Have you heard the latest about flying with your family? It sounds like some airlines may be charging you extra to seat your kids with you. A family who booked their flight to Disney World seven months in advance JUST so they could sit together got split up when their flight was changed. Their 5-year-old daughter was separated from them and seated next to strangers! The airline said they could re-assign the seats ... for a $60 fee.
Well of all the -- the parents complained to the airline and then to NBC News. How dare an airline charge families extra to be seated together. Do they really want to stick passengers with other people's young children?
Wait a minute. Why is this a problem? This actually sounds like a great idea!
Think about it: The airline seats your toddler on the other side of the plane from you. You give the passengers around your kid some advice and instructions. And then you get to enjoy the flight all alone! Watch a movie, read a book, take a nap, have a cocktail, ENJOY A COMPLETE THOUGHT IN YOUR HEAD WITHOUT ANY INTERRUPTIONS!
More from The Stir: Family of 6 Wrongly Kicked Off Flight for Having Too Many Kids
Hey, your kid will be fine. There's plenty of other people around to help her. I'm sure random folks would love nothing more than to take her to the potty, read her a story, get her that toy, no that other toy, no that other toy, take her for a walk up and down the aisle, sing some songs, go through all the airplane snacks 12 times while they try to find something acceptable to eat, and then sit with the full weight of her bowling-ball head on their arm once she finally falls asleep, drool pooling on their sleeve.
Yup, smart move for the airline, smart move for you, parents! Let's do keep splitting up families like this. I think it's a fine idea. I mean, pay a sit-with-your-kids fee or accept the free childcare? It's a total no-brainer. Thanks, airlines!
UPDATE: Mom Amanda Parish says American Airlines finally honored their original request.
What would you do if an airline separated your kids from you and then told you they wouldn't seat you all together unless you paid a fee?
Image via viZZZual.com/Flickr
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Comments 154
HA! cute article. but in regards to the comments...
all of the overprotective parents are on here assuming that strangers WANT to do things to their children. (yes, yes, your child is so precious to everyone! omg, can't get enough of your child.)
let me tell you something- the LAST thing that I want to do when I'm on an airplane is be stuck entertaining YOUR child. Have some sympathy for those who don't want to have kids or be anywhere near yours.
wow. you moms are freakin' looney. NOBODY wants to sit with your kids! it is rare that anyone would try to grope your child on a plane. I can promise you that the person who is stuck next to your spawn is so full of dread that they would gladly switch you seats if it meant that they didn't have to deal with your kid.
PS: as you talk about "sick stuff" potentially happening, how do you think it makes men feel who are sitting next to your child? Most men would never voluntarily sit next to a child because they're so fearful of being accused of wrong doing. Would you ever accuse a woman? Have a little bit of sympathy for the men you are blindly treating as child molesters when they've even committed a crime.
Wait until the first lawsuit comes when some child gets hurt. Then the airlines will apologize, pay a fine and claim no wrongdoing, and find another way to charge $$$.
I am really shocked by this and don't quite know what to say, EXCEPT: Just TRY to separate me from my little one - on a plane or anywhere else! I really don't want to know what I would do and neither would the airline!
I'm not sure what I found more amusing..the article of the comments. Half of you women are absolutely crazy! Last I checked it air planes were high in the sky so kidnapping seems a little hard to manage..and also IF you check the stats most children that are molested and kidnapped are done by a FAMILY MEMBER not a stranger. So this odd all strangers are out to get my kids thing is ridiculous. As a mother of two special needs toddlers IF an airline did this to me I would just go with it I bet there would be a lot of accommodating people and I would get to sit by my kids without making a hysterical spectacle of myself in front of my kids. I trust the fact that NO ONE wants to deal with my kids but me, heck majority of people wouldn't know HOW to deal with my kids. Oh and kids feed off of your energy..from the looks of these comments there's going to be a lot of emotionally unstable paranoid adults soon...do me a favor and keep them in their little bubble away from my kids.