United airlines doesn,t let parents with infants preboard

[stella1w]

Travelled a lot across the pond alone with two young children and never had this before. It,s hard enough struggling up the aisle with a squirmy baby, hand luggage etc and i,d given up expecting air stewards to help with the overhead lockers. But to expect someone with a baby to get stuck in the general boarding crush is insane. It,s easier for everyone and safer for the baby to get them settled in first and away from people flinging their stuff in the overhead lockers etc.

I am never flying united again. Flew with them as booked at last minute to attend a funeral and they only one with availability.

Stella, I don't understand why you are getting a hard time. It is good to have a bit of extra time to get sorted on the plane with small children, and, as mentioned by others, nab the overhead lockers. However, YABU to fly with United as they are known for being crappity crap

We've done long haul with ours since they were tiny babies. Last on is the only way to go, imo.

But if you're travelling with a baby then you might not be able to fit everything in under the seat, specially for a long haul flight. What do you do if your bag ends up 20 seats away? Leave baby on the seat alone while you get the changing bag? Carry screaming baby up and down the aisle? Ask someone to hold him/her for a few minutes?

I wish airlines would get stricter with the amount of hand luggage people bring on, so that it is possible to use the locker above your own seat. If you can't fit your luggage in front of your feet or above your seat, you should have to check it, not carry it on.

Londonista - "TROLLEY DOLLIES" ????? really???

That is horrendously offensive...

I flew on United two weeks ago and parents with small children were allowed to board first.

I agree kickass, the amount of hand luggage some people bring on is shocking and especially irritating when you've tried really hard to compress the amount of spare clothes, nappies, things to do etc in as small a space as possible. However United were ok when we flew back over the summer, even though we missed the first connection, couldn't get off the West Coast then and it took us 48 hours to get back to Manchester!

Everything I hear about the US airlines leads me to believe that they're deliberately making it as unpleasant as possible for parents to travel with them so that they can avoid the hassle of having families, especially babies/toddlers, on flights.

Word gets around that they've stopped pre-boarding or any other assistance to families and bit by bit, families start to use other airlines instead. I would definitely go with BA, Air France etc when traveling between the US and UK / Europe while DS is young.

I flew with BA when DD1 was five weeks old. They refused to let me board first, although a bus went off to the aircraft containing only two children who were travelling as unaccompanied minors. (DD1 was the only baby/small child on flight, bizarrely.) I was flying Club Class and had a seat booked and paid for, for DD1. I plonked her in her seat (in travel seat) while I sorted out hand baggage. The Cabin Crew woman said to me "You can't leave her on that seat." I misunderstood, and said "No, that's fine, I understand I have to have her on my lap for take off. I'm just leaving her there while I get organised." She then hissed in my face "No, you can't come on and expect to use a club class seat for a baby. That's not on. There are people in economy who we can upgrade if seats are spare."

I said that I had paid for two seats and showed her my boarding cards, but she was having none of it, and started having a go at me. I lost it at that point and asked her if she was going to make the man opposite move his coat, as he clearly hadn't paid for a seat for it. The pilot had to come and intervene, looked at the boarding passes and said to the woman "What is your problem? She's paid for two seats." I didn't see her for the entire flight, so not entirely sure if she got relocated to economy or simply taken off the flight. The pilot was very apologetic.

I haven't flown with BA since (and that was 14 years ago). I also had a difficulty with a member of cabin crew when I was pregnant, as she was trying to offload me from the plane on the grounds that I was "more pregnant than I was letting on", despite having been shown a doctor's note, and my records, stating I was 28 weeks and fit to fly. The pilot had to intervene then, as well. He laughed at the woman, asked her if she knew better than a doctor how pregnant I was and asked me if I promised not to give birth on his flight. I promised, and one of the other cabin crew (who was lovely) told me that it didn't matter if I did, as she was a trained midwife and would sort me out.

