On my flight from ATL to PVD this morning we had a couple with two small children (under 4) with them in the back of the plane (actually, we had about 5 or 6 kids on this flight!). The kids were their typical restless, but the parents were absolutely atrocious! As soon as they sat down (late, of course), they started taking everything out and tossing it all over the seats. Couldn't be bothered to put on belts, bags out over the floor, seats reclined. The flight attendant, new and obviously not thrilled with his new choice of careers, asked the a couple of times to put the stuff under their seats and put the seats up, as soon as he left they went right back down and stuff came out. The kids were ripping up the safety instructions and playing with the tables.

When do you say something? I didn't really want to start an argument with them, so I ended up staying shut. But I am wondering if I should have? What about those passengers who refuse to put seatbacks up? Do you say something to them? As soon as wheels were up taking off on another leg, the guy in front of my slid his seat right back. I actually tried saying something but he ignored me on that.

I'd say you say something to the airline, it's the crew's job (not yours) to deal with them if they're ignoring the rules and possibly endangering people.

Please continue this discussion in the Travel With Children Forum.
Thanks..
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

FA's on int'l (especially longhaul) flights are usually the most senior ones. AFAIK these routes are the most lucrative ones and new FA's have no chance in bidding for those. So I doubt he was new... maybe just didn't know how to deal with it. Come to think of it, I don't know if there is a good way to deal with it. When you deal with [bad] parents who let their kids run wild and tear everything up, it's obvious they don't care about anyone around them and they either can't or simply won't deal with their kids. Moreover, kids are used to doing whatever, so it's not like they'll suddenly change their attitude and just chill. (If it were up to me I'd put the whole family on the no-fly list. )

Is your question how to deal with adults who fail to comply with airline rules, the parenting skills of such adults, or just what to do when other pax, age irrelevant, fail to comply?

IME, asking someone who puts their seat back in your lap at pushback to put it forward before they exit the aircraft is pointless. They're entitled, d@mn it!

Or so they tell me...

I mind my own business, unless the actions are imposing externalities on me. I can't care less whether someone doesn't buckle his/her seatbelt or doesn't put up his/her tray table, unless there's a direct effect on me. I might say something if the noise level doesn't remain acceptable, otherwise, I leave the policing of rules to the crew.

Somewhat related story - on a recent flight from ATL to CHS, some guy in the aisle seat adjacent to me seemed very proud of himself for tattling on somebody who didn't turn her cell phone off before the flight. The lady wasn't actually ON the phone, but I guess the guy could see that it wasn't off, so he stopped a FA, asked "aren't cell phones supposed to be off now?", got an affirmative answer, and then proceeded to gleefully point out the woman a few rows ahead of him. All I could think was, "what a jerk. I'll bet you were the guy ratting out your friends in high school who were making fun of the teacher behind his/her back."

IME, it's pointless to speak to people like this. Besides, as pointed out, it's the FA's job to make sure safety rules are followed. If it's an issue that is affecting you, such as kicking of your seat back, then I would speak with the FA. If not, as hard as it is, I would try to ignore it.

Yep, it's pointless to say anything because those kinds of parents are the ones that believe that by populating (over-populating) the Earth, they have the right, nay the responsibility, to ignore said offspring thus forcing their care onto others around them. Sometimes I think that the parents need to be disiplined more than the brats. After all, who made the brats that way? And don't say society or schools, because crappy upbringing starts at home, even though those people will never take responsibility for their future-murdering,cruel offspring.

Why in the world has this been put in the "Travel with Children" forum when Cloudship, the OP, clearly was traveling WITHOUT children? In fact, placement in this forum guarantees that people like Cloudship can't have their question answered.

Suppose Cloudships question was: Should I complain to the stewardess about the alcoholic who is loud, obnoxious and eventually passed out next to me?

Moving the question over to the wine and spirits forum or the Alcoholics Anonymous forum is not likely to produce a better answer, just the opposite.

Just my thoughts.

I would consider saying something when the actions of others may potentially affect my safety. For example, if someone in my row or the row in front of me is hindering access to the aisle (and therefore exit) during takeoff or landing, I'll say something. This would be things like bags on the floor, tray tables down, seats reclined. I might also say something if there's a heavy object free to fly around (say, a laptop on someone's lap).

Seatbelts, cell phones, small toys, etc... none of that bothers me too much.

Agreed.

Just because the post is ABOUT children, doesn't mean it should be moved to the Travel WITH Children forum.

Mods, care to weigh in? :-:

I have requested that the Moderators of this Forum move this thread back to TravelBuzz.

Sorry, that was my bad - teaches me not to write after a long flight. This post is about anyone, not necessarily just children or passengers traveling with children, who doesn't follow the rules in flight. But please take it easy on obscure2k, it was an easy misunderstanding to make!

Boston to Atlanta. While I have to admit it does sometimes seem that we are indifferent countries, I am pretty sure this is still considered a domestic flight.

Yeah, I guess that's where i feel so guilty. I mean, it's really up to them how much risk they want to take. But there are times when that seat back or bag blocks the exit of others. Or in this case with all the bottled and cups and such, that stuff gets thrown around on the floor if there were to be an emergency. I don't want to be a worry wart, but I also would feel extremely guilty if something should happen and I could have done something about it. Usually I end up ignoring it, I am curious as to how many other people may have said something, either to the person or to the flight attendant.

As O2K has lots of good advice and experience, I'm moving this back to Travel Buzz as per request.

Of course he would. He is entitled to put his seatback back after take off. What do you wait for?