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Babies on Planes

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    #11
    If it werent for things like that you wouldn't have been able to feel like a worthless loser who has to fly low cost lines. Give and you shall get. :P

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      #12
      I came across this situation before, and established a kind of informal points system, for when I'm being asked to switch seats.

      1: Am I being moved to a better or worse seat?
      TIP: If you're going to be in a situation where you're going to have to ask people to move, get the best seat you reasonably can so you have a better seat to trade.

      2: Is there a genuine need?
      There's a difference between a parent and young child needing to sit together and an adult couple wanting to sit together.

      3: Is there compensation on offer?
      If I don't mind too much moving, but I think they're an adult couple taking the you-know-what, they can have the seat for £50.

      4: Are you being asked to move by Cabin Crew?
      If you really don't want to move, clarify whether they're actually asking you to move or telling you to move.

      5: Are you being told to move by Cabin Crew?
      I strongly recommend not saying anything that could be interpreted as a refusal to obey a cabin crew instruction. Being arrested, and banned from the airline would be highly sub-optimal.

      Comment


        #13
        Originally posted by MarillionFan View Post
        I was initially going to crucify you for complaining about babies on planes, but this was about people not paying to book their seats and assuming they would be together.

        So yes I agree, it's out of order to expect to be together on flights where companies like Easyjet just ram you in and don't take care over the seating & want you to pay. On the flip side though, I think it's out of order they do that in the first place. With BA you can choose the seats as part of the booking (which is what you would expect), but I also understand they're about to change that, which is a disgrace.
        MF, surely as a GCH you would know that this has been the case for quite a while now, assuming you would never travel in economy:
        • Seats on short haul flights in Club Europe start from £14/€17/$21.
        • On longer international flights, seats in Club World start from £62/€74/$93.


        Gold and Silver card holders can choose seats at time of booking, and Bronze's 7 days before.

        You would also know that Row 1 in CE is reserved for GCH as is Row 1 in F (or equivalent depending on metal). Of course F or A ticket holders do not pay for seat reservation, but the front row is indeed blocked unless they are Gold.

        Paying for G&Ts in ET is where I have an issue.

        (CFL is in an acronym mood)

        Anyhow, I will always go out of my way to accommodate parents with children on a flight. It is living hell travelling with children. I am not so sure I would be so accommodating if I didn't fly in premium cabins MH & LH.
        Last edited by clearedforlanding; 5 March 2017, 10:03.

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          #14
          In a similar position from the other side.

          Flying to florida with virgin but to choose a seat is gonna cost 30 quid per person each way.

          One child is 11 and the other is 13.

          Would i be happy if my 13 year old ended up stuck between a bunch of dudes on a stag do...???

          Comment


            #15
            Originally posted by original PM View Post
            In a similar position from the other side.

            Flying to florida with virgin but to choose a seat is gonna cost 30 quid per person each way.

            One child is 11 and the other is 13.

            Would i be happy if my 13 year old ended up stuck between a bunch of dudes on a stag do...???
            Airlines* don't let lone children sit next to men.

            So unless your 13 year old looks very mature the cabin crew will move passengers to ensure s/he sits next to other children or an adult woman.

            Oh and I've been made to sit on a row of a group of children before. The children were all well-behaved and lovely.

            *The major ones and some of the holiday ones.
            "You’re just a bad memory who doesn’t know when to go away" JR

            Comment


              #16
              Originally posted by SueEllen View Post
              Airlines* don't let lone children sit next to men.

              So unless your 13 year old looks very mature the cabin crew will move passengers to ensure s/he sits next to other children or an adult woman.

              Oh and I've been made to sit on a row of a group of children before. The children were all well-behaved and lovely.

              *The major ones and some of the holiday ones.
              This applies to unaccompanied minors only and is quite controversial. BA for example, stopped this policy in 2010 (which first surfaced to the public in 2001), and as of 2016 no longer carries UMs.

              Between 2010 & 2016 BA's policy was for UMs to be seated near Cabin Crew.

              On any airline if a child's parents are on the plane, as in the example by OP, the child is the parent's responsibility. Cabin Crew can accommodate, but it is not policy.

              Comment


                #17
                I do remember a delightful flight to LAX where an Arab Gentleman had filled out most of the upper deck J on a 744 with his children playing Nintendo. That was a lovely flight.

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                  #18
                  Originally posted by clearedforlanding View Post

                  Anyhow, I will always go out of my way to accommodate parents with children on a flight. .
                  But why? I appreciate there are different scenarios but in the one I described, it was a baby. The baby will sit on one parent's lap with one of those harnesses. What difference does it make where the other parent sits? Other than that it's just nicer to sit together but that goes for anyone regardless of whether or not they have kids.

                  Anyhow, in this case it was just the sense of entitlement that this couple had that stuck in the craw.

                  Comment


                    #19
                    Originally posted by Big Blue Plymouth View Post
                    But why? I appreciate there are different scenarios but in the one I described, it was a baby. The baby will sit on one parent's lap with one of those harnesses. What difference does it make where the other parent sits? Other than that it's just nicer to sit together but that goes for anyone regardless of whether or not they have kids.

                    Anyhow, in this case it was just the sense of entitlement that this couple had that stuck in the craw.

                    The parents can share the nail biting agony of comforting an infant screaming because it has a reverse block in it's ear on descent perhaps?

                    Not only the parents, but the rest of the cabin will thank you for that.

                    LH, parent's really should book (or airline allocate) a bulkhead seat with a bassinet. SH, I really couldn't give a tulip anymore.

                    Comment


                      #20
                      Originally posted by clearedforlanding View Post
                      The parents can share the nail biting agony of comforting an infant screaming because it has a reverse block in it's ear on descent perhaps?
                      Fair enough but, again, surely the onus should be on the parents to make sure they book up and reserve their seats before there's no 2 adjacent seats left available. Or get another flight.

                      Anyhow, I'm not that unfeeling. As I already said, I once gave up my seat and wound up between 2 man/lady mountains in the central section of seats on an MD-11 from Rio to Rome.

                      12 hours I seem to recall. It weren't pleasant.

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