We always board last. Have learned the hard way, that its the easiest thing to do! United and American are AWFUL. I suffer them when I travel between US cities but no way would I travel between UK and US on either of those airlines. BA crew have always been lovely when we travel except once when an arsehole crew member told me off because I asked for help putting my luggage in the overhead cabin. I can't reach them because I am a short arse

1. Its not the same as being disabled.
2. The less time on the plane the better.
3. You are coming across as though nothing else will do. I travel long haul with 2 children, sometimes alone. Ds has flown at 6 months, 12 months and will again at 23 months. We have always boarded last the problems you think you will have don't exist or are making more of.

Put the bag under the seat in front. Ask for an aisle seat so you don't have to climb over anyone, or ask them to let you in. Why do you want a bag in the overhead locker if you don't have an aisle seat. If you need the bag surely that's harder.

yabu. Take your turn like everyone else.

I've travelled with DS for years with United/Continental and this policy has never bothered me. We prefer to board last anyway (who wants to spend any more time than necessary with a small child on a plane??)

Not all airlines have this policy. There's choices in airlines, you know?

I feel like a hypocrite when I pre-board on account of infants/children because I am always among the first to deplane. With up to 4 children in tow; 6 international moves and countless visits home plus vacations the last thing I want to do is get on a plane earlier than necessary. I pack only essentials and even my toddlers have carried their own books, snacks and toys on board in small back packs. Overhead bins are useless during a flight particularly a turbulent one. Use the space under the seats.

I can see how you might feel differently and I acknowledge that experience has helped me to turn parking into an art. From day one (ds1 was 6 weeks) I considered it odd that babies were offered preboarding with assigned seats.

i think people with infants should be allowed to board ahead of others for practical and safety reasons why is it safer? Or practical?

Its practical to have a child on the plane for the least amount of time possible.

I've always found it a nice gesture to be able to board first. Isn't it designed to avoid the younger children and babies being caught in the general rush? I'm really not sure.
They take the pushchairs and so on, on board at that point too, I think?

United are terrible would never fly with them again after awful experience being stranded by them.

Whoever said trolley dollies -yabu

God, how do we expect to be taken seriously as people if we women cannot cope with our offspring. Sorry, I KNOW I will get flamed for this, but fgs. It's a baby, women have managed to walk and carry a baby and other stuff at the same time for years and years and years. You don't need any kind of special treatment just becuse you procreated.
I have four of them, and I have never felt like I am particularly in need of being treated specially kindly. Which is just as well.

Sorry. There are just too many threads about this at the moment - p and c spaces; taxis; trains. Will go and fan self and take deep breaths.

We board last too, even if we can go on first. Keeping my toddler busy until the last possible second is more important for us - and lately it's a huge amount of fun watching her waddle down the aisle nodding and saying 'hallo hallo' to everyone as if she were the Queen. The crew (NOT trolleydollies FFS) will help you find a place for your bits and pieces, but keeping them to a minimum is easier anyway.

You won't get called first with KLM either, they might let you if you ask but it's not standard. I'm not bothered either way.

I think it is nice to be able to board first when you have small children, for the only reason that children tend to get bored of waiting and a quick change of scenery is always welcome

Other than that, as many have already pointed out, it doesn't really make that much difference.

Also, in my many yrs of travelling with children I have always found crew staff being very kind to people with children on board.

Once, when ds was only 18 months a KLM steward took him to see the cockpit !!

I agree that it's a pain to find the overhead locker full of other people's stuff, but I have always found that the stewards are happy to move it if you ask nicely.

I always say 'oh dear someone seems to have accidentally put their bags over my seat, but I really am going to need access to by bag a lot so would you just mind popping their bags somewhere else? Thank you so much.'

I have flown United with my kids when they were young. We were last to get on plane! Which suited me when I had lots of willing hands with an 15mth old and a 4 year old. Staff couldnt have been nicer.

I have been on first with small children, and I bloody hated it.

Don't tell me, were all the luggage spaces filled up by fashionista's shoe boxes?

YABU, by the way. Being a parent is not a disability FFS. And childfree people have just as much of a right to locker space as you.