Article "Kids should not be taken on planes"

[kiwi2768]

A hermetically sealed container something similar to a large luggage container, with abundant oxygen, water, food, games and of course earplugs, with priority boarding for those with the noisiest children, stowed anywhere in the hold would be my solution to noisy children on planes.:shock:

I've often thought it would be great if there was a sound-proof section up the back, say the last three rows of seats. Then all the parents could sit there, chat and say "stop it", while the kids scream, poo their nappies and spew as much as they like.

I mean, seriously, who wants to be eating their meal and have some kid spewing next to them or have the smell of a sh!tty nappy wafting around?

 

[JohnK]

Funny article and some interesting comments.

I can only remember a few flights where kids have been a real hassle. This one time a couple sitting in the D,F seats with their daughter (6-8 years old) in the E seat. I was sitting in the G seat. From the time we boarded the aircraft the child did not stop screaming and carrying on like a spoilt brat. I felt sorry for the parents as they tried to get her to keep the seat belt buckled. She was having a real tantrum fit.

I could not take anymore and when the seat belt sign was extinguished I went searching for a new seat. Luckily I found a vacant aisle seat a few rows back with a lady sitting in the D seat and EFG vacant. I asked her if I could sit there and got my things from my original seat and bid the parents farewell. No idea what happened with the child for the rest of the flight but it could not have been a pleasant experience for the passengers around her.

Most times the kids are fantastic and are a nice distraction on a long flight. Especially the young ones who like to explore. Even with some bad experiences I don't mind kids on planes.

 

[UP4014]

Infants on planes can be enjoyable, most kids behave, but it's pretty hard to blame kids being bored on flights - I usually am as well.

Some of the know it all adult passengers are the real pains - because they should know better. Like the passengers that once the seat belt light has gone off rush like the self important people they think they are to find a better seat. sheeesh.

 

[jamesatfish]

Interesting that this thread has resurfaced now - I would have ignored it initially but now that I've got a 3 month old daughter booked on a RTW trip it's suddenly more relevant.

My wife and I will be taking our daughter on a 3 week work & pleasure trip when she's 6 months old, and we're both really nervous about the experience. My work requirements mean I have to travel and it's too long to leave my wife alone with our child, and our daughter will still be breast feeding so it's too long to leave her with grandparents whilst we're away - so there's no choice but to travel as a 3-some.

We're planning on doing whatever we can to be prepared for the experience - we're going to take some short domestic flights before hand to get her used to aircraft and fine-tune our packing lists (cabin and checked) - but at the end of the day she'll be a 6 month old infant and there's no telling whether she'll be a silent angel or a screaming devil for any particular flight.

I've tried to pick routings that minimise the impact on others in the aircraft, such as booking day-time rather than night-time flights where possible (US trans-con, trans-atlantic) and booking different flights on the SYD-SIN and SIN-LHR legs (so we annoy different groups of people) - so hopefully if she does scream during a flight there's less chance of disturbing other passengers who wish to sleep.

Beyond that, however, there's not much else we can do. Obviously if our daughter chooses to cry and scream during a flight we'll do everything we can to settle her, but if that's not possible then unfortunately others on that flight may be disturbed by her presence for however long the unsettled periods last.

We're also preparing for the 'baby in premium cabin' glares as well - though at least in the A380 if she's well behaved then other passengers shouldn't even see her from their cubicles, and to be honest I'd rather upset just 12 other people then potentially hundreds, regardless of how important those people think they are.

My wife and I are both very nervous about this happening, and we'll be incredibly embarrassed and apologetic to other passengers if it does, but if you happen to be on one of our flights please understand that there's a reason our daughter is flying and we're not there to deliberately annoy you, so please try to cut us some slack!

 

[hazel]

I think most reasonable people understand that babies do cry & sometimes there is not a whole lot that the parent can do about it. When they do cry it's not exactly a great time for the parents either.
My biggest complaint is the parents who think their 3yo has carte blanche to behave badly because whatever the child does is 'cute' or they make no attempt to control the child.

