Some travelers pushing for child-free flights

News Channel 13 ^ | November 27, 2010 | Jonathan Petramala

[inflorida]

A growing movement is pushing for flights with no children on board.

A recent survey by a travel fare-comparison site showed that 59 percent of passengers support creating special sections on flights for families.

The idea even has its own Facebook page, with 670 members and counting on the "Airlines should have kid-free flights" page.

Kristen Wince said she might have been one of those members - before her son was born.

"Yes, having been flying with no children, it seems like a good idea," she said. "Flying with children, it seems like a really bad idea."

[KJC1]

I’ll add to your list, lol.

*People who take aisle seats and sleep the whole flight, so when middle or window seated passengers have to get up we feel like heels. (I always take the aisle so I can stretch and I can’t sleep on flights, even really long ones.)

*People who decide to use the flight time to clip their finger nails, and let the clippings fling off in all directions, amongst other gross grooming practices.

I remember one flight when my brother and I were kids where I had a window seat and my brother had an aisle seat, and in between us was an obese man who REFUSED to let us sit next to each other and he smoked what seemed like a carton of cigarettes blowing the smoke in our faces. Of course that was when smoking on planes was still allowed. This must have been a last minute trip or something for us to have gotten stuck in those seats, at least I hope it was because I doubt our parents had banked on us being tortured for 5-6 hours!

[cornfedcowboy]

Children should sit in first class for no extra charge. After all, they are future taxable assets. We’re gonna need them.

[Mountain Bike Vomit Carnage]

Count me in!!!!

[Vigilanteman]

I hear you. I've got to wonder why the idiot who specified moving the seats closer together so they could get a few extra rows and revenue on the flight didn't have the decency to specify limiting the recline ability of the seats by the same ratio.

I'm a big guy, but not so big I can't fit into an economy seat with the armrests down. So I've got to wonder why people a foot or so shorter than me have to have the seats in the full recline position when I can sleep with them in the half recline position out of courtesy to the people sitting behind me.

[ctdonath2]

Works for me: my kids ain’t going thru a sexual assault gauntlet just to fly.

[tflabo]

Isn’t there some kind of mild sedative safe for children that they can take before flights? Also seems like a good idea to let them suck on a bottle during landings so their ears won’t hurt from the pressure.

[USNBandit]

Hey kid you look like you’re coming down with a rash. Honey, get the Benadryl.

[sionnsar]

I’d rather have a liberal free flight.
Bring on the children.

Amen. Let the libs walk. It's greener.

[sand lake bar]

This is life and people simply need to deal with it. Kids have been crying on planes, trains, buses, etc. since people started traveling. Kids have to travel sometimes, too and their parents ought not have less freedom than anyone else.

[tflabo]

Perhaps a few drops of Nyquil in the bottle water would do wonders. I don’t mind kids but its the screaming I can’t handle for very long. My MP3 player helps spare me some before forced to turn it off when landing.

[MamaB]

My 2 grandchildren have flown from Seattle to HSV from the time they were very young babies. My daughter never had any trouble with them because she took toys, etc for them to play with in the air. People with kids just get on the plane and expect their kids to be happy as a lark doing absolutely nothing. Of course they are going to cry and be unhappy. When they were old enough, they started flying by themselves. Now, each has a toddler girl and they are getting ready to take them to Seattle for the first time. I expect them to do as well as the parents did. They know what to expect and will be prepared.

[SVTCobra03]

I don’t have a dog in this fight. If I can’t get somewhere by driving my car, I am not going.

[MediaMole]

About 10 years ago, I spent a coast-to-coast flight in the middle of 5 center seats next to a screaming 18 month old. It was terrible, but it was probably worse for the father, who was nearly in tears by the end of the flight. He did try everything he could think of to calm his son — he even tried to get some brandy from the flight attendant.

[Revolting cat!]

How about child only flights? Passengers and crew?

(Just as realistic as this bright ideer!)

[VRWCmember]

How many of those travelers would be willing to pay a few hundred dollars more for the special “child-free” flights?

[Gamecock]

I flew about 130,000 miles last year. (Thankfully far fewer this year, will finish with about 28,000 miles.)

That being said I found many adults to be more annoying than most kids. The worst offenders were those who fly a lot and have a sense of entitlement on the airlines.

[MamaB]

I seem to remember a friend of my daughter's used benadryl or cough syrup to keep hers quiet on flights to Scotland.

[Rembrandt]

“I’d rather have a liberal free flight.”

Amen to that; put liberals in the cargo hold.

[skinkinthegrass]

Let the libs walk. It's greener.

d@mn straight! ...Make 'em ride that j@ck@$$ / mule everywhere.
...& let 'em (the enviro-terrorists) freeze in the (very) cold dark night

[Quix]

I suppose this effective method would be considered abuse?

When I was 2 or so, I had to go to the dentist. I was terrified. Screamed bloody murder. Mother was asked to leave the room.

The Doc proceded to put his hand over my mouth. I bit his fingers. He adjusted and clamped firmly on my mouth again. I continued to scream though muffled by his hand. He proceded to pinch my nose off and on—enough to breathe but little else. I quickly decided that breathing was more important than screaming.

Mother came back in and insisted on learning the trick. For the rest of her life, any screaming kid within earshot—the mother got a high pressure lesson from my mother in what she SHOULD do.

LOL.

I used it in counseling a few times. I’d tell the parents who were unable to find a sitter, that they could bring the child. However, I had a firm rule. Either they controlled the kid or I did, or they would have to leave.

Of course, the 2 year old was usually in charge of the parents. Even with that strategy, I usually found that the 2nd convincing was followed by not being able to peel the kid off my lap. He was usually desperate for limits and felt the caring in the limits compared to the wishy washy walk all over his parents standard at home.