Screaming Kids - Seating Allocations

[MrMickeyg]

Why oh I why cant they put everyone with Kids at the back of the plane!?!

Seriously, isnt it better for eveyone??

Rant over.

 

[NM]

Why oh I why cant they put everyone with Kids at the back of the plane!?!

Seriously, isnt it better for eveyone??

Rant over.

Its not better for those with well behaved kids.

Why not put all the loud, obnoxious people together at the back of the plane, without discriminating against the chronologically challenged. I think I have experienced more disruptions from adults than I have from kids when flying.

 

[simongr]

Easy solution - private charter flight. Only marginally more expensive than a QF F seat to LAX

 

[file51]

Easy solution - private charter flight. Only marginally more expensive than a QF F seat to LAX

Maybe a group buy is in order

Screaming kids, rude and arrogant so and so's... you cant win... maybe joining them is an option
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(NOT!)

 

[nlagalle]

Why oh I why cant they put everyone with Kids at the back of the plane!?!

Seriously, isnt it better for eveyone??

Rant over.

As mentioned, how about noisy people in general down the back?

My daughter is just under 5 and has been flying since she was 10 weeks old. She hardly ever cried at all. When she was 18 months old we flew to PER in J and there was a woman sitting across from me who visably cringed when she saw me plop her into the seat next to me. We got lucky and sat in the middle 3 seats and the nice check in guy blocked the middle seat out so we got a seat for free. She sat there quietly for the entire flight, watched her DVD, played with her QF goodies and slept. When we got up to leave the lady said to me she couldn't believe how good she was.

Nick

 

[codash1099]

Theatres used to have "crying rooms" - I know one that still does!

So why not on aircraft?

 

[straitman]

Theatres used to have "crying rooms" - I know one that still does!

So why not on aircraft?

Would the crew be able to use the room also :?:

 

[MelUser]

For the transpacific routes when travelling in J, qantas have an unwritten rule that all the kids, babies etc are to be squeezed into the mini business cabin just before economy - ie rows 29 and 30. We were in this cabin last year from Mel to LAX and bore the brunt of the racket.

 

[Josh]

Sorry I'll join this rant as well.

<rant>
Only because the last two times I've flown in J, (one of them a red-eye PER-MEL - much sleep was needed after a 2.5 hour delay!!), I was subjected to screaming (not crying, screaming) kids for half the journey. Now please don't compare kids like this to loud, obnoxious passengers. There is a big difference in my books. I know some passengers are loud and obnoxious, but none of them scream. And in my experience, you see them a lot less often. If you did have any adults screaming like these kids did, you'd have the crew come tackle them down and they would be escorted off the plane at the next chance.
I fully realise some kids are well behaved and never play up. I also realise that a lot of the time, there is not much a parent can do to calm down a kid who is so distraught. It's just the unfortunate luck of the draw - sometimes you get them, sometimes you don't. It's just unfortunate that they usually get placed up the front of economy, where the bassinet seats are, which is right next to the J cabin usually.
Maybe a 'crying room' or something else would be great...

</rant>

Cheers,

Josh

 

[stryker]

Sorry I'll join this rant as well.

<rant>
Only because the last two times I've flown in J, (one of them a red-eye PER-MEL - much sleep was needed after a 2.5 hour delay!!), I was subjected to screaming (not crying, screaming) kids for half the journey. Now please don't compare kids like this to loud, obnoxious passengers. There is a big difference in my books. I know some passengers are loud and obnoxious, but none of them scream. And in my experience, you see them a lot less often. If you did have any adults screaming like these kids did, you'd have the crew come tackle them down and they would be escorted off the plane at the next chance.
I fully realise some kids are well behaved and never play up. I also realise that a lot of the time, there is not much a parent can do to calm down a kid who is so distraught. It's just the unfortunate luck of the draw - sometimes you get them, sometimes you don't. It's just unfortunate that they usually get placed up the front of economy, where the bassinet seats are, which is right next to the J cabin usually.
Maybe a 'crying room' or something else would be great...

</rant>

Cheers,
Josh

I'm with you 100% on that one, Josh. And just so people know, I have travelled with young offspring, some of which did scream at length (and were we embarrassed, but what can you do, other than try to be a good parent?)

But, I have been hugely inconvenienced and sickened very badly by people walking around the cabin with their screaming, sick babies. On one occasion, I caught the worst dose of flu I have ever had from someone walking their baby around on a SIN-SYD SQ flight. On another occasion I caught a very bad cold which developed into pneumonia from someone walking their baby around on a SYD-SIN flight.

I do sympathise with the parents somewhat, but I don't think they should be taking sick babies on flights full of healthy people. The crying is just an annoyance. Spreading diseases is far worse.

Lastly, I have never come across annoying adult pax that couldn't be dealt with in 5 minutes flat by the cabin crew. Can't do that with children. So let’s not bring red herrings into the discussion please.

 

[wallacej]

I am pretty sure DJ have a policy where if a child/infant ticket is booked, they are pre allocated to the rear of the aircraft. I have asked if this is true, and it has been confirmed. I have however seen infants elsewhere in the craft but put that down to a possible change of seat at checkin.

However, I was seated in row 1 yesterday, and found the attendants had brought a couple of kids up the front because they were screaming down the back. The kids were well behaved while up the front, change of scenery etc had settled them down.

Being a parent I can empathize, however my kids have of course always been perfect angels on board and have never screamed/cried during a flight... I have put this down to being lucky, but I know parents can find this embarassing.... and most do try their best to settle them down.

As for walking the plane spreading germs... uncalled for and totally rude.

 

[Blackswan]

I am pretty sure DJ have a policy where if a child/infant ticket is booked, they are pre allocated to the rear of the aircraft. I have asked if this is true, and it has been confirmed. I have however seen infants elsewhere in the craft but put that down to a possible change of seat at checkin.

