A couple from Boston were removed from an Airtran flight scheduled to fly from Ft Meyers to Boston because their three year old daughter could not be seated. The airline said they were only following FAA regulations.
The plane was already 15 minutes late departing and the kid was crying, screaming and crawling under a seat. The parents were upset with the flight attendant, pleading for more time to calm their daughter. This story has gotten a lot of air play on all the national news channels today and the couple was interviewed at their home, after taking another flight the following day.
It was almost laughable listening to the couple who claimed they were extremely humiliated when being kicked off the plane. I would think making the national news would be more humiliating. I believe the parents should be more humiliated that they couldn’t control their daughter.
Have you every flown on a plane with a unruly and uncontrollable kid before? I have, and it’s no fun. Imagine a three hour flight with a crying and/or screaming kid on-board. Even worse is when the kid sits behind you and continually kicks the back of your seat. And more worse than that is when the parents are oblivious and do nothing about it. Three hours!
Airplanes are not the only place where these problems occur. I have been in moderately nice restaurants with screaming kids at the next table. Notice I said “at” the table because more often that not they are running around the tables, bumping into your chair or colliding with the wait staff. What the hell are parents thinking? You want to take your kids out to eat, go to McDonalds or Chuckee Cheese. Want a nice dinner, get a baby sitter!
Now I know that flying with young children is sometimes unavoidable. Consider that airline staff are trained to deal with all kinds of problems, as well as understanding FAA regulations. Except for infants, parents should prepare their children for flying so they know what to expect. Make it sound like a fun thing, nothing to be scared of, and that they will be just fine. Without some preflight preparations, you can expect the worse.
Airtran refunded their three ticket fees and offered three free business class tickets to anywhere that they fly. The couple accepted the refund and refused the free offer saying they would never fly Airtran again. I would have done a little negotiating; two first class tickets and leave the kid home.
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