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Child-free zone on flights: good idea or not?
DanielleMFM
admin
in General chat
Hi everyone,
Budget airline IndiGo has just announced a ‘quiet policy’ for its premium seats – which effectively means children under the age of 12 can’t sit there.
What do you think of the idea of having a child-free zone on planes?
Is it a great idea – both for non-parents and parents? Or is it all a bit sad and divisive?
Please do come and tell us what you think about this, by posting a reply to this thread. We’d love to hear what you think!
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Replies
I'm divided on this. I can understand but 12 is a bit much. Children over 2 pay the same price as adults so it doesn't seem fair. And it wouldn't solve anything cause they can still hear them. Not sure how I feel about this.
This is a bit like smoking and non smoking areas...the people in non smoking can still smell the smoke just like they could still hear a baby cry. Unless there is a sound proof patrician it seems like they just want another reason to charge more money.
Before kids I'd have rather sat next to a family than 20 drunks on a stag party. I'm afraid unless you hire a private jet you just gotta put up with the cards you're dealt. Not saying parents shouldnt try get their child to behave but flying can often cause pain and disruption to normal sleep patterns and we all know all a baby can do when sore and tired is cry.
Your money would be better spent on a pair of earplugs and a glass of wine.
I have taken my daughter on two holidays, once just before her 2nd birthday and second time she was 2.5yo. She was fine on all 4 journeys apart from when her ears popped once on way home. I think like others have said, unless the area is 'soundproof' it makes no difference. We actually found adults were more of a nuisance on our first flights, young groups going friends holidays and on one flight a woman started wailing and causing a scene. I can honestly say I heard no children screaming and the other adults around us spoke to my daughter and made her giggle. One couple even commented on how well behaved she was. I don't think it will always be like this as children do get tired and bored but I do not think a child free zone would help this. If it bothers people so much they should remember they were once a child and may well have a child one day.
I am not a big fan of the idea out all, budget airlines are called budget for a reason.
at all*
My feelings are mixed too. If people are willing to pay for this, then let them - I won't be offended (I don't have a child yet but am soon to have my first). But I don't think it'll work in practice for the same reasons others have stated, noise travelling etc.
I am the first to admit I get frustrated (internally at least) if I end up sitting next to a baby who won't stop crying or a particularly badly-behaved child, but the same goes for a group of drunk people or an adult who won't stop talking when I just want to read my book! It's just one of those things you have to deal with if you fly. Not all children are badly behaved, and not all badly behaved people on flights are children!
Clearly children will struggle on flights sometimes, and I imagine it is not always possible as a parent to prevent them acting in a way others find bothersome. Usually I just feel sympathy for the parents as they are the ones who end up having a stressful flight. The only time I feel annoyed is when a child is doing something that directly affects me (like repeatedly kicking my seat) and the parent makes absolutely no attempt to stop them (this happened to me on a recent flight, where the mother told her husband that if their son wanted to kick someone's seat then that was up to him and it was nothing to do with her). But things like that obviously don't happen very often!
Also 12 seems a bit of an arbitrary cut off...I had a really pleasant flight recently where I ended up sitting next to a girl of about 7 or 8, and it turned out she had been staying at the same ski hotel as us. We had a nice chat about skiing (at her initiation, not mine!) and then she fell asleep for the rest of the flight...
Some greedy human came up with this idea!!! Just to make rich and/or ignorant people pay more for their tickets and extra places and stuff. Because Low tolerance got a new meaning!!
I just hope that they remember that they were babies once, they were crying, pooping, being breast fed and no one else made a fuss about it. And I agree with a IT'S NOT FAIR !!!
My kid has to pay a full price, got same privilages like others for the same price... So sorry, but I am not gonna let anyone treat my child like a second class citizen. Luckily my airlines will never go That Low !! And I will never support any company that will put such a restriction on my type of travel.
And I just wonder how many parents will just sit back and enjoy theor ride along with "little moneky back it their rightful place" - because that is what the special restricted places are right?!
Disgusting. As for the adults commenting stuff badly behaved kids(it's a parenting fault, not the kids' temper) and drunk adults... Haha. So if you see people like this, do you how to talk to them, kid or adult, to communicate hoe do you feel about it and see where that takes you? Cos you can read your book in silence and always regret that you have done so little about it (?!).
I was coming back from holiday with my two year old this year. Plain landed, stopped. It's time to get up and get out. I got up slowly, as did people around me. Suddenly some old couple dressed up as hell jumped at me from one side and another, as they did not sat together so one in the fron of me one at the back. They absolutely ignored that I have picked up my son and was about to let him down, so he could stard walking to the exit. Nah, the old man started draging out hus hard suit case above my head and dropoing some bags right above my son. There there! When I seen he got up and atemoted to get into the very tight line already I asked him to wait because I have a little kid in here standing. He looked at me and never said a word. Just pushed his as* into the line, and so did his wife paying a nasty coments about mothers with kids and that the lid should get put as a last one !! Why should he do so?
I stand there strongly, pushed the falling bags at the stupid old fart that so it pushed him back onto his seat
and told him to back the hell out of my way. The nasty old lady got very red, so I've asked her to remember when she had her little kids and how many people actually behaved towards her as nasty as she just did toward me and my son!!?? She just shut up and told her husband to wait in his seat. I then went toward the exit and no one else said a word the whole time, every one is in a rush, but you got to know how to behave yourself !
Some poeple just have be reminded of basic human behaviours and paying respect.
In the end, you get what you give! So That IndiGo must be so Humane !! Just like the majority of the population, they close their eyes and wait for others to stand up for a human rights! Bloody hell. I will sleep tight tonight !
To be fair, many trains have had 'quiet coach' for years so seeing some other transport companies starting to introduce the same doesn't seem that big a deal (though I would be interested in seeing how they separate 'quiet' from 'non-quiet'...)
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