Hedgehog7

Long story short, I work as cabin crew for a major UK long haul airline.

Last week I had a 7 hour flight (which I was working on) and a 2 day layover and then another flight back (which I was working on). With our airline we as staff get 7 free flights a year to use on ourselves. I decided to use 2 of them to bring my son on these flights with me last week as we was going to a destination he really wanted to go to. I got this approved by my managers first who said it's fine as other crew do this regularly sometimes. So I did it and had fun with my son at the destination during the 2 day layover. My son being with me on the flight did NOT interfere with me or any of the other cabin crew doing our jobs like we normally do. My son stayed in his seat for most of the flight.

Lot's (between 5-10) of other passengers commented during the flight saying they thought what I had done was "disgraceful and deeply unprofessional".

Honest answers please, do you personally think I've done anything wrong in this?

JMorgana

If it didn't interfere with your crew's collective ability to do their job and it was approved by your manager, I don't see the issue. Did you get any comments about WHY they thought this was an issue? Did you make a point of mentioning that your son was flying with you? If so, this is the one thing I might not have done in your shoes. This isn't anyone's business but yours.

Just my 2 cents...

NewbieRunner

Welcome to FlyerTalk, Hedgehog7!
I'm moving the thread to TravelBuzz as I cannot see it is directly related to Coronavirus and Travel where it was initially posted.

NewbieRunner
co-moderator, Coronavirus and Travel forum

FlyingUnderTheRadar

How did the paying PAX even know? regardless if you followed company rules what they is think moot. If they do not like your company rules let them complain to your employer not you.

teddybear99

You did not say how old is your son in your post. The only issue I would see is if the passengers thought he was getting special services on the plane that were not available to them. But, as a non-rev passenger, you and your son would still have to follow all the rules that your company has. I would have asked one of your colleagues to take care of him and he could stop by the galley to let you know if he needed anything while in flight.

Hedgehog7

Hi,

The passengers seemed to make it out like the problem was that my son came with me and was on the same flight as me.

Nope,I didn't make a point of mentioning to anyone other than the rest of the crew onboard.

Probably because I did come over and speak (quietly so didn't disturb other passengers) to him for a few minutes every now and again (around once every 90 minutes) and he wanted me to take a picture of him in his business class seat.
And just to clarify he asked me to take a photo once and that was done quietly with no flash as so not to disturb other passengers.

teddybear99

Then maybe one of your crew teammates was upset and told the passengers instead of saying something to you. If you hear something from your manager about this, then I would think that one of your "friends" is not really a friend.

Hedgehog7

Hi,

My son is 10.
The only special service he got was a photo of him in the cockpit, but this was done when we (crew) boarded the aircraft so other paying passengers wouldn't have been aware.

Both myself and my son did follow every rule our company has.

ICN1K

How often did you go around and check if other passengers needed anything? Was it around once every 90 minutes? And how long was the total flight. That is my best guess from the current facts. And even if those customers felt it was unprofessional that they were not checked on as often as your son, then I still wouldn’t agree it was unprofessional.

757FO

I wouldn't worry about it. I have taken my children together, and individually many times. On occasion some idiot will complain that my children are taking up a seat a paying passenger could have used, or crack a joke about how I should be flying the airplane, and not talking to my kid for 2 minutes during a bathroom break.

The simple fact of the matter is that someone is always going to have an issue with something, and complain. These people are miserable, and hate to see others happy, and live to make anyone they can as unhappy as they are. Just ignore them. You got approval to take your child with you, and based on the fact you posted this, shows that you take your job very seriously. I'm glad you got a chance to travel with your son!

LondonElite

Welcome to FT, Hedgehog7!

I'm tempted to guess which airline and which destination, but that aside, I'd ignore what these passengers have said. What business is it of theirs?

eastindywalrus

Personally? I wouldn't have cared unless I perceived there to be a reduction in quality service from you as a flight attendant due to the amount of time/attention you were devoting a family member flying non-rev like this (beyond what you would normally allot to them as a business class passenger for normal service). In the absence of any specific issues I could point to service-wise, I think it would then come down to how frequently you stopped by, how long you lingered at his seat, and whether your conversion was loud enough to disturb others around you.

If as many people commented about this as you suggested did, then I suspect you may have crossed a line in some way. But we've only got one side of the story here, of course, so it's hard to know for sure. Based solely upon what you've said, I don't think anything you did was inappropriate. (Though I will say that stopping by every 90 minutes seems pretty frequent, and I would wonder if you would have stopped by as often if it was an adult relative flying, rather than your 10-year-old son.)

lhrsfo

I wonder if this has anything to do with passengers seeing a 10 year old unaccompanied in Business Class? Just a thought.

mtofell

This is kind of my opinion - without being there it's impossible to know what people saw and why they complained but if multiple people did then there must have been something. Of course, I also agree that travelers can be some of the most miserable people I ever encounter and will look for the most minor thing to complain about so I'm sure that is a factor also. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just keep it in mind the next time you take him.

HomerJ

...the easily offended. I wouldn't worry about this for 1 minute.