Adult Only Flights

[Sylar]

I wonder if there are any airlines out there who offer such a service or if indeed it is something which would gain favour.

Yesterday, I boarded a plane in Cancun at around 11pm (UK) to head back home. We were flying British Airways (Econ+) and had relatively good seats. The aircraft was 3-3-3 and in the front left 3 there was a young child (1-2) and directly in front of us there also was a young family with a small child (probably the same age as the former).

Lo' and behold, immediately after take-off, both kids (understandably) started screaming and crying, which lasted the best part of 5 hours. When they eventually fell asleep, we hit the worst turbulence I've felt in a very long time until they awoke 2 hours later for another hour or so chorus of screaming. I don't get irate at the kids and it's not my place to tell anyone how to parent - I don't think kids that young SHOULD be on long haul flights but it's a very personal issue which different parents will deal with in different ways.

Anyway, I got to wondering if there would be scope, similar to adults only resorts, for airlines to offer long-haul services which are exclusive to adults. Not to funnel out parents from taking their toddlers if they're so inclined but to provide an avenue for other travellers who don't want to be subject to the horrible shrill pierce of a screaming toddler. I'm aware drunken 'adults' can be equally noisy/annoying on flights but to long-haul destinations, this is usually limited by the very cost of flying further afield.

[Jack]

I'll by a ticket :-)

[Haymaker]

Sounds great. I had the misfortune of being stuck behind a very young child (maybe one at most) on a flight to NYC. Absolute nightmare.

[matty_f]

Trust me, the screaming kid is much, much worse for the parents.

[speedy_gonzales]

It's an idea I've heard a few times but clearly there is no real demand otherwise it would have been done by now. It used to be that by buying in to the next cabin, the exclusivity afforded you peace and quiet from such distractions but I've seen young families in the likes of BA Club class on long hauls, as the kids get an excellent sleep on the sky beds.
Personally, I have no issue with kids on flights, it's generally the parents I have trouble with as it is them that know their kids best and whether they can handle the flight, then, if it does kick off it's up to the parent to entertain or soothe the child, not fellow passengers or the stewards!
This comes from a father of a 10yr old that didn't fly too young, and has never kicked off or had a tantrum, that's despite being stuck on tarmac for 4 hours once or when flying back from the Canaries, Thomas Cook didn't have any kids meals for the entire flight.

[Hibbyradge]

I don't think kids that young SHOULD be on long haul flights but it's a very personal issue which different parents will deal with in different ways.


Why not, Scott? :confused:

[lord bunberry]

Only in this country would such an idea be suggested, we have absolutely no tolerance for kids here. When I go abroad I see whole families out having a meal at night time, something you never see here. If anyone has that much of approblem with children crying on a flight then they should invest in a decent set of earphones.
I was booking a holiday last year and many hotels were offering adult only pools or adult only bars, which I've not got a problem with but why should I have to pay the full price for a hotel when I can't use all of the facilities.
When I'm booking a flight i do my best to book it at a time when my daughter will be at her most awake and happy and I take my laptop with all her favorite shows on it to keep her as quiet as possible, but sometimes children are going to cry, there's nothing you can do about it.

[Hibrandenburg]

I'd put it down to bad parenting. If the kid is old enough to reason with then it should not be a problem.

[lord bunberry]

I'd put it down to bad parenting. If the kid is old enough to reason with then it should not be a problem.

What if the kids not well.

[MyJo]

Trust me, the screaming kid is much, much worse for the parents.

:agree: My kids have been lucky enough to have been taken to Florida a fair few times and generally are very good flyers but in the summer my youngest (15 months old at the time) was horrendous on the flight home as he didnt have his own seat so had to sit on our laps or share a seat with his big brother in between me and his mum and he was absolutely knackered but couldn't get comfy at all and i ended up having to carry him to the back of the plane where there was space for me to stand but he just wouldn't go to sleep and when i had to sit down he just went mental and i was absolutely mortified but there was simply nothing that could be done to calm him down or console him. I ended up spending my 8 hours walking around a plane carrying an angry, wailing lump, getting no sleep cringing at the thought of my kid being the one causing a fuss on the flight.

Wasnt until the day after the flight that his extremely bad case of chickenpox revealed itself which explained why he was so unhappy when he had been absolutely fine on the flight out.

And while we're talking about flying, "recliners" are surely the worst of the lot!!!

[Hibrandenburg]

What if the kids not well.

Bad parenting, kid shouldn't fly.

[MyJo]

I'd put it down to bad parenting. If the kid is old enough to reason with then it should not be a problem.