 

[samh004]

We're also preparing for the 'baby in premium cabin' glares as well - though at least in the A380 if she's well behaved then other passengers shouldn't even see her from their cubicles, and to be honest I'd rather upset just 12 other people then potentially hundreds, regardless of how important those people think they are.

You’re flying F! :shock:

Lucky you, will be interesting to hear your views after the flights, depending on how they went.

 

[GCC]

My wife and I will be taking our daughter on a 3 week work & pleasure trip when she's 6 months old, and we're both really nervous about the experience. My work requirements mean I have to travel and it's too long to leave my wife alone with our child, and our daughter will still be breast feeding so it's too long to leave her with grandparents whilst we're away - so there's no choice but to travel as a 3-some.

Ditto -although our baby is yet to be born (due yesterday!) and as we have to travel Syd -LHR in October we've made plans with absolutely no idea of whether he/she will be a beaming travel friendly angel or a screaming nightmare. I agree with those who say well behaved kids can actually be a fun distraction - hopefully ours will be one of those, at ~ 6 months it wont be doing much but feeding, sleeping looking cute, and hopefully not much crying.

We'll be in J and using similar travel strategies to yours, so look forward to hearing how your trip went.

 

[Katie]

My wife and I will be taking our daughter on a 3 week work & pleasure trip when she's 6 months old, and we're both really nervous about the experience. My work requirements mean I have to travel and it's too long to leave my wife alone with our child, and our daughter will still be breast feeding so it's too long to leave her with grandparents whilst we're away - so there's no choice but to travel as a 3-some.

Some thoughts after travelling to Europe with a then 18mth old:

• If your child takes a dummy, don't get caught up on your usual rules when in transit. If she only gets it at nap time, I would consider letting her have it all the time, especially in flights (but feeding for takeoff and landing). You will definitely want one of those plastic clip-on chains for it, don't want it falling on the cabin floor just as you walk on. No 10 second rule for baby dummies on planes. Oh, and have spares.
• At that age, try as much as possible to stick to their routines, including any toy/huggie they always sleep with, wearing PJs for 'big' sleeps, etc.
• Spare clothes for you and them. I arrived at LHR in yoga pants thanks to a poo explosion nappy during turbulence (so she was on my lap) two years ago. If you're in J/F, you may get the pyjamas, but be prepared.
• Have rusks and a few chew toys for her. I'm guessing she'll probably be at the stage of wanting to chew on most everything.
• Have some spare muslins/wraps for covering the bassinette on the plane.
• Try not to be too nervous or worried yourself - she may well pick up on this vibe from you, and find the whole experience overwhelming. Or not.
• Let her have some time sitting up in the basinette looking around at everyone. I've seen a number of babies enjoy this vantage point.
• Scout out which loos on the aircraft have the baby change table in them.
• Have some new toys for her. I wouldn't bother with wrapping them, but something new to explore will be fun.
• Be confident that you know your baby best. Sure, you may not exactly know how she'll be on a flight, but you will know if she likes seeing strangers' faces, exploring new enrivonments, clinging to Mum and Dad, or whatever. That will help you anticipate (but not predict exactly) what her reactions might be.
• I'd personally use a baby bjorn/sling and check in the stroller. Your mileage may vary, and it depends on how big she is and if you can carry her. We used a baby bjorn for a flight to/from MEL when our daughter was 6.5 mths, and then a baby backpack for the trip to Europe a year later. That's my preference, but I can understand why others would use strollers and check them in when boarding the plane.

Hope these ideas help. Prepare and think about the trip, but don't panic. She'll probably cope amazingly well, and win over all the other passengers.

 

[jamesatfish]

Lucky you, will be interesting to hear your views after the flights, depending on how they went.

I'll be sure to post some trip reports this time around - I normally don't bother as I figure most people here know what seats look like and food tastes like in each and every Qantas cabin - but it will be an interesting experience either way so hopefully I'll have something useful to share.

