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

cheryl echevarria cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com
Tue Jul 12 11:10:21 UTC 2011


Jewel,

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Cheryl Echevarria
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  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Jewel<mailto:herekittykat2 at gmail.com> 
  To: NFB Travel and Tourism Division List<mailto:travelandtourism at nfbnet.org> 
  Sent: Monday, July 11, 2011 9:25 PM
  Subject: Re: [Travelandtourism] Should an airline's first-class sectionbeadults-only?


  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<mailto: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<mailto:info at peachtreetravel.net>>
  > To: "NFB Travel and Tourism Division List" <travelandtourism at nfbnet.org<mailto: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<http://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<http://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<http://www.peachtreetravel.net/>.
  >
  > Email: reservations at peachtreetravel.net<mailto:reservations at peachtreetravel.net>
  >
  >
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