[Travelandtourism] Should an airline's first-class section beadults-only?

[Jewel]

Having just recently had a run-in with a famiy whose children were
running all over, screaming, and sick to boot (and yes, now I have a
cold...) I think I can say I know where these people are coming from.
However, I don't think banning young children and/or infants from
First Class is going to go over. There's business class...isn't that
meant for business people, and therefore not for children? But if
parents pay for a seat in First Class for their infant, they have

The idea of adult-only late-night plane trips sounds like a
potentially acceptable compromise, and perhaps an adults-ony car on
the train would be a good idea...I know I'd request a seat there, for
my health if nothing else!

~Jewel"paid their dues." So really I can see it from both sides.

On 7/11/11, Cindy Handel <cindy425 at verizon.net> wrote:
> Well, crying kids aren't only annoying on planes...they're just as annoying
> on trains.  But, it's often not the child's fault.  I suppose, because the
> parents are used to their kids, many just ignore them and don't try, at all,
> to quiet them or make them sit in their seats.  So, maybe airlines or trains
> should impose a penalty of some kind of the parent doesn't control the
> children.  I'm not saying kids have to be perfect.  But, if a dog guide
> handler is supposed to manage his or her dog and keep the dog under control,
> shouldn't a parent be expected to do the same with a child?
>
> Cindy
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Peachtree Travel" <info at peachtreetravel.net>
> To: "NFB Travel and Tourism Division List" <travelandtourism at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, July 11, 2011 7:43 PM
> Subject: [Travelandtourism] Should an airline's first-class section
> beadults-only?
>
>
>
> Ask passengers like James Armstrong, and you'll hear a compelling reason for
> keeping babies in the back -- if not off the plane entirely.
>
> "I was on a flight from Bangkok to Beijing," he remembers. "Royal Thai
> Airways."
>
> Just to set the stage, this is what Thai's first-class section looks like.
> Nice, huh?
>
> Anyway, there was this German couple with two young children seated a few
> rows away. "One of the children was running about, loud and disruptive."
>
> And sick.
>
> With junior making the rounds, touching the seats, sneezing and sniffling
> all over the place, Armstrong became infected.
>
> "Nothing like spending two days in Beijing in bed with the flu," he says.
>
> Babies on planes is a hot topic again, thanks to Malaysia Airlines
> (www.malaysiaairlines.com) banning young passengers on some of its larger
> jets. Originally, the airline said it was in response to complains from
> other premium passengers. It later changed its tune, saying it didn't have
> the proper facilities to accommodate infants.
>
> Either way, Malaysia Airlines' actions got passengers talking.
>
> "I'm quite serious when I say that I'd rather be on a flight with smokers
> than with babies," says reader Dick Carlson. "I'd love to see an airline
> that offered adult-only flights -- maybe late evening or red-eye. While I
> understand that the little squirts have to travel somehow, having one squawk
> and scream five inches from my ear isn't anything I want to endure for six
> hours."
>
> By way of full disclosure, I used to think babies on planes were a nuisance,
> no matter where they sat. And I had to laugh when Ryanair (www.ryanair.com)
> announced it would begin offering child-free flights earlier this year.
>
> Look at the date on the press release, in case you're wondering if they're
> serious.
>
> But there's a kernel of truth to its joke.
>
> "When it comes to children we all love our own but would clearly prefer to
> avoid other people's little monsters when traveling," Ryanair's Stephen
> McNamara is quoted as saying. And those words certainly ring true for a lot
> of passengers, even if Ryanair didn't really mean it.
>
> I hear the same sentiments from among younger airline passengers and
> articulated by childless thirtysomething airline commentators. They don't
> want to sit next to anyone else's little monsters, let alone their screaming
> little monsters.
>
> The "ban babies" from first class -- and indeed, sometimes from the plane
> altogether -- proponents' argument goes something like this.
>
> (I'm quoting without attribution, because I've received several emails that
> are virtually identical.)
>
> .I pay a premium to sit in first or business class and I don't want my to be
> disturbed by a crying, screaming or misbehaving child.
> .While I understand the parent pays as much as I do, I don't disturb them by
> screaming or crying or misbehaving and I should not have to deal with their
> child if they are screaming or crying or carrying on.
> .Some children are absolute angels and some act like they are the spawn of
> Satan. While I understand a child's or baby's reaction to the change in
> environment is unpredictable, that doesn't mean anyone should be subjected
> to it either. A person's choice to have children and fly with said children
> does not take precedence over or trump my choice to not have children.
> Then there are also a great many parents today that think the world should
> have to deal with it because "s/he is a child", when the reality is if you
> choose to have children you should not inflict them on others, especially
> strangers.
>
>
> As clichéd as it sounds, your perspective changes when you have monsters of
> your own. Notice, I didn't put "monsters" in quotes. I've endured too many
> flights, and one or two in first class, where my kids didn't behave well.
>
> So I actually find myself sympathizing with those who would want to keep
> children, and particularly babies, out of the very best seats.
>
> Infants probably don't belong up front any more than they do in a five-star
> restaurant. But keeping kids off the plane, period? Not practical.
>
> If young passengers were barred from flying, then how, pray tell, would they
> travel? By boat? Or spending four days strapped into a baby seat of a car?
>
> "I find crying babies on a plane just as annoying as the next person,
> whether they're in first class or not," says Linda Snow. "But ever since air
> travel was invented, the rule has been, 'You get what you pay for.' If
> people can pay for first class and want to travel with their babies, they
> get to."
>
> Malaysia Airlines' decision to keep babies out of its first-class section on
> certain flights is as courageous as it is controversial. It acknowledges the
> fact that its premium cabin is an experience meant primarily for adult
> passengers.
>
> There will no doubt still be angry parents who think their little brats
> deserve to sit in first class. Fortunately for them, they have a choice of
> airlines.
>
> And in the end, the market will decide whether baby-free premium cabins will
> fly or not.
>
>
>
>
> Peachtree Travel
> Independent Travel Consultant
>
> (phone) 888-389-2723
>
> (website: http://www.peachtreetravel.net.
>
> Email: reservations at peachtreetravel.net
>
>
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