We've got a mix of aircraft and carriers - QF A380 F, 744 F, A330 J and Domestic 734 J, AA 767 F, BA 777 F and 747 F - so it will be interesting to see which configurations, seats and cabins work best.

Whatever happens we are looking forward to taking our daughter on her first overseas trip, and here's hoping she enjoys flying as much as her parents do. She was signed up as a QFF before she was 24 hours old, so we're certainly going to point her in that direction!

 

[GCC]

She was signed up as a QFF before she was 24 hours old, so we're certainly going to point her in that direction!

Ah - hadn't though of that, I'll add it to the birth plan!

 

[jamesatfish]

Ah - hadn't though of that, I'll add it to the birth plan!

We actually signed her up with the free Woolies card offer, and when we shop at Woolworths or one of their partners we swipe her Woolies card.

The plan is that with points from flights and 18 years of shopping she should have accrued enough points for a RTW First award redemption - which will then be an easy 18th birthday present.

 

[NYCguy]

We actually signed her up with the free Woolies card offer, and when we shop at Woolworths or one of their partners we swipe her Woolies card.

The plan is that with points from flights and 18 years of shopping she should have accrued enough points for a RTW First award redemption - which will then be an easy 18th birthday present.

Assuming, of course, that the nature of the QF/WW business relationship doesn't change over the course of those intervening years.

 

[jsd]

Kids on planes are fine, just not in J or F, thats a bit over the top I think


Josh

 

[UP4014]

Kids on planes are fine, just not in J or F, thats a bit over the top I think


Josh

I enjoy taking the kids up the front end, never had anyone comment in negative way. I think generally people in business are pretty good about it, I'm sure at some stage most business and first travellers take their kids places as well.

There are some evil stares from people walking through to the back when they see a 3yo sitting in a nice big wide seat playing with Thomas the Tank Engine and are being offered a pre-flight OJ.

Matt
(I'm normally at the back, so don't think I'm doing this all the time)

 

[jamesatfish]

Kids on planes are fine, just not in J or F, thats a bit over the top I think

To ask out of genuine curiosity - not to stir the pot - why do you believe this to be the case?

For what it's worth, my reasons for booking us into F (above and beyond the fact that my wife and I both enjoy flying F):

•The seating arrangement in F means that we can both sit in the same seat (one of us in the jump seat) with our baby. We can have meal & play times together as a family and keep the usual routine as much as possible.

•The smaller cabin (and the isolating walls in the A380) mean that we minimise the number of people affected by any disturbances caused by our daughter. Similarly, the smaller cabin means things are more like home rather than sitting in a sea of unfamiliar faces, smells and noises.

•Extra seat & storage space and allowances means we have room for all the things we need to bring on board and allowances for those we need to check.

•Less demand for bassinet positions means we're more likely to be allocated a seat with a bassinet (as they are allocated to the youngest children on the flight, not by status or request), which will make the flight much easier.

•If my wife and I can relax more, it will make our daughter relax and make the whole flight easier. That's far easier to achieve in F than in other cabins.

 

[munitalP]

To ask out of genuine curiosity - not to stir the pot - why do you believe this to be the case?

For what it's worth, my reasons for booking us into F (above and beyond the fact that my wife and I both enjoy flying F):

•The seating arrangement in F means that we can both sit in the same seat (one of us in the jump seat) with our baby. We can have meal & play times together as a family and keep the usual routine as much as possible.

•The smaller cabin (and the isolating walls in the A380) mean that we minimise the number of people affected by any disturbances caused by our daughter. Similarly, the smaller cabin means things are more like home rather than sitting in a sea of unfamiliar faces, smells and noises.

•Extra seat & storage space and allowances means we have room for all the things we need to bring on board and allowances for those we need to check.

•Less demand for bassinet positions means we're more likely to be allocated a seat with a bassinet (as they are allocated to the youngest children on the flight, not by status or request), which will make the flight much easier.

•If my wife and I can relax more, it will make our daughter relax and make the whole flight easier. That's far easier to achieve in F than in other cabins.

I will reply with my take on things...