Bad parenting, kid shouldn't fly.

:hilarious: ok then, Mary Poppins.

FWIW a lot of the time it is down to the parents not giving a damn what thier kids are doing (which really grinds my gears when i encounter it as well) but you can't say that an upset child on a flight is solely down to bad parenting or if a child has a cold when your flying home its not an option to stop the kid from flying.

[lord bunberry]

Bad parenting, kid shouldn't fly.

Rubbish, if your child has a cold or an upset stomach and your on your way home from holiday then there's no way your going to stay at the resort and miss your flight.

[Just Alf]

And while we're talking about flying, "recliners" are surely the worst of the lot!!!



This 1 million percent!... Especially when they're so ignorant that they keep the chair reclined when the meals being served :-(



As an aside I once saw some bod have her lap top screen cracked when the person in front fired themselves into the recline position! .... The top of the screen had got caught under the lip where the table folds into the chair back..... Was really good fun listening to the heated 3 way conversation between the 2 passengers and the stewards :D

[Hibrandenburg]

:hilarious: ok then, Mary Poppins.

FWIW a lot of the time it is down to the parents not giving a damn what thier kids are doing (which really grinds my gears when i encounter it as well) but you can't say that an upset child on a flight is solely down to bad parenting or if a child has a cold when your flying home its not an option to stop the kid from flying.

There's no way you should risk perforating your kids ear drums. Taking a risk with your child's hearing is bad parenting whatever the costs or inconvenience.

[Hibrandenburg]

Rubbish, if your child has a cold or an upset stomach and your on your way home from holiday then there's no way your going to stay at the resort and miss your flight.

I would! Would you be willing to risk your child's hearing?

[heretoday]

I've had far worse problems with adults on flights. Drunken ignorant chavs. And that's just the ladies!

[McSwanky]

I'd put it down to bad parenting. If the kid is old enough to reason with then it should not be a problem.

I assume you've got kids, yes? Congratulations, you are therefore the world's best parent! Well done!

[lord bunberry]

I would! Would you be willing to risk your child's hearing?

No I would do what I did the last time the situation arose, I sought the opinion of a doctor.

[hibee_girl]

Trust me, the screaming kid is much, much worse for the parents.

:agree:

Absolutely. My boy has been flying since he was 11 weeks old, thankfully he's a pretty good flyer but always dreaded him crying on flights, there's nothing worse than not being able to settle your child on a plane, it makes me want to cry too!! My tip is to take grandparents on holiday too so they can help :greengrin

The people I've seen cause trouble on planes are old buggers who moaned because we got diverted to Glasgow for safety, you'd have thought we had landed in America the way some of them were screaming and shouting!

[hibee_girl]

I would! Would you be willing to risk your child's hearing?

My son has flown plenty times with colds etc, every time the doctor has said it's been safe.

[Pretty Boy]

I think i'm just lucky that i'm able to zone out screaming bairns and drunken bams quite easily.

I've flown dozens of times and can honestly say all the flights have been uneventful. I bury my head in a book for a few hours and am generally quite happy.

[Peevemor]

I'd put it down to bad parenting. If the kid is old enough to reason with then it should not be a problem.

I don't know if I have particularly sensitive ears (I've played bagpipes for knocking on 40 years so I doubt it!), but sometimes when flying I experience severe pain if the cabin pressure is too low. I remember one flight where the wee plastic bag containing my cutlery, etc. was swollen solid like a balloon and I thought I was going to flake out with the pain.

I've often wondered if (some) howling kids on flights may be suffering from the same thing. If so, surely neither the child nor the parents can be blamed.

[McSwanky]

I don't know if I have particularly sensitive ears (I've played bagpipes for knocking on 40 years so I doubt it!), but sometimes when flying I experience severe pain if the cabin pressure is too low. I remember one flight where the wee plastic bag containing my cutlery, etc. was swollen solid like a balloon and I thought I was going to flake out with the pain.

I've often wondered if (some) howling kids on flights may be suffering from the same thing. If so, surely neither the child nor the parents can be blamed.

Shut up, ya numpty. It's just plain old bad parenting. Dinnae start hitting me with one of those reasonable arguments, I'm no interested!

[Viva_Palmeiras]

I've take my son on long haul flights - well 2 to be precise - since he was 2.5 months. He travels remarkably well. I suppose you can only relate when you have kids of your own. I used to be one of those to think shame for the kids - what are the parents thinking. Perhaps it's slightly different for us in that the longhaul flight is for family reasons. I think we would only put our kids (and us!) through that so early for family reasons.

