No apologies needed

[Anti-Social Darwinism]

as far as I'm concerned. No compensation, either - other than refunding the cost of the ticket.

I've flown with crying, screaming brats. Even on a short flight, it's enough to turn a calm, nurturing grandmotherly type into a fire-eyed, raving maniac. My feeling is if the kid can't keep quiet, he/she shouldn't be on the plane. It's distracting at best and infuriating at worst, it distracts the flight crew, it irritates the other passengers and, I would hope, is embarassing to the parent(s).

I'm sure there are things that can be done to keep the kids under control - ranging from explaining appropriate behavior to the more intelligent ones to making sure that they aren't hungry or tired to sedation.

But the question is - does NSG think that the rights of the parent and child to travel supercede the rights of the other passengers to have a quiet flight? Especially considering how uncomfortable flying has become - unless you go first class.

http://news.aol.com/article/southwest-a ... r%2F745890

[LOL ANARCHY NUBZ]

Shut up and get over it.

[Chrobalta]

Set aside a special section for them (and by that I mean the back of the plane near the bathrooms).

[Azzers]

I personally absolutely HATE little children, they are usally unbehaved and hyperactive and I think the little -censored- deserved to get kicked off.

[Buffett and Colbert]

to sedation.

Mmm, sorry. This is really infringes on the child's rights.

I think that these things in general are inevitable and us passengers just have to suck it up.

[Azzers]

Set aside a special section for them (and by that I mean the back of the plane near the bathrooms).

How about off the plane with no parachute?

[Maurepas]

Personally, the other passengers should suck it up, and she deserves the refund...

Unless you specify no children on planes, you, as an airline have to put up with it...

[Lackadaisical2]

well, heres the key to it:

"The crew bounced Root and her son Adam off the San Jose-bound flight because passengers could not hear preflight safety announcements"

Her kid was disrupting the actual take off time of the flight, they couldn't leave if people couldn't hear the safety announcements. I fully support their decision to boot them off, and I don't think they should be required to compensate unruly people (however, they did, and quite handsomely, probably so they don't look bad).

Also, that kid must have been really fucking annoying and loud if people couldn't even hear anything.

[Northwest Slobovia]

I'm torn between "they shouldn't fly" and "they should be kept happy, by chemical methods if necessary". Tho I don't view age as a criterion: it's the kid's ability to stay quiet and amused for a few hours.

Mostly, I figure parents know how well their kids behave, so I blame them entirely for their kids' misbehavior on planes (and in restaurants... and other enclosed spaces meant for civilized adults).

[Czardas]

The airline is a private institution. It is within its rights to kick off any passenger from the airplane for any reason, if it refunds the passenger the cost of their ticket afterwards (according to law). If you're not happy about getting kicked off, you can choose to fly with a different airline next time.

[Dimoniquid]

Something from Jimmy Carr.

GET OVER IT, NO-ONE CARES.

[Kirgoslav]

Set aside a special section for them (and by that I mean the back of the plane near the bathrooms).

How about off the plane with no parachute?

Oh shut up, I am now starting to question your sanity.

[Lunatic Goofballs]

[Maurepas]

The airline is a private institution. It is within its rights to kick off any passenger from the airplane for any reason, if it refunds the passenger the cost of their ticket afterwards (according to law). If you're not happy about getting kicked off, you can choose to fly with a different airline next time.

Agreed, but they should be required to refund them if they kick them off, of course, which is where I would disagree with the OP...

[The Tofu Islands]

I’m kinda reluctant to say that it should be banned completely*, however some kind of scheme for preventing it being too disruptive (such as putting young children in a separate part of the plane, possibly with some sort of (partial) soundproofing to minimise noise for other passengers makes sense. Sedation is a no-no though.


* This might be something to do with the fact that my first flight (after birth) was at 2 weeks old.

[Northwest Slobovia]

Unless you specify no children on planes, you, as an airline have to put up with it...

Well, it looks like a simple solution exists...

[Czardas]

The airline is a private institution. It is within its rights to kick off any passenger from the airplane for any reason, if it refunds the passenger the cost of their ticket afterwards (according to law). If you're not happy about getting kicked off, you can choose to fly with a different airline next time.

Agreed, but they should be required to refund them if they kick them off, of course, which is where I would disagree with the OP...

