V-Flyer

Just seen this makes for interesting reading.!

Am off to see Pam Ann shortly and from what I remember of the intro babies go in the overhead lockers[}:)].

I don't have a problem with babies, per se, but crying babies most definitely.

Just ask any of us who flew to NRT last year, opposite one who pretty much cries for 75% of the flight. THe ambient noise of the plane and Virgin's (admittedlt rubbish) ear plugs did nothing to drown out the drone.

Cheers!

Dean

Ban them?!? Bloody hell, that'd pretty much put pay to our travelling for the next few years.

Will they also be considering a ban on loud, obnoxious, drunk and/or smelly people?

I think ban is the wrong word to be honest, the survey was asking about a separate area. Now I like that idea.

How many times have you seen 'Family' carraiges on trains, or Family rooms at places. How about an 'Adults only' carriage.

Mr Vipond, agree that some adults are worse than children though. I have the impression that your child is well behaved and you as decent parents will nip any stupidity in the bud. Unfortunately the same can't be said for other parents; hands up if you've seen kids:

a) running up and down the aisle of a plane. Check
b) running around a Clubhouse like its a playground, and climbing all over the furniture and fixtures. Check.

Thanks,
Richard

Oh, absolutely Richard. I may have mentioned it here before, but my favourite experience of a child on a plane was 4 or 5 years ago on our way back from ANU. We were in the last row of UC, and so the front row of PE behind us was also the sky-cot postion. A young couple had their 12 month old child on their knees for the first 4 or 5 hours of the flight, bouncing it up and down whilst it howled bloody murder.

When a member of crew finally suggested that their little darling may be happier and might even get some sleep if placed in the cot, they informed her that they were intentionally keeping him awake as they had a long drive back home from the airport and wanted him to sleep in the car. Priceless.

Not sure about a 'family cabin' by the way. That means I'd have to go in there with all those awful bloody kids. Forget that!

Originally posted by RichardMannion
How about an 'Adults only' carriage.


Thanks,
Richard

[^][y] Now that i like the sound of. One free lap dance per trip and best of all, Neil would't be allowed in [}:)][:D]

Seriously though. It all comes down to the parents taking charge of their little cherubs.

Originally posted by mdvipond
Oh, absolutely Richard. I may have mentioned it here before, but my favourite experience of a child on a plane was 4 or 5 years ago on our way back from ANU. We were in the last row of UC, and so the front row of PE behind us was also the sky-cot postion. A young couple had their 12 month old child on their knees for the first 4 or 5 hours of the flight, bouncing it up and down whilst it howled bloody murder.

When a member of crew finally suggested that their little darling may be happier and might even get some sleep if placed in the cot, they informed her that they were intentionally keeping him awake as they had a long drive back home from the airport and wanted him to sleep in the car. Priceless.

Not sure about a 'family cabin' by the way. That means I'd have to go in there with all those awful bloody kids. Forget that!

Please tell me you punched the parents hard, and removed the child from them? We would have funded any following legal bills as a result.

mdvipond,
Hadn't heard your story before, but love it nevertheless!

Chuck-

Originally posted by ChuckC
mdvipond,
Hadn't heard your story before, but love it nevertheless!

Chuck-

Oh, I have many more Chuck. One of my employess, for instance, who told me he was embarking on his first ever long haul flight to Mexico, with wife and 2 year old in tow. I advised, as I always do for anyone doing a long flight with a little one, to stick to bedtime/nap routines wherever possible, take new toys on board to distract and entertain, invest in a cheap portable DVD player etc. In this way - I explained - you, your daugter and your fellow passengers should have a relatively relaxing flight.

'Oh, we don't worry about that,' he told me. 'Once we're on the plane we're going to get stuck into the vodka and let her play in the aisles - then she's the crews' problem. After all, we're on holiday and that's what they get paid for'.

[Cut to LRoM loading bullets into his .44 Magnum with shaking hands whilst swearing quietly beneath his breath and saying things like 'Oh, they're gonna get it, oh yes, they're gonna get it big time...]

From the noisy misbehaved kids point of view I tend to agree with everything being said. My wife and I accepted that travelling with a 2 and 5 year old at Christmas was not going to be a relaxing prospect as keeping them occupied was the key to everyone else's relaxation. Shame on any parents who think it is acceptable to relinquish responsibility to CC. I always liked the idea of Sky nannies though especially on MCO flights - but not to provide comprehensive child care.

I also thoroughly sympathise with anyone who has had the crying baby experience, I have had it a few times myself when travelling on business alone. It's not nice and one expects that most parents try as hard as possible to keep crying to a minimum - it's not great for the parents either. However babies do cry - normally for good reasons that can be remedied quickly (feeding, changing etc.) but sometimes there is nothing that can be done. Our daughter when she was a year old was inconsolable on one occassion when coming into land (probably air pressure issues) and our desperation to calm her down was two-fold as a result of the (I hope) imagined displeasure of fellow passengers.

FM

let us not forget that his phenomena is not restricted to aircraft[:(!]

The key issue is acceptance of responsibility and I recall a flight where a single parent entertained her two children throughout, yet managed to relax when the situation allowed and as a consequence gain the admiration and dare I say support of fellow passengers and crew alike[y][y]

Similarly, I recall another flight where a parent did not bring any 'distraction / entertainment' for her little one and virtually left the crew to deal with the situation[n]

Preparation pays dividends in more ways than one and Mdivpond's advice cannot be faulted - i have heard of instances where 'knock out drops' have been used, but i think this is going a little too far

buns