Child-free flights may start this fall. Is this unfair discrimination?

[EnLinea Media]

FYI, we've got an interesting discussion getting underway on our Air Travel group:

 

"Ryan Air, just announced child-free flights for thos e of us who like peace & quiet in the confines of an airplane. I never forget one time i was flying to london and the newborn kid behind me SHREIKED the entire time from takeoff to landing. I love kids as much as the next guy but I was ready to commit infanticide. Especially because the night before i hadnt slept a wink and was really lookng foreward to passing out on the plane. 

 

Now Ryan air announes their going to have child-free flighst starting in October on some major routes and i will be the first to sign up. 

 

BUT here's the prob: my sig other, who has a lovely well behaved little boy from a previous marriage, now thinks i'm like the Grinch because i donj't want kids on my flight. She says thats age discrimination and its not right. This is actually the fi=rst big argument we've had, and we've been together 2 years, so I wonder, AM i a grinch? Back me up here, people, if you had a choice and could take a flight w/out kids screaming would you do it??

 

Help me out here guys, whose with me on this one?"

 

Feel free to respond here, or to see/participate in the original discussion, click on this link:

http://www.tripatini.com/group/airtravel/forum/topics/childfree-fli...

[Jacquie Whitt]

Very interesting idea.  If Ryan (or any airline for that matter) wants to make serious changes, they should offer seating choices between 2 planes for every scheduled flight.   Plane 1 would be staffed with "the nanny" and equipped with TV screens/laptops at every seat for all the kids to travel, while their parents (and presumably) all their childless friends, could choose Plane 2, stocked with open-bar, fitted with recliners & wide screen TVs/laptops.  Let's not forget the disco ball.

[Sebastian Kalwij]

What has the world come to?

I often travel with my kids age 4 and 7. They love flying and being on trains. E.g. yesterday we travelled back from Paris by Eurostar. My kids are lively I must say, they comment on things they see along the way, they make drawings and read books and play games like: I spy with my little eye...etc.... Next to us was this couple in their late twenties, each staring at their own laptop computer, so utterly boring. Why is that so much desirable?

 

On the one hand we've got young adults who refuse to grow up and take responsibilities (kidults) and on the other hand a bunch of people who forgot that they were kids themselves not so long ago.

Why don't we accept that kids are part of society and that their liveliness should put a smile on our face.  Come on..don't be so boring.  

 

Sebastian

[David Paul Appell]

It's admittedly a tricky balance to strike.  If you start segregating for one type of passenger, where does it stop?  I'm not at all crazy about that as a concept. On the other hand, what has changed the context of this issue in recent years is the fact that many parents are traveling more with young children and some of them are less willing and/or able to exercise the same degree of control over their kids' behavoir that their parents did.  I recall last year a flight where one couple was so disconnected from the flailings-about of their boy and girl that the babbling kids were allowed to literally jump up and down on their seats (even during landing), climb over the seat backs -- and the girl at one point even let loose with a nice string of barf.  I adore children, and smile at their antics all the time, but there have to be limits, too; their general lack of impulse control means that parents have to step in now and then.  When they don't, in an increasingly permissive society, it can lead to calls for this kind of action by the airlines. Sebastian, I'm sure your children are immaculately well behaved, and I only wish that were true for all of them out there.

 

[Sebastian Kalwij]

Hello

 

No my kids are not so well behaved at all. For that reason I/we often avoid certain restaurants as I am aware of this and it is not my intension to spoil someone else's good evening. This is about choice and there are plenty of restaurants which are more suitable for kids, or we can book a baby-sit in case we'd like to have a more interesting dining experience.

With travel it is not so easy, as one has to go from point A to point B and the options are limited. Not all travel is purely for 'fun or holiday'. Some travel is essential to visit family or for work. 

Most kids keep themselves entertained for 1-2 hours, anything longer gets more difficult. Travelling by myself, I love spending a couple of hours reading each section of the Sunday papers. Kids find travelling often boring. 

In trains, one could easily introduce family sections, just like they have 'quiet sections'. 

Kids could then play together. I have seen this work well on some ferries.

In planes there is a space restriction. Travelling with a child on your lap midway economy class with the guy in front of you reclining his chair is nobodies idea of fun. 

But... perhaps airlines could have a family session in the back of the plane, just like they had the smokers in the back of the plane. Most airlines have a rough idea how many kids will be on-board and allocate seat accordingly. 

 

But saying that, some parents, I don't get. They seem to leave their kids at the mercy of others. Reading them a story or doing some drawings might keep them busy.

 

Once I took my youngest to Cuba on a 13 hour flight. This was one big mistake and I have sworn to many that I won't do this again until they've reached the age that they start wearing headphones and are content listening to music for hours on end.

 

This will be an interesting discussion for weeks to come.

 

Sebastian

 

[David Paul Appell]

I'm quite sure you're right, Sebastian!  In the meantime, thanks for sharing some very good food for thought.

[José Balido]

Interesting statistic: 59% of travelers support the idea of a family-only section on airplanes, according to TravelDailyNews.com.

[BizClass]

Not so long ago the argument about banning children from the planes flared up. And there was no surprise when USA Today Travel in its article revealed 74 percent of business class travelers want to forbid children to fly with them, because business people get annoyed and irritated by children. The suggestion of the UK airlines is to limit flights for children, who haven't reached the age of 18. The survey carried out by the airlines revealed that children drive mad business-class flyers. More at:Children in the Business Class – is it ok?

[Steph Wiestling]

I am very against this.  I have been very proactive in training my child how to behave on the plane.  Most flights we are on people don't even know he's there!  Since age 2 our routine has been, snack during takeoff to help with the ears (we bring our own), color or sticker book until electronics are allowed, then movie with headphones (we bring our own DVD player).  then follow reverse for landing.  We even bring extra snacks for the kids around us.  Most times once the movie starts, he just falls asleep.  We've been in 1st class and coach and have never disrupted another's flight.

 

To force us to the back of the plane just because we have a child is not only unfair, I do feel it's discrimination.  I have had my flight disrupted many times by people who want to make friends and chat the whole time.  Can we get a special section for them where they have to all sit together?   The whole thing is silly if you ask me. 

 

I have no issue with the airlines imposing rules and scolding parents who don't control their kids.  I would also like to see the airlines offer gum or licorice in their snack bins to help people of all ages with the ears.  A lot of the crying is because the kids are in physical pain. 

 

But please don't punish those of us who do it right.