To Risk Upsetting Other Travellers

[JustPurple]

I am going back to work at the end of October and am looking to squeeze in a last minute holiday before I go back. We will be flying long haul and have an 8 month old baby.

We usually fly premium economy when we travel with TUI because I'm not great with large groups of people. WIBU to take an infant into premium economy? I feel like people would be cross if she made any noise when they've paid out for an upgrade, presumably for a calmer and more enjoyable experience. The baby doesn't usually cry for any length of time but she's never flown before.

Bramble - of course parents want to take their babies on planes. How are you going to get to places if you don’t?

@brambleboo, it’s just a guess, but maybe they want to go on holiday ?!

@AllesAusLiebe all of your responses are laughable honestly. You latched onto 1 sentence I used & came up with I can't 'be bothered to parent' & have a 'lack of ability to maintain control.' 😂 Bit much maybe? I'm not out of my depth, in fact I wish we could have this conversation face to face because I have a feeling you'd be much less opinionated & bulshy. But it's easy online with anonymity isn't it? There's one of you lurking on every post on MN ready to judge, you're just the one the rest of us laugh at. 😊

Beautifulblue

A few points for you:

1. Re: ‘Lurking on every post’. Incorrect. I comment on threads that catch my attention, much in the spirit of an online forum, which would be a pretty pointless exercise if no one contributed.

1. I ‘latched onto one sentence of yours’. Maybe this ought to be a lesson to think (herein lies the problem, I suspect) before you post.

1. If we had this conversation face to face, who knows how it would go. I would probably be just as animated, however, maybe you would be able to express yourself a little better verbally which would minimise the potential for misunderstanding.

Oh god @AllesAusLiebe 😴😴 get a hobby I have things to do. I won't be taking any advice from you - I've done nothing wrong. You maybe need to just acknowledge an over reaction on your part - but you're not going to so I'm getting on with my day.

I don't generally get annoyed with children or babies on flights, they are babies they can't help crying. Flying is probably quite stressful for them. We were all babies and children once and probably annoyed others just as much as that crying baby is, children are not second class citizens.

In the same sense if I ended up sat next to an elderly person who needed to go to the toilet a lot, or who needed help with getting up and getting their bags I wouldnt be cross. I wouldn't expect to be able to book an elderly person free zone, or a disabled person free zone, so why should I expect a child free zone? Babies cry, children behave badly it's just life, it's luck of the draw on public transport, if you travel on public transport you have to deal with the public and a fairly large proportijn of the public is children and babies. If your so important that you can't cope with members of the public then you shoud be on a private jet! Id rather sit next to a baby than a pompous man-spreading businessman! (And I've say next to plenty of those who think their time and space is somehow so much more important than yours)

I can also cope without a nights sleep, because im an adult and can deal with being uncomfortable ( unlike babies). If I fly a night flight I accept that I probably won't sleep so any additional sleep is a bonus. I'm not staying in a bed so I can't really expect to get sleep. If sleep is so very important to someone they need to fly out the evening before and book into a hotel.

I did a 36hr flight once (well 3 flights that equalled 36) and then went out in the evening and didn't get any sleep! That was probably about 50 hours with very little sleep, and do you know what I'm still here. And there was a crying baby on the flight!

If anything op, if my baby's going to cry I'd rather it disturbed a judgey 'man in a suit' (shock horror!!) than a lovely understanding person.

Not that elderly people of disabled people are annoying to sit next to! Just that everyone on a flight has different needs, because there are a range of people in the world, including babies. And we are all happy to adapt a little to adults so why can't we adapt a bit when we are sat near children?

maybe you would be able to express yourself a little better verbally

I think you mean 'orally'. Everyone on this forum is expressing themselves 'verbally' (unless I've missed the posters communicating entirely in emojis). HTH.

I was once in PE on a 14hr flight, a crying baby in the row beside me for 5 hours. The parents made no effort at all to do anything. It was horrible, then someone from Biz class (other side of the curtain) came back and said something like 'Why the FK are you not doing something we're all F had enough'. There was silence in the plane except the crying baby. 5 seconds later the mother picked the baby up and it was quiet. While i know loads here will be saying well the mother must be tired, needed a hand etc etc personally I was fuming that we had had to put up with 5 hrs of that noise when they could have stopped it so easily. I've flown lots fo long haul, with many many babies on board and it's never been an issue for me before of since but this was something I would never like to experience again.