[Jack]

The modern version of gripe water works well on children on long trips.

A wee brandy in the departure lounge!

But that's bad parenting, the good parents probably hadn't thought about it till now :-)

[Hibrandenburg]

I assume you've got kids, yes? Congratulations, you are therefore the world's best parent! Well done!

Oh here we go, the old über argumentation. Not claiming to be an Überpapa! Just happen to know more on this subject than most and I include most Dr's in that statement.

Have a read of this:

http://www.avweb.com/news/aeromed/181893-1.html

You''ll have to copy and paste because I don't do links on my mobile. The article pretty much sums up the physiology of flying and might open your eyes to the environment you enter whilst flying if not it's at least an interesting read.

[Gatecrasher]

I cant stand it for 5 minutes in the Suprmarket never mind on a 4 or 5 hour flight. I would neet to grab a parachute and jump :greengrin.
I think an Adult only section would probably work to be honest.

[(((Fergus)))]

Takes ear plugs and a good book.

[Wembley67]

Oh here we go, the old über argumentation. Not claiming to be an Überpapa! Just happen to know more on this subject than most and I include most Dr's in that statement.

Have a read of this:

http://www.avweb.com/news/aeromed/181893-1.html

You''ll have to copy and paste because I don't do links on my mobile. The article pretty much sums up the physiology of flying and might open your eyes to the environment you enter whilst flying if not it's at least an interesting read.

Thanks for that link, one of the more interesting things posted on here over the years :aok:

[Sylar]

Why not, Scott? :confused:

As I said, it's just a personal opinion. Knowing the impacts that flying has on physiology as a fully grown adult when I'm used to it, I can't imagine that it must be a bit distressing to a child and it's therefore no surprise a lot of them get upset. Also, I don't remember diddly squat from my earliest years so it seems a little redundant to me.


Only in this country would such an idea be suggested, we have absolutely no tolerance for kids here. When I go abroad I see whole families out having a meal at night time, something you never see here. If anyone has that much of approblem with children crying on a flight then they should invest in a decent set of earphones. I was booking a holiday last year and many hotels were offering adult only pools or adult only bars, which I've not got a problem with but why should I have to pay the full price for a hotel when I can't use all of the facilities.
When I'm booking a flight i do my best to book it at a time when my daughter will be at her most awake and happy and I take my laptop with all her favorite shows on it to keep her as quiet as possible, but sometimes children are going to cry, there's nothing you can do about it.

Actually, it's something which has been suggested across the globe - Scoot Airlines (http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/08/26/singapores-scoot-airlines-to-offer-child-free-zone/) and Malaysia Airlines already offers the service, as does a newly launched (though I'm not familiar with them) Urchin airways from the UK. It's the most oft-complained about aspect of flying according to a recent Lonely Planet travel poll and you'll find news articles, opinion pieces and discussion on the subject from all corners of the globe http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2011/02/children_planes

I don't see why it's such an abhorrent suggestion - we have adult only resorts (which you claim to be OK with), silent zones on trains and converse to my initial topic title, kid segregated flights which encourage young families to fly together, where there is space for children to play whilst flying. Suggesting that the solution to such a universally cited problem is everyone stumping up for a pair of noise-cancelling headphones is ridiculous. However, Sony and Bose could probably be doing with folk like you on their PR and sales team :greengrin

I confess, I can handle it through flight times when kids are awake (morning/early afternoon and evening flights) as I tend to just pop in some music or in-flight entertainment and it drowns it out. However, at night time, on long haul flights when you're trying to sleep, there is no escape and no solution but to listen to them crying.

[Off the bar]

A bit off topic but mrs hoxtonhibby is Finnish so we spend a bit of time over there, it's a five hour train journey from Helsinki to the in laws which would be hell with a screaming kid, except the clever and very family friendly Finns have a seperate coach for folk with kids, the coach has little play pens and stuff to keep the young ones entertained, leaving the other coaches blissfuly quiet. I've always wondered why we don't have it here it's such a good solution for everyone.

They also have a little vented room between the cabins where if you're a smoker you can have a relaxing smoke on the train then return to your seat! another inovation that would'nt go amiss here!

Also on the subject of the inlaws place there is a sports bar in the town, Jakobstad, where there is a hibs scarf up behind the bar! we played a pre season game there about 10 years ago, so big respect to whoever left that, I had to do a double take the first time a spied it!

