No Children Allowed on Flights?

[Jessica at Parenting.com]

Did you see this article in the New York Times:

The Less-Than-Friendly Skies (http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/the-less-than-friendly-skies/?hp)

From the article:

"...a survey over at airfarewatchdog.com (http://airfarewatchdog.com/), ... asks “Would you pay extra for a flight with no babies and young children (say, no one under 13)? If so, how much more would you pay?” The polling has been going on since August, and you can still get your vote in here (http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/readersurvey/tabid/73/Default.aspx). So far, while 42 percent think fares are high enough, thank you very much, 21 percent would pay an extra $10 each way for a “PG-13″ flight and 37 percent would pay up to $40 more and above. There is even more support for the idea of “a section of the plane reserved for parents with babies and younger children.” Fifty-eight percent of the nearly 20,000 respondents said that airlines “should have done this long ago.” "

What do you think of this? Is it offensive? Reasonable?

Would you pay extra to take an adult-only flight?

Do you think there should be special seating on airplanes for families?

Also, have you flown with your child recently? How was the experience? What do you usually do during the flight to keep your little one entertained?

[APEMBERTON]

Well First I Think The Section For Families Is A Pretty Good Idea.. Imo!! It Would Be More Pleasant For Non-family Passengers & It Would Take The Stress & Possible Embarrassment Off People W/ Kids Who Have Alot Of Energy Or That Are Cranky!! I Think It Would Be Too Much Work For Airlines To Make Some Flights Strictly For People 13 & Older For Only Like $ 40 Extra. I Am Pretty Tight W/ My Money So I Wouldn't Pay Any Extra .. Even $20..thats A Few Gallons Of Gas These Days!!lol!!! I Understand It Is Easier To Sleep & Have A Peaceful Flight W/o A Screaming Kid, But That's Just Reality!!

[Disco Lemonade]

I know most people don’t like flying with children. When I travel with Abby (11months now) people make faces and negative expressions, luckily (to me, I don’t care of anyone else) she is well behaved. When we land they start giving us smiles and comments on how well behaved she is, in my head I'm saying what a hypocrite, so I usually reply with "yea what ever" I think they kind of notice me trying to brush them off. Well if people want to pay more for a MA flight than so be it, who cares, it’s not offensive at all, offensive is the looks that they give, makes me want to whack them. AGH! Anyhow, a family section would be a great idea, for families that could travel in peace with out the dirty looks.

[crazy'bout my baby]

I flew from USA to France a few months back with my 6 mo. old daughter. She nursed during take off and landing... didn't bother a single passenger- and the only tough part was for Daddy and me--- holding her non-stop is tiring when there isn't much room to move around! But for the most part it was great. On our return flight, there was a toddler girl in front of us who wreaked havoc the whole way... she screamed, cried, got into other peoples stuff, threw food, threw fits, and pulled all of her tricks-- the whole nine hours. By the end of that flight... my little family was SO sick of that kid and her uninvolved parents... so- I definitely understand where people are coming from with a desire to fly kid-free...on the other hand, as an experienced parent-frequent flyer... I hate the idea of being stuck on a flight with a bunch of other kids who aren't like mine (no offense) and would send me to the edge, as well as be bad examples to my child... Along with having special seating for families, I think- instead of entertaining the idea of a kid only and/or kid free flight...the airlines should be trying to formulate some sort of guideline for what kids can and cannot do on flights... as adults we follow specific rules and regulations while flying, are required to be courteous to our fellow passengers as well as the attendants... can only bring certain sizes and amounts of luggage on board, and are not allowed certain items for any reason... likewise kids should have requirements based on their age and cognitive ability. If they aren't capable of managing that...then the parents should stay home-skip that vacation, and invest in their child a bit more.

[brandie1127]

OH yes! I know that people with children may find it offensive but I go and visit my relatives on the other side of the country every once and a while and it seems that it NEVER fails I am ALWAYS sitting in front of the annoying 6 year old who won't stop kicking my seat ( FOR A 5 hour FLIGHT) It would be nice if his mother would say,"If you don't stop kicking that seat we're gonna have some problems" but NOOO she's too busy with her nose in her Harlequin novel. I don't mind the never ending game of peek-a-boo with a toddler. but until people start making their children respect EVERYONE even strangers - then yes to the back of the bus with you ( maybe it'll increase HER odds of sitting in front of someone kicking HER seat for 5 hours)

The other side is that mommies may feel more comfortable in a family section, less stressed out because their feverish 2 year old won't stop screaming. Kids could talk to other kids. I think its a great idea.

PS It would give the Pain in the A$$ population that just can't tolerate any child IE Disco's well behaved babe the option to pay to not bother her with their dirty looks just "anticipating" her child to be bad.

( but what about the rest of us ... does that mean if I can't pay I have to sit in the family section with no break from ... dum dum dum the kiddies) :)

[Liana]

I just got back from a trip today (1.75 hour flight, nothing compared with the California-Oregon, California-Colorado, and California-Massachussetts trips we've taken this year) with our two kids (almost-3-years and 11 months). Our older daughter is pretty easy to fly with; she enjoys airplanes, is easily entertained by things that keep her in her seat (toys, books, video iPod, etc.). Our younger daughter, though, who just started crawling a few months ago and is getting ready to walk, is not so easily placated.

My husband will attest to the fact that flying with our little ones makes me rather apprehensive. I stress out over every little thing because I'm afraid of annoying nearby passengers. I immediately scold my older daughter if she so much as places her feet on the seat in front of her. If the younger one starts fussing, I quickly try to shove food in her mouth or find something--anything--that will distract her. And if this fails, as it often does, I get more frantic in trying to bounce her, blow in her face, jiggle her this way and that (just thinking about this is making me anxious!) to get her to be quiet.

I have (possibly irrationally) worried that I'm being irresponsible in taking our kids on flights. I know my husband would scoff at this, but he seems to have a higher opinion of other people; he thinks they're more forgiving and tolerant. Also, he doesn't care quite as much about what other people think. He's definitely conscious of how our daughters are affecting others, but if he feels he's doing his best, he's not going to beat himself up if it's not working. I wish I had his detachment! I'm more prone to thinking things like, "Kill me now."

We currently live 3-hours away from my side of the family and 6-hours from his (all nonstop flights). Next year, we're moving to Africa for 2 years and are unlikely to come back for any visits, so all of our vacations now are seen as precious time to be had with relatives. I've thought about boycotting trips involving airplanes, but I think my husband would just go by himself with our two girls.

So, in short, a "family" section--assuming our fellow passengers would commisserate with, not judge, any behaviors--would actually be great.