So fly PE, if you pay for it you can use it but please please try to keep the baby quiet as much as possible for the sanity of everyone else on the plane who might you never know have paid for the PE seats because they are normally in front of the engines and quieter.

Went PE for the first time and there was a baby right behind me plus a small child nearby in business class. I was disappointed but knew it was a possibility. Apart from 5 minutes of the baby crying (out of 10 hours), didn't hear anything from either of them! The actor we spotted in business class made much more of a fuss

multivac English is my second language and occasionally, I’ll make mistakes. Hope you feel better about yourself.

Eh, I always upgrade if I'm flying with the children. More room for everyone to stretch out. Unless the airline says it is a childfree zone I wouldn't even think twice about it 🤷🏼‍♀️

Nah you're totally fine. It's called public transport for a reason. As logn as you do your best to settle your baby and help them, do what you want. If people wanted guaranteed peace and quiet then they are self entitled morons for expecting to get it on a form of public transport.

And yes, babies crying (or kids kicking the back of my seat) are annoying when I'm flying business or PE for work but as long as the parents are obviously trying to keep the child happy/ minimise crying then it's unreasonable for people to get aggro. FFS are you not supposed to travel anywhere until your children have left home?

You're a mother, Beautifulblue, some fucker is always going to complain no matter what you do. Just be glad airlines don't yet charge for the massive bag of guilt every mother is forced to carry every day of her existence

^^This

This thread makes me smile. Of course little darlings are all adorable even when they are loud and kicking and wiggling when you happen to be at the stage of your life to have little darlings too. It doesn't mean they are not annoying to others. I certainly didn't find children a pain when mine were little too. I find them very irritating now.

I respect that children have the same right to be in the same aces as I but parents need to appreciate that not everyone have the same tolerance to noise than they adapted to themselves and however amazing it might seem not everyone will find their baby adorably cute.

I don't think everyone does find my daughter cute or have the patience for her noise - nor would I expect them to. But people without/with older children still need to remember/appreciate children are children & they make noise & play up. The majority of parents are doing their best to keep it minimal & trust me, when they're screaming in an enclosed space no one is feeling it more than the parents trying to hush them. Having a child having a bit of a melt down because they're forced to sit on their parents lap for 2+ hours isn't bad parenting or not being bothered with the vast majority it's just children expressing their annoyance. You were all annoying little kids to once ya know?! Probably embarrassed your mum/Dad no end with your public outbursts. Get over it!

op I don't think a crying baby would anger anyone who wasn't a complete arse whatever class of ticket they have?

Why are you more concerned about potentially upsetting or inconveniencing a business/first class passenger than those of us who travel cattle class?

Of course you can. You are just as entitled to book PE, or any other class, as any other traveller. PE, and other classes, are not advertised as child or baby free. Therefore, other passengers should ave no expectation of them being so. Other passengers haven't pain for a quieter or calmer environment.

Do what works best for you and your travelling group.

the grandparents are more likely to have more time and money to travel to see their grandbaby than a young family tbh...

When DD was born, both my parents were working full time. Infact, she is 16y now and my dad still works FT, mum retired about 4 years ago. So no - they don't have more time than we do - infact we got more holidays than they did. Likewise, we earned more as a couple than my parents did.

More and more people have children younger. More people become grandparents older. More people work longer and don't retire as early.

More and more people have children younger.

Statistics don't back this up. Quite the opposite is happening.

www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths/bulletins/birthsbyparentscharacteristicsinenglandandwales/2016

More people become grandparents older

How would that work, if as you (incorrectly) believe, more people are having children younger, logically more people would become grandparents younger too, unless they're ageing at a different rate to their children.

More and more people have children younger.

I meant more and more people have children OLDER.
I mixed up my words when typing too fast. Hence the second statement re grandparents being older.

How would that work, if as you (incorrectly) believe,

I typed the wrong word. Easily done when typing. The rest of the paragraph kind of shows. Simply error. No need for the sarcasm in your response!

Wouldn't mind, but I am agreeing with the sentiments you say anyway. Of course they can go in PE, or any other class they want.

I'm never quite sure why parents want to take babies on aircraft but hey ho.

Well, given that my parents were living and working a long-haul flight away, and that my mother flew back to the UK on medical advice for my birth, she was just trying to get home and let her husband meet his three-months old baby for the first time. What was she expected to do —walk?