Traveling by air for the holidays?
Brace yourself for frustration and furor as this season is poised to be worse than others, thanks in part to a growing number airlines eliminating family pre-boarding as well as last spring?s decision by some airlines to charge high fees for the privilege of sitting next to your child. All of this is on top of the usual holiday hell of crowded airports, overbooked flights, winter weather delays and passengers carrying gifts and grudges.
The Monday after Thanksgiving talk among my friends filled with gripes directed at the airline industry. One air carrier made a mother cry because a flight attendant sniped at her as she hobbled through a crowded airplane with a screaming baby, a hyper toddler, a stuffed diaper bag and a car seat. Apparently, the mom wasn?t fast enough because some passengers pushed past her family while others glared and blared rude remarks. Not one person?including service workers from the flight crew?had the decency or compassion to help. But the flight attendant added to the mom?s humiliation by loudly reiterating, ?Ma?am, you need move along and take your seat.?
Once upon a time this scenario was mostly avoided because airlines allowed families with small children to pre-board planes. Some carriers still do but an increasing number have eliminated this option to ?streamline the boarding process? (and I?m sure to somehow help the bottom line). People without small kids may complain that early boarding is unfair. To me, pre-boarding with little ones is a convenience for not only families but passengers tripping over kids and stalled in human traffic jams as strollers, baby gear, suitcases and car seats get stowed.
The other airline horror story entailed another friend, a mother of four small kids, being told by American Airlines that she could not sit with her kids. The flight staff acted flippant and exasperated by her legitimate concerns regarding the care of her two preschoolers, kindergartener and first-grader. They berated her for not paying extra fees and rudely insisted that if she wanted to be near her kids, she should ask fellow passengers to move their seats. She is still baffled by families being seated apart when dates of birth are given when purchasing plane tickets, thereby allowing the airline to seat minors with parents or adults they know, which, by the way, is the policy of most airlines.
Of course, I agree with my friend. I am also stumped and steamed that the burden falls on the passenger?a paying customer?to ensure that small kids sit with their parents and, by doing so, ensuring the airline follows its own policies.
Such airline nonsense happened to me last summer when I was flying Frontier Airlines with my two kids, ages 4 and 7. The story of the rude ticket agent who made my daughter cry is documented in my post ?Airline wanted my young kids to sit with strangers.? What further blows my mind is that a dozen or some people who left comments agreed with Frontier (although I suspect some were moles of the airline industry). For instance, one person wrote:
I have three children and travel frequently between NY and FL and ALWAYS pay the fee to select my seats. I absolutely cannot stand people like you that think they should get it for free just because you have kids. WHY should someone that paid for the right to choose give it up simply because you were too cheap to?? Flights are always late leaving for a family trying to get away without paying. Ranks right up there with the parents that book the window and aisle seats and have a lap rider then get annoyed that someone is in the middle seat because they were hoping to use it for the children for free. Pay the fee and stop bothering the flight workers and other passengers.
If it is an airline?s policy that minors sit with a parent, as it is Frontier?s, why should I be forced to pay a fee (totaling $120) so my kids could sit with me? And why should I take the blame for airline delays when, from a policy perspective, I am only trying to follow the rules (and basic common sense) by insisting that my kids sit with me?
Don?t get mad at the parents. Get angry at the airlines. It is the air industry?s inane procedures and rules that cause delays and inconveniences to families, non-family passengers as well as the flight staff while also jacking-up ticket prices with ridiculous fees and then wondering why airlines are in continual financial messes. What the airlines have neglected in recent years is the customers, the key to business success, according to esteemed institutions such as Harvard and business gurus like Warren Buffet and the late-great Steve Jobs.
Fortunately, most people understand that family-friendliness in the airline industry is not about entitlement; rather it is about efficiency and decency for all involved. As I wrote in my airline horror post, the ticket agent from my departing city was accommodating, pleasant and competent in changing the seating arrangements so I could sit with my kids. And a reader posted this comment about a JetBlue captain who had his priorities straight:
I was on a JetBlue flight recently and after everyone had boarded, the captain made a call saying there was a family with young kids that needed to sit together and would anyone switch seats. It seemed no one was willing right away but then the captain said the plane would not take off until these children were seated with their dad. I thought that was awesome!
What do you think? Are you flying with kids this holiday season?
Oh, and I?m re-posting this educational slideshow for the strangers caring for my kids?and other parents? children?on a plane. Take it to heart, people.
Main image: Will the airline industry?s next step entail moving children to stowage compartments? Or perhaps kiddos climbing on the plane?s makeshift jungle-gym is what will happen when strangers seated next to them have no authority to discipline? Courtesy of Creative Commons via the blog Scott?s Tip of the Day, which published this humorous post: Top 8 people you don?t want to sit next to on an airplane.
RESOURCES FOR FLYING WITH KIDS
* 10-plus tips for smooth holiday air travel (by me via BabyCenter Blog.)
* Holiday travel gear (by Andrea Fellman via BabyCenter Blog).
* Holiday travel: 14 airports with fun distractions for the weary holiday traveler (PHOTOS) (via The Huffington Post).
* How can I make a long plane or car ride suck less? (via Lifehacker on Jezebel).
* 6 ways to save on holiday travel (via The Huffington Post).
* Best airlines for families (via U.S. News & World Report). Notice no American airlines?
* How to Travel with Young Kids (Rachel Ray magazine via Yahoo! Shine).
* Traveling with a special-needs child (via The Washington Post).
* Consumer Travel Alliance (An advocacy group for consumer travelers. The site offers articles and links related to airlines, TSA rules, FAA and more).
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