Once upon a time this scenario was mostly avoided because airlines allowed families with small child

Brace yourself for frustration american airline flight information and furor as this season is poised to be worse than others, thanks american airline flight information in part to a growing number airlines eliminating family pre-boarding as well as last spring s decision by some airlines to charge high fees for the privilege of sitting next to your child . All of this is on top of the usual holiday hell of crowded airports, overbooked flights, winter weather delays and passengers carrying gifts and grudges.
The Monday after Thanksgiving talk among my friends filled with gripes directed at the airline industry. One air carrier made a mother cry because a flight attendant sniped at her as she hobbled through a crowded airplane with a screaming baby, a hyper toddler, a stuffed diaper bag and a car seat. Apparently, the mom wasn t fast enough because some passengers pushed past her family while others glared and blared rude remarks. Not one person including service workers from the flight crew had the decency or compassion to help. But the flight attendant added to the mom s humiliation by loudly reiterating, Ma am, you need move along and take your seat.
Once upon a time this scenario was mostly avoided because airlines allowed families with small children to pre-board planes. Some carriers still do but an increasing number have eliminated american airline flight information this option to streamline the boarding process american airline flight information (and I m sure to somehow help the bottom line). People american airline flight information without small kids may complain that early boarding is unfair. To me, pre-boarding with little ones is a convenience for not only families but passengers tripping over kids and stalled in human traffic jams as strollers, baby gear, suitcases and car seats get stowed.
The other airline horror story entailed another friend, a mother of four small kids, being told by American Airlines that she could not sit with her kids. The flight staff acted flippant and exasperated by her legitimate concerns regarding the care of her two preschoolers, kindergartener and first-grader. They berated her for not paying extra fees and rudely insisted that if she wanted to be near her kids, she should ask fellow passengers to move their seats. american airline flight information She is still baffled by families being seated apart when dates of birth are given when purchasing plane tickets, thereby allowing the airline to seat minors with parents or adults they know, which, by the way, is the policy of most airlines.
Of course, I agree with my friend. I am also stumped and steamed that the burden falls on the passenger a paying american airline flight information customer to ensure that small kids sit with their parents and, by doing so, ensuring the airline follows its own policies.
Such airline nonsense happened to me last summer when I was flying Frontier Airlines with my two kids, ages 4 and 7. The story of the rude ticket agent who made my daughter cry is documented in my post Airline wanted my young kids to sit with strangers . What further blows my mind is that a dozen or some people who left comments agreed with Frontier (although I suspect some were moles of the airline industry). For instance, one person wrote:
I have three children and travel frequently between NY and FL and ALWAYS pay the fee to select my seats. I absolutely cannot stand people like you that think they should get it for free just because you have kids. WHY should someone that paid for the right to choose give it up simply because you were too cheap to?? Flights are always late leaving american airline flight information for a family trying to get away without paying. american airline flight information Ranks right up there with the parents that book the window and aisle seats and have a lap rider then get annoyed that someone is in the middle seat because they were hoping to use it for the children for free. Pay the fee and stop bothering the flight workers and other passengers.
If it is an airline s policy that minors sit with a parent, as it is Frontier s, why should I be forced to pay a fee (totaling $120) so my kids could sit with me? And why should I take the blame for airline delays when, from a policy perspective, I am only trying to follow the rules (and basic common sense) by insisting that my kids sit with me?
Don t get mad at the parents. Get angry at the airlines. It is the air industry s inane procedures and rules that cause delays and inconveniences to families, non-family passengers as well as the flight staff while also jacking-up ticket prices with ridiculous fees and then wondering why airlines are in continual financial messes. What the airlines have neglected in recent years is the customers american airline flight information , the key to business success, according to esteemed institutions such as Harvard and business gurus like Warren Buffet and the late-great Steve Jobs .
