Are you kidding me?

[DanaC]

euchrid, I just followed your link and read No-one To Blame. Excellent poem. Really like it.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by Pangloss62

1. So. I get my 24A window seat and I buckle in and everything is fine. Then this really chirpy blondie woman and her lantern-jawed generic husband thrust this HUGE baby carrier seat toward me. I couldn't tell if they thought the kid would survive a crash in it or what...

They paid for that seat so they could have a little more room to spread out. Plus, it's safer than holding a kid on her lap. Airline regulations say she has to use a car seat for her kid if they do that. All car seats are that big. Again, it's government regulations. She wanted her husband to be able to sit with them. The airline did a bad job assigning the seats for this flight. Non of this is the family's fault. So the mom talked to you to explain the situation and hoped you would offer to trade seats with the dad. You were within your rights to refuse, but you shouldn't be blaming the parents at all. You had the opportunity to not sit next to the kid, and you chose to keep your precious window seat.

I actually think the mom handled this the best possible way. She used this thing called "communication" to explain the situation to you so you could make an informed decision about what your actions would be. That you chose not to trade seats with the dad and complain about it on the internet, blaming the parents instead of the airline, speaks volumes. If you don't like mingling with the riff-raff, you should fly first class next time.

[Pangloss62]

If indeed the airline assigned that seat knowing it would have that huge kid carrier, I agree that it was their fault. I can't believe they would let those things on any seat other than the window seat.

Non of this is the family's fault.

Well, they chose to have and fly with a kid, so they are kinda at fault too. Why can't they just sedate the kids and put them in some plastic carrier and put them luggage bin?

And give me some credit here; I was very polite to the couple and even made the kid goo goo ga ga and giggle.

That you chose not to trade seats with the dad and complain about it on the internet, blaming the parents instead of the airline, speaks volumes.

C'mon. "speaks volumes"??? Am I the only one to rant about an ultimately trivial situation? Isn't that a big part of the cellar?

[glatt]

Originally Posted by Pangloss62

C'mon. "speaks volumes"??? Am I the only one to rant about an ultimately trivial situation? Isn't that a big part of the cellar?

Maybe I did go too far with the "speaks volumes" bit. But really, the parents were just trying to make the best of a bad situation. It's the airline that's to blame.

[Stormieweather]

Aye, was looking into flights with my 1 yr old a couple months ago. It is complicated and the ages of all party members are required. As I recall, there was a check box for car seat (which required an additional seat reservation) or not. So it appeared that I may have had the option of taking the car seat or holding the baby.

I ended up not taking the trip, by the way.

Stormie

[Pangloss62]

The kid next to me was great the whole time. No crying or yelling. And she did not flinch or even seem to notice the takeoff and landing.:p

No poopie smell either

[glatt]

Originally Posted by Stormieweather

So it appeared that I may have had the option of taking the car seat or holding the baby.

I never really understood this. Why do all passengers have to wear seatbelts during flight, but regulations allow a baby to be help on a parent's lap? We've always bought a seat for all family members. It's expensive, but much more convenient and safer. It should be mandatory, IMHO.

[jinx]

Originally Posted by glatt

I never really understood this. Why do all passengers have to wear seatbelts during flight,

So they aren't up and around, annoying the bitc... flight attendants.

[Pangloss62]

Mrs. Breeder

My goodness, Maggie, you would not be here to fly about in your plane if it were not for breeders.

I'm pretty ambivelent about breeders myself; that will be another post.

[Shawnee123]

Maybe something needs to change. I saw a show some time back about the importance of the person seated in the exit doors knowing to throw the door out of the plane, not just throw it to the floor. In a controlled crash situation, every second counts because of the smoke accumulating in the cabin. Having to crawl over the removed door wastes those precious seconds. Wouldn't a large car seat also be a hinderment to movement? This is not safe for the poor children or the others on the flight.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

Maybe something needs to change. I saw a show some time back about the importance of the person seated in the exit doors knowing to throw the door out of the plane, not just throw it to the floor. In a controlled crash situation, every second counts because of the smoke accumulating in the cabin. Having to crawl over the removed door wastes those precious seconds. Wouldn't a large car seat also be a hinderment to movement? This is not safe for the poor children or the others on the flight.

I could be wrong, but I seem to recall that parents with young children are not allowed to sit in an exit row, and the flight crew is supposed to check this before take off.