That's what I said. :P

[Dimoniquid]

You learn something new everyday.

[AB Again]

I personally absolutely HATE little children, they are usally unbehaved and hyperactive and I think the little -censored- deserved to get kicked off.

And you never were a little child!

Small children have as much right to travel as you do. Not everyone on a long flight is going to behave in a manner that everyone else condones. Such is the variety of humankind. Why are the young kids being singled out here? There are obnoxious adults, intransigent geriatrics, and unbearable adolescents as well on most long haul flights. Unfortunately we can not, and should not, make everyone behave according to our personal values - so we just have to put up with the annoyance.

If it is a short flight then just get over it already

[Maurepas]

Unless you specify no children on planes, you, as an airline have to put up with it...

Well, it looks like a simple solution exists...

Well, from a business perspective, all those family vacations you've denied would get rather costly, so I doubt theyd actually do it...which was the point, of course,

[Ryadn]

A certain amount of crying and fuss, especially from small children during takeoff and landing (the air pressure change can make even *me* cry sometimes) is to be expected. It's annoying, but there's no way to completely eliminate it.

In this case, however, the kid wasn't scared, or in pain, or too young to talk to and reason with---he was just being a brat. And more than being obnoxious, he was interfering with important safety procedures. There's no excuse for that. The mother said she was focusing on doing "what was best for the child", but I don't see that at all. I see a mother who knew her kid was acting poorly and hoped that he'd tire himself out at some point so she didn't have to do anything. Unacceptable.

[Anti-Social Darwinism]

The airline is a private institution. It is within its rights to kick off any passenger from the airplane for any reason, if it refunds the passenger the cost of their ticket afterwards (according to law). If you're not happy about getting kicked off, you can choose to fly with a different airline next time.

Agreed, but they should be required to refund them if they kick them off, of course, which is where I would disagree with the OP...

Where did I say no refund? My first sentence said that there should be no compensation other than a refund. The airline shouldn't have to pay people because they couldn't keep their kids in line.

[Maurepas]

The airline is a private institution. It is within its rights to kick off any passenger from the airplane for any reason, if it refunds the passenger the cost of their ticket afterwards (according to law). If you're not happy about getting kicked off, you can choose to fly with a different airline next time.

Agreed, but they should be required to refund them if they kick them off, of course, which is where I would disagree with the OP...

Where did I say no refund? My first sentence said that there should be no compensation other than a refund. The airline shouldn't have to pay people because they couldn't keep their kids in line.

Ah, sorry, I saw "no compensation" and that was it,

Agreed then...

[Lackadaisical2]

I personally absolutely HATE little children, they are usally unbehaved and hyperactive and I think the little -censored- deserved to get kicked off.

And you never were a little child!

Small children have as much right to travel as you do. Not everyone on a long flight is going to behave in a manner that everyone else condones. Such is the variety of humankind. Why are the young kids being singled out here? There are obnoxious adults, intransigent geriatrics, and unbearable adolescents as well on most long haul flights. Unfortunately we can not, and should not, make everyone behave according to our personal values - so we just have to put up with the annoyance.

If it is a short flight then just get over it already

Maybe people are focusing on kids, because you know, its the topic. Anyway, you can't just get over it if the plane CAN NOT take off because some little brat won't shut up. Most kids are far better behaved than that. Also, whats all this, "right to travel" BS. I never knew anyone had a fucking RIGHT to travel. Fuck that, you have as much right to travel as your legs can carry you, beyond that, you better have some cash and follow the rules.

[Azzers]

I personally absolutely HATE little children, they are usally unbehaved and hyperactive and I think the little -censored- deserved to get kicked off.

And you never were a little child!

Small children have as much right to travel as you do. Not everyone on a long flight is going to behave in a manner that everyone else condones. Such is the variety of humankind. Why are the young kids being singled out here? There are obnoxious adults, intransigent geriatrics, and unbearable adolescents as well on most long haul flights. Unfortunately we can not, and should not, make everyone behave according to our personal values - so we just have to put up with the annoyance.

If it is a short flight then just get over it already

Well to be honest I am grateful to my parents, god knows how they put up with me, I was a little shit like all little kids, speaking of adolescents, I don't know, nor do I care, but I behave on every single flight, sitting there quietly listening to my music.