If I travel J, I am on business - 99% of my air travel is for business. In this economic climate, J travel is limited, and in my case (when not paying for upgrades with points) and the company or customer is paying for J travel, it will be because I want to step off the plane and straight into a meeting.

A screaming rug rat in the seat next to me or behind me does not allow me to achieve that - no earplugs stop the noise and I am not alone in my thoughts here.

Of course you have the right to fly J or F, I just wish the airlines had baby friendly flights and flights guaranteed no babies - it would be interesting to see then how many folks by choice got on a plane knowing it had screaming babies onboard!

Mr!

 

[anat0l]

I don't mind kids in the premium cabins. They just have to behave, or their parents just have to keep them in line.

I've had my share of good and bad experiences in this regard. I was in JQ Star Class one time on a sleeper flight and there was Mum, Dad and child in row 1. The little rug rat could not stop crying for the good part of the flight after the meal service. Given that this was one of those return-to-Australia sleeper flight things, most people will realise how hard it is already to get a decent rest on this flight, let alone with a screaming rug rat.

On the other hand, on the FJ NAN-SYD flight I was on recently, I was seated in row 1 with another AFFer when we were asked (not forced) to choose another row in order to accommodate a couple in row 4 who wanted to use the bassinet. We obliged and moved to row 2. Apart from the parents being thankful for obliging, the child was a good one and happily crawled up and down the J cabin meeting all sorts of people.

We shouldn't categorically ban parents and young kids from travelling, let alone in premium classes, just because of some cases where the kids can't be kept under control. It's a bit like the argument of computer games and violence (i.e. violent computer games have been (both clearly and supposedly) linked to incidents of violent crime, but the option of banning all violent computer games is not the answer).

 

[jsd]

I don't mind kids in the premium cabins. They just have to behave, or their parents just have to keep them in line.

Thats what I meant, its hard to express emotion in typed text, I don't mind it as long as their not screaming & running up and down the cabin the whole way.

I haven't met jamesatfish or BAM1748's kidsbut I'm sure that they are well behaved onboard, sorry if i caused any offence to you guys


Josh

P.S.

There are some evil stares from people walking through to the back when they see a 3yo sitting in a nice big wide seat playing with Thomas the Tank Engine and are being offered a pre-flight OJ.

That I like

 

[significance]

I will reply with my take on things...

If I travel J, I am on business - 99% of my air travel is for business. In this economic climate, J travel is limited, and in my case (when not paying for upgrades with points) and the company or customer is paying for J travel, it will be because I want to step off the plane and straight into a meeting.

I'll counter with this: if I travel on Y, 90% of the time it's for business, and I too will need to step straight off the plane and into a meeting. On any given flight, though a greater percentage of travelers in J might be on business, I'm sure you'll find a greater NUMBER of business travelers in Y. As the poster to whom you are replying points out, that means a greater number who will be disturbed if a baby cries. :-|

Anyway, I'm not sure business needs trump personal needs. Think of all those private travelers on their way to funerals, court, or simply on the way the only short holiday they'll have all year.

 

[munitalP]

I'll counter with this: if I travel on Y, 90% of the time it's for business, and I too will need to step straight off the plane and into a meeting. ...

You obviously haven't understood my post - my travel is mainly in Y. When I fly anywhere, it's likely to be on business, in fact 99% of my travel by plane is business.

When I travel in J - that is infrequent when either I have used points or a customer is paying...

And of course you will find a greater number of PAX in Y travelling for business than in J or F - theres far more seats in Y

I think your point here is wrong - get on any given flight Monday to Friday on QF, and I would stake 100 Billion Zimbabwe dollars on it most travellers in J (DOM) are on business.

Think of all those private travelers on their way to funerals, court, or simply on the way the only short holiday they'll have all year.

Yep, them once a year travellers for whatever reason - they are not the bread and butter of an airline, the suckers like me and you who travel 2 and 3 times a week in economy day in and day out most of our working lives - we are the bread and butter, so as callous as it sounds (and is not meant in a mean way at all) I don't care about these travellers or their personal needs

Mr!