inkkognito
<font color=green>I shall call him Mini-Me<br><fon
- Joined
- Nov 22, 1999
- Messages
- 14,450
We just flew home from Orlando last night. As you might expect, the plane was full to capacity with people returning home after a Disney holiday. We were flying ATA, on a stretch 757, and our seats were in row 36, the bulkhead rear exit. Being so far back, we were in the first boarding group called, so we had lots of time to observe our fellow passengers.
About halfway through the boarding process, a man came storming up to the flight attendant, who was standing near our seats (the jumpseat is right across from us). He angrily demanded, "Is it your policy to let children fly with their parents?"
The poor flight attendant was confused (so was I...at first, I figured he was a dad who was separated from his family). She said, "Yes, of course it is."
Mr. Grumpy said, "You mean kids can fly in the seat with their parents?" Finally getting the picture, she said, "You mean a lap child? Yes, if they are under two."
The guy exploded! He said, "You mean I have to sit next to some guy holding a kid? That's the most ridiculous thing I ever heard of. I'm not going to put up with it."
The poor flight attendant explained that all the seats were full. After lambasting her some more, he stalked off muttering evil things under his breath. I pity that poor man and child sitting next to him.
Granted, as a childless adult who flies a lot, I would prefer not to be seated near fidgety or screaming/crying kids (note that I specified fidgetiness and noise...I have sat by kids who were a real pleasure and much more well behaved than many adults...they could give Mr. Grumpy a lesson). But what did he expect...it's a flight from Orlando, for goodness sakes, and on a holiday weekend too. I had a little boy behind me who poked me in the back for a good portion of the flight, and there was a crying baby a few rows back. With the density of passengers on that flight, I considered that pretty minor. I know it can be argued that parents should tell kids not to do things like kick the seat in front of them, but realistically that's not always going to happen, and they have lots of energy when strapped in a seat for two hours.
Mr. Grumpy will probably die of a high blood pressure-induced stroke some day. Maybe he doesn't fly much, but with as much as I travel to Orlando, I've learned to take that sort of thing in stride. I'm not going to get stressed about seatmates when there are people deal in mudslides and earthquakes and the threat of terrorism. If your biggest worry is the lap child next to you, then you should thank your lucky stars!
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com
About halfway through the boarding process, a man came storming up to the flight attendant, who was standing near our seats (the jumpseat is right across from us). He angrily demanded, "Is it your policy to let children fly with their parents?"
The poor flight attendant was confused (so was I...at first, I figured he was a dad who was separated from his family). She said, "Yes, of course it is."
Mr. Grumpy said, "You mean kids can fly in the seat with their parents?" Finally getting the picture, she said, "You mean a lap child? Yes, if they are under two."
The guy exploded! He said, "You mean I have to sit next to some guy holding a kid? That's the most ridiculous thing I ever heard of. I'm not going to put up with it."
The poor flight attendant explained that all the seats were full. After lambasting her some more, he stalked off muttering evil things under his breath. I pity that poor man and child sitting next to him.
Granted, as a childless adult who flies a lot, I would prefer not to be seated near fidgety or screaming/crying kids (note that I specified fidgetiness and noise...I have sat by kids who were a real pleasure and much more well behaved than many adults...they could give Mr. Grumpy a lesson). But what did he expect...it's a flight from Orlando, for goodness sakes, and on a holiday weekend too. I had a little boy behind me who poked me in the back for a good portion of the flight, and there was a crying baby a few rows back. With the density of passengers on that flight, I considered that pretty minor. I know it can be argued that parents should tell kids not to do things like kick the seat in front of them, but realistically that's not always going to happen, and they have lots of energy when strapped in a seat for two hours.
Mr. Grumpy will probably die of a high blood pressure-induced stroke some day. Maybe he doesn't fly much, but with as much as I travel to Orlando, I've learned to take that sort of thing in stride. I'm not going to get stressed about seatmates when there are people deal in mudslides and earthquakes and the threat of terrorism. If your biggest worry is the lap child next to you, then you should thank your lucky stars!
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com