However, I was seated in row 1 yesterday, and found the attendants had brought a couple of kids up the front because they were screaming down the back. The kids were well behaved while up the front, change of scenery etc had settled them down.

Being a parent I can empathize, however my kids have of course always been perfect angels on board and have never screamed/cried during a flight... I have put this down to being lucky, but I know parents can find this embarassing.... and most do try their best to settle them down.

As for walking the plane spreading germs... uncalled for and totally rude.

After a recent Tiger flight , I can attest to the fact that it is not only children spreading germs - there was a older lady coughing and spluttering over everyone. Needless to say, I am suffering a very hot Summer with the worst cold ever.

 

[Commuter]

I caught bad virus off two of my recent flights from people (one child, one adult) coughing nearby without covering their mouth.

Anyway, I have given up on trying to get away from screaming children and now use my in-ear earphones with active noise cancelling and soothing music being played loud enough to block out the screaming.

The worst is when thre is screaming going on in J. The trouble with young screamers is that cabin crew can't do much about it. I have complained about obnoxious loud adults to the CSM and they were promptly dealt with - but they can't really do that with children. The funny thing was that the obnoxious loud adults were the screaming children's father and his friend on one of the flights...

Anyway, I would still hate to see well behaved children penalised by obnoxious brats but whether they are adults or children, they really need to be able to be stopped from causing other passengers nuisance/harm.

 

[inpd]

On one occasion, I caught the worst dose of flu I have ever had from someone walking their baby around on a SIN-SYD SQ flight. On another occasion I caught a very bad cold which developed into pneumonia from someone walking their baby around on a SYD-SIN flight.

While I sympathise with you catching a cold, saying with certainty you
caught it from a specific individual is a bit ridiculous. If you know with
certainty, then you should publish a scientic paper in Nature and let
the rest of the scientific community know.

Note, I hate sitting next to annoying kids, adults as much as the next
person, but making up "facts" like this adds nothing to the discussion.

 

[NYCguy]

While I sympathise with you catching a cold, saying with certainty you
caught it from a specific individual is a bit ridiculous. If you know with
certainty, then you should publish a scientic paper in Nature and let
the rest of the scientific community know.

So, when my baby nephew sneezed into my face when he was unwell; and I developed the same infection some 5 days later; deducing that it was he who infected me is grounds for a Nobel prize?

I think it's pretty obvious that if you sit for a few hours in close vicinity to a person who is coughing, spluttering and sneezing, you have a reasonable chance of breathing in the virus that they are effectively distributing.

 

[tscharke]

aw gawd there are some precious people on here

it's public transport - get over it!

and for those that came down with a cold - what about the multiple times you past it on to someone else! :shock:

 

[Homer]

I don't know about all these un-written rules about which seats children are allocated. Our daughter has flown many, many times since she was 4-weeks old, including a trans-pacific at 9-months, and QF has usually allocated us forward J seats and, most often, the bassinet position in the first row.

Our daugher turned two a couple of weeks ago so now we have to purchase a seat for her. On a BNE-SYD flight on Sunday night we were allocated row 4 in J and there was another couple behind us with two distressed children. I can't believe that the first 3 rows were filled with WPs who had booked earlier than me on this particular Sunday night. I believe QF's check-in person had tried to put the children together at the back of J. However given our past experience this "rule" does not seem to be commonly enforced.

Like most parents on this forum, we believe our daughter to be an excellent traveller. She has never screamed in a plane. However many children do. Some parents seem to think that this is either natural or something that they can't assist their children with. Children cry/scream for a reason. They are either tired, hungry or in pain. I have seen many instances of parents essentially ignoring their children on planes, including the people behind us on Sunday night, and I feel very sorry for the children.

 

[JohnK]

I can't say that I have been affected in a bad way due to screaming or crying children. Babies are OK and generally have no control over what happens to them during a flight. Most of the time I feel sorry for the parents as they try to calm and settle the child.

There was one time though I was sitting in the same row with a spoilt brat, probably around 5-6 years of age, and her 2 parents. Constant tantrums and screaming before and after take off. She did not want to be buckled into the seat, jumping up and down, sitting on mums lap, no sit on dads lap and was just being a real nuisance. I am sure that not all children behave this way but I, and others around me, should not have to suffer because of her behaviour. Anyway as soon as the seat belt sign was off I went searching for a new seat and found one a few rows back.

Parents who are not able to control their children should not travel.

 

[Josh]

Parents who are not able to control their children should not travel.

Hear hear!
I with you 100% on that one!

 

[mm472]

As a parent, and with my Tounge firmly in my cheek,

Flying with young kids, is VERY over rated !!!!​

​

but Seriously, from personal experiance, some small kids ( i am talking 3 - 5) can get very anycious / scared when flying ( or anything new for that matter) and this can be at times reflected in various ways, including them crying, screaming, and behaving in a manner that some people would call "bad"

It does not matter how good a parent you are, Kids are only human, and express their feelings in what ever way they can. You try controling a 4yo who is scared, upset and does not want to sit on the seat !! (took my son nearly a year to get over the fear of flying again after that little incident, not helped by a passanger near by, yelling at us to sort him out,, the cabin staff (QF) were FANTASTIC ! and we eventually got him settled)

i have been on both ends of this, and it is no fun for anyone. but like most parents, you try to do the best you can in the situation and move on !

as for the seat allocation,, its a bit like the old days of smoking cabins,
only thing to seperate the 2 "cabins" was a curtain !! ( like that did anything to stop the smoke moving around the plane ) So familys with young kids have to be on the plane somewhere.

To much of the NIMBY attitude going on here i think !

Like one person said,, it is public transport, get over it,
OR
charter your own plane

Just my 10 cents worth