[lucky]

Just had a terrible journey down to London in the 1st class in the quiet coach on Virgin with a screaming kid. But even better when she never cried the whole coach was given pepper pig in stereo. I'm not anti kids but generally its down to the parents

[lord bunberry]

As I said, it's just a personal opinion. Knowing the impacts that flying has on physiology as a fully grown adult when I'm used to it, I can't imagine that it must be a bit distressing to a child and it's therefore no surprise a lot of them get upset. Also, I don't remember diddly squat from my earliest years so it seems a little redundant to me.



Actually, it's something which has been suggested across the globe - Scoot Airlines (http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/08/26/singapores-scoot-airlines-to-offer-child-free-zone/) and Malaysia Airlines already offers the service, as does a newly launched (though I'm not familiar with them) Urchin airways from the UK. It's the most oft-complained about aspect of flying according to a recent Lonely Planet travel poll and you'll find news articles, opinion pieces and discussion on the subject from all corners of the globe http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2011/02/children_planes

I don't see why it's such an abhorrent suggestion - we have adult only resorts (which you claim to be OK with), silent zones on trains and converse to my initial topic title, kid segregated flights which encourage young families to fly together, where there is space for children to play whilst flying. Suggesting that the solution to such a universally cited problem is everyone stumping up for a pair of noise-cancelling headphones is ridiculous. However, Sony and Bose could probably be doing with folk like you on their PR and sales team :greengrin

I confess, I can handle it through flight times when kids are awake (morning/early afternoon and evening flights) as I tend to just pop in some music or in-flight entertainment and it drowns it out. However, at night time, on long haul flights when you're trying to sleep, there is no escape and no solution but to listen to them crying.

I think abhorrent is a bit strong, I just find it disappointing that people have this attitude towards kids in public places. I realise that there's some parents who couldn't care less how much noise their kids are making but i would imagine they are in the minority, most parents are mortified if their baby is crying for a long time on a plane. While I don't agree that there should be adult only flights I don't have a problem with planes having adult only areas, in fact it's probably a good idea if everyone with kids were sitting together as it can be quite stressful traveling with a young child, so being amongst other parents might make things less so.

[IWasThere2016]

Been fortunate with my own 3 on flights, but have experienced some smaller ones crying/ill etc on flights.. It's hardly up there with life's greatest hardships/inconveniences..

Of the 3, my youngest - aged 13 - has flown the most as a child, to the US, Spain, Portugal, London with only one incident of sickness and one wee howl back from Menorca to Auld Reekie. It is much worse for the parents .. you'll find oot one day S.

Otherwise as suggested book, sleep, film, ear-plugs, get pished .. it's nae biggy :aok:

[Holmesdale Hibs]

Trust me, the screaming kid is much, much worse for the parents.

Sure, but I think the point is that the parents are the only ones on the flight that sign up for the disturbance.

I'm surprised there's not more of a market for such flights. Say routes like LHR - JFK, there must be thousands of people making this trip for business every week, most of which would pay extra for a decent nights sleep.

Not having a go at parents, but noisy children on planes do by head in and if there were child free flights I'd personally pay a premium for them.

[Jack]

I am a parent, they're old enough to look after themselves now - oh happy days!

I've been the parent with the screaming kid and feel the daggers. So I, like many others, have seen it from both points of view.

The very basic human thing is though that a childs wail and cry have been honed by evolution since the very beginning of human existence so as its not possible for any adult to ignore.

Its not therefore impossible for an adult to ignore with earplugs, they know its still going on and even if its suppressed its still a concern. Its no use turning up the volume of whatever is being feed through earphones either as the above also applies and besides that the tish tish tish tish tish tish tish tish tish of some ******g rapper is likely to lead one day to the tightening of the cord round the listeners neck.

Adult only planes, only answer :-)

[TRC]

Kids screaming on flights I hate it. also kids that kick the back of chairs. remember being on a flight to Turkey and some little urchin kept kicking my chair turn round to its mother asked her to ask her child to stop kicking my chair she just shrugged and said he only had wee legs how could I feel it. I lost the rag a bit told her what I thought. so she starts going radge at me telling the steward that I'd offended her. so if kids behave then no worries but I'd rather not listen to children screaming for an 8 hour flight, so I'd love to have adult only flights. off topic but another one that gets my goat is people that take a kid in to bar/pub then have an opinion about folks language at the bar if you don't want your kids exposed to profanity don't take them to pubs/bars that are designed for adults.

[marinello59]

If there is a strong market for adult only flights then the carriers would all be providing them. You won't see many kids travelling business class as it is though so it makes no difference to the real money spinners for the airlines.
As an aside how many flights have been diverted due to the bad behaviour of kids compared to the bad behaviour of adults? :devil: