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AIBU?

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Original poster

Should 1st class babies and children stay in 1st class?

141 replies

user30 · 17/08/2024 13:37

Long haul flight, economy on lower deck, business/1st class on upper deck.
From the moment the fasten seat belt signs went off there were between 1 and 7 women (I would guess nannies but I do not know) juggling babies and toddlers in economy as well as badly behaved children aged 3-7 running around and making a huge mess in the bathrooms. I was on the front row and was repeatedly tapped and asked to tuck my legs under my seat to give them more space.

Cabin Crew seemed irritated (at one point 2 children threw handfuls of rice down the stairs onto a Cabin Crews head!) but only said something when a boy started throwing (unused) sanitary towels at economy passengers.

AIBU to think that everyone including children should stay in their own section of the plane? It was a nightmare and I am very tired so may be a bit cranky 😂

OP posts:
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JudgeJ · 18/08/2024 19:40

JudgeJ · 18/08/2024 11:48

Surely that should be ' a child getting themselves in the way of hot Delhi's , pity the person who lost their drink.

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Hot Delhi's?????????????? How does this pesky machine turn drinks into Delhi's?????????????

Nadeed · 18/08/2024 14:52

Snugglemonkey · 18/08/2024 12:41

No, she wanted to do it on purpose. Such venom toward children is not ok, even badly behaved ones.

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I would never purposely spill a hit drink on anyone, too dangerous. But it is natural consequences that a passenger might retaliate.

fitzwilliamdarcy · 18/08/2024 13:46

The worst flights of my life were on a ME airline. I went to an event in the ME and the parents were absolutely shameless - watched their kids push in, take things from other people, run around and run into them, laugh at them, and they would just watch.

The flights were just an extension of the same, in a small space. One kid went around taking other passengers’ food trays and then throwing them on the floor in the galley - stewardesses did nothing.

Never been back and couldn’t pay me to fly any of their airlines again!

Snugglemonkey · 18/08/2024 12:41

JudgeJ · 18/08/2024 11:48

Surely that should be ' a child getting themselves in the way of hot Delhi's , pity the person who lost their drink.

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No, she wanted to do it on purpose. Such venom toward children is not ok, even badly behaved ones.

suburburban · 18/08/2024 11:51

Exactly Judge

No way would they have been anywhere near me

JudgeJ · 18/08/2024 11:48

Snugglemonkey · 17/08/2024 17:23

Hurting a child with hot liquids is never ok!

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Surely that should be ' a child getting themselves in the way of hot Delhi's , pity the person who lost their drink.

JudgeJ · 18/08/2024 11:44

user30 · 17/08/2024 13:59

@Kipperthedawg awww love Kipper - what a character, he'd have been so chilled with screaming kids everywhere eh? 😂
Re "angry people', I actually said to the stamper "stop stamping on my foot or this big man (pointed at DH) will get cross" but the little brat laughed. TBH I have no idea if he understood English 😂It wasn't the kids fault tbf- the parents were all upstairs and it was entirely their faults!

I would have stamped on his foot and believe me he would have felt it! As for moving my legs to let them run by, my leg would have developed a mind of its own.

UnfriendMe · 18/08/2024 11:39

KimberleyClark · 17/08/2024 23:36

Sometimes you just have to sit back and watch the mayhem and think thank FUCK my kids do not behave like this.

Or think thank FUCK I do not have kids.

I think this daily.

KimberleyClark · 17/08/2024 23:36

Sometimes you just have to sit back and watch the mayhem and think thank FUCK my kids do not behave like this.

Or think thank FUCK I do not have kids.

Original poster
user30 · 17/08/2024 23:15

Sometimes you just have to sit back and watch the mayhem and think thank FUCK my kids do not behave like this. Frankly I cannot be arsed to police brats when I am on holiday - leave them to it and as pp said play stupid games, win stupid prizes. One child trapped his hand in the toilet door messing around trying to barge his way in, another fell down the stairs. They were ok but much shrieking 😂

OP posts:
DancingNotDrowning · 17/08/2024 20:42

Namechangeno · 17/08/2024 16:27

I would have gone up to 1st class and spoken to the parents myself!

The parents wouldn’t care and if you were flying into Dubai there is a strong chance you’d be arrested at the airport.

Valeriekat · 17/08/2024 20:04

user30 · 17/08/2024 13:54

@NuffSaidSam Yes, the minute the seatbelt signs were off they all came downstairs, I was surprised but the Crew seemed used to it. It was Emirates. I asked for and was denied a second glass of wine because I was not getting any sleep 😂I felt sorry for the Crew but also annoyed they did nothing.

Air NZ and Air Singapore wouldn't tolerate this.

Happierthaneverr · 17/08/2024 18:31

I’m genuinely surprised how many people on this thread think the remonstrating with the staff, nannies or airline would make a blind bit of difference. You’d get nowhere near the parents. Never mind thinking you could walk little Johnny back to his parents and give them all a stern talking to. We clearly have a sense of equality and fairness in our society which does not exist in many other places.

mondaytosunday · 17/08/2024 17:48

Cabin crew should have told the parents off. I was delighted when two young boys thoroughly littered the aisle with the parents turning a blind eye, then a steward asked them if that was their mess and to pick it all up.

Butwhybecause · 17/08/2024 17:31

user30 · 17/08/2024 14:10

I have had great flights with Singapore airlines on this route, I will stick to them in future! I found a slightly lower priced flight with Qatar but won't use them after this shameful debacle: www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/25/australia-demands-answers-after-women-taken-from-qatar-airways-flight-and-strip-searched

Qatar Airline is the worst!!

The self-proclaimed world's only 5* airline? You have to be kidding me!!
Although l'll avoid Emirates now, too.

Snugglemonkey · 17/08/2024 17:23

WoollyRosebud · 17/08/2024 16:22

Water? hot cup of coffee or tea would be more effective.

I have only flown with Emirates once. The entire economy section came down with food poisoning after eating the food being served there. The queues for the toilets were very long and the toilets themselves much as could be expected with so many ill passengers. I walked into business class and used the toilets there in desperation and yes I was challenged and quite rightly too.

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Hurting a child with hot liquids is never ok!

PanickingNowHelpPlease · 17/08/2024 17:23

Spacecrispsnack · 17/08/2024 16:49

YANBU - but from the view of being a safety purist I personally don’t agree with any walking around on a plane other than to the loo. If you hit turbulence it’s very easy to get a serious injury or worse.

A huge lack of understanding here about Arabic culture and ‘parenting’ generally, but having lived in ME fro many years and flown frequently to and fro, they also do not give two hoots about air safety either. Many a flight I have been on when they have been wandering up and down the aisle during take off and landing whilst the crew gesticulate wildly and implore them to sit down…

Emz1212 · 17/08/2024 17:11

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Snugglemonkey · 17/08/2024 17:08

wafflesmgee · 17/08/2024 15:23

I'd have told the children off, held their hands and taken them back upstairs, asked them to point out their mummy/daddy and insisted they parent their child properly. If they came down again I'd have asked crew to sort or gone and argued with the parents. Wankers.

You would not be allowed upstairs. Plus, you cannot insist anyone parents properly unfortunately. Nor can you expect crew to intervene in a situation they have no power in.

Saschka · 17/08/2024 17:08

suburburban · 17/08/2024 16:42

What happens if the kids hurt themselves

Does everyone think serves them right

Everyone on the thread, or the parents?

I think most people on the thread would think it is the foreseeable consequence of their bad behaviour, so maybe not “serves them right” as much as “play stupid games, win stupid prizes”. Fuck knows what the parents would think, would probably blame the nanny.

Ireolu · 17/08/2024 16:59

I knew it was an Emirates flight as soon as I read the opening post. The nannies were also most likely from another part of the world. One of many reasons I could not live in Dubai/UAE

Wakemeuuuup · 17/08/2024 16:54

Not the least bit surprised it was Emirates.

We flew long haul with them 6 years ago (2 seven hour flights through Dubai) and the behaviour was disgusting.

On those flights all the men disappeared upto business class and left the kids with women in economy.

It started with a girl of about 6 putting her bag down and turning to cabin crew saying "you put that up"

The kids were running up and down the aisle during take off and landing and were generally obnoxious throughout the whole thing

CheeseWisely · 17/08/2024 16:53

Absolutely missing the point of the thread but if you're going to pack your kids off to the nanny in economy why wouldn't you book them into economy with the nanny in the first place? At the very least they'd have their own seats then.

Would do absolutely nothing to solve the OP's problem though.

Cloudysky81 · 17/08/2024 16:53

This is mainly why I stopped flying Gulf airlines, some of the passengers are awful and make regardless of what class you're sitting in they can make the journey very unpleasant.
I prefer now to use Asian airlines even if the connections aren't quite are convenient for us.

AbbeyGrange · 17/08/2024 16:52

Emz1212 · 17/08/2024 15:22

Emirates crew will never do that to Arabs. They know better than that.

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Was going to say the same, career ending probably, I worked for a major UK airline and one girl I trained with left to go to Emirates and said the same thing about the culture over there