice on the way back to your economy class seat. :p

jrl767 Sep 4, 2013 5:57 pm

in my single days (and later in my living-with and married pre-parental days) I had three criteria for tolerating children under about age 8 on planes: they had to be quiet, they had to be at a reasonable -- at least one row in between them and me -- distance, and they had to belong to someone else

once the child in question was mine (i.e., once I was on the receiving end of glares and grumbles, even though my son was a very tolerant, patient, and well-behaved traveler in his early years) those criteria vanished

a little bit of respect for others, and a little bit of common courtesy, go a long way in situations like this

Driving by DCA Sep 4, 2013 6:15 pm


Originally Posted by sanfran8080 (Post 21388866)
Children belong in the back of the plane. That's why god invented coach.

Oh good, I was wondering when the trolling would start :rolleyes:

Unless/until the airline sets a policy that no lap children are allowed on a paid F ticket, you're just wrong.

At present I can buy an F ticket for a child or an F ticket with a lap child on UA so children clearly belong in F if their parents choose to pay for it.

And even if mom and child were on an award/upgrade, the fundamental fact that UA will sell F to a parent with a child means children are allowed.


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