Fortunately, most people understand that family-friendliness in the airline industry is not about entitlement; american airline flight information rather american airline flight information it is about efficiency and decency for all involved. As I wrote in my airline horror post , the ticket agent from my departing city was accommodating, pleasant and competent in changing the seating arrangements so I could sit with my kids. And a reader posted this comment about a JetBlue american airline flight information captain who had his priorities straight:
I was on a JetBlue flight recently and after everyone had boarded, the captain made a call saying there was a family with young kids that needed to sit together and would anyone switch seats. It seemed no one was willing right away but then the captain said the plane would not take off until these children were seated with their dad. I thought that was awesome!
Main image: Will the airline industry s next step entail moving children to stowage compartments? Or perhaps kiddos climbing on the plane s makeshift jungle-gym is what will happen when strangers seated next to them have no authority american airline flight information to discipline? american airline flight information Courtesy of Creative Commons via the blog Scott s Tip of the Day , which published this humorous post: Top 8 people american airline flight information you don t want to sit next to on an airplane .
I ll be traveling over New Years, I ll let you know how it goes. The good news is that C is under 2, and will be riding on my husband s lap I m also pregnant, so I ve got the pregnant lady rage working in my favor.
Personally american airline flight information I love flying southwest for this exact reason but I wouldn t pay the fee and I would allow my kids 7,3, and 2) to sit next to a stranger because guaranteed said stranger is going to hate their life after about 2 seconds and ask to switch with me. Airlines get away with this type of behavior because parents pay the fees and allow it.
This is the number one reason why I take Southwest. If I fly out no the country I never fly a domestic flight carrier due to this bull sh**. I m sorry that some people are ignorant and don t care when they should.
My gosh. I can t imagine why other people want to sit next to people s under 6 year olds. I think it s ok that unless you pay for the seat picking privilege you don t get to pick your own seats, but you think they d assign the seats if there are young kids. If I was sitting next to someone else s kids, I d sure move so I didn t have to entertain them the whole time, it s exhausting enough with my own.
I know and entertaining kids on planes is exhausting. I never want to be the parent passenger with the screaming, kicking kids that everyone hates (although I have been that mom before . although I have to say on this round trip flight, both my kids were so good )
The point of airline moles like myself was not that its ok for Frontier to charge for seating (its not), but that once you arrived at the gate for a crowded american airline flight information flight, during peak travel season, you seemed shocked that the gate agent didn t magically have four empty seats waiting for you, and that it was difficult to rearrange everyone s seats for you.
The real solution here (for all of us): Please do NOT patronize airlines that charge seat selection fees (AFAIK, Delta, American, and budget carriers US Airways, Frontier, Spirit, and Allegiant). If we fly with these airlines, we are telling them that this is an acceptable business model. Do not give them your business.
Jen E. I booked early, american airline flight information tried to get my seats as soon as allowed and arrived at a nearly empty terminal to make things as smooth as possible so again, I say yes, the gate agent should have at least *tried* to find 3 seats together (not 4). I waited in several american airline flight information lines to make this happen (with my two kids and all of our stuff) and at first he did not even want to lift a finger. He basically said it was my job to find people to move or I was out of luck. What was I supposed to do, stand on a chair in the waiting area and shout my request (so security could haul me away as a crazy threat to American society)?
We flew Saudia this past summer and we had a great experience. The culture in general seems much more accepting that families have small children and no one complained, even though the poor little 5 month old in front of us screamed for the entire american airline flight information flight. They gave a gift to every child at the end of the flight, even our 10 month old daughter (a blanket that folded into a backpack with a plush toy) who was a lap baby. And during the flight all of the passengers had complimentary eye covers and warm socks, and they even passed out hard candy. We have never experienced a bad flight crew, but our experience with international lines has always been the best.
Were you out of blog ideas that you had to bring up this topic so you could re-hash your argument from the past? Hoping more people will agree with you this time? I was one who did not (and still do not!). I am not an airline troll. I am a mother, frequent flier both pre post babies and can t stand other fliers who cause delays by causing big scenes when they could have avoided it.
You have the choice of using an airline that assigns seats ahead of time why didn t you? Probably because they are more expensive. Why are they more expensive? Because they assign seats for everyone, etc. If people like you continue to throw fits because you refuse to pay a fee you know exists, airlines like Frontier will solve that issue increase the fee for everyone to