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Got A Baby? Then Move To The “Baby Ghetto” In The Back Of The Airplane!

Submitted by on November 21, 2011 – 1:00 pmOne Comment
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We’ve all been there. You settle into our seats for a cross-country flight, think for a second that the seat might be vacant for the flight, and then…BAM! A mother and her baby sit down. Within minutes, the baby is screaming, the mother is flustered, and the Beats By Dre headphones you’ve got on your head just can’t get loud enough to drown out all the commotion.

It’s a problem for all airlines: How do you allow babies on board without disrupting other passengers? Well, a few airlines seemed to have figured out a solution. Rather than just seat the babies with the rest of the passengers, they’ve created what are being dubbed “baby ghettos”—select areas of the plane, usually all the way in the back, where mothers or fathers and their young babies are forced to sit with other mothers or fathers and their young babies. This way, if a baby cries and gets out of hand during the flight, they’re not disrupting anyone but other babies and parents who are understanding of how babies can get. Problem solved! Right?

Er, not really. While some people think this is a great idea—we’ll call them “People who have never had kids before”—the people who have babies aren’t feeling the idea. And, understandably so. For starters, moving parents and babies to the back of planes splits up families and separates them during flights. In those cases, Mom or Dad can look after the baby, but they can’t look after their 5-year-old who is stuck sitting up towards the middle of the plane. This will inevitably lead to more mothers and fathers having to get up and move around during flights, which is something that will be inconvenient both to parents and to other passengers. It’ll also lead to more young children having to sit near strangers, which will be more inconvenient and uncomfortable for every involved.

There’s another issue at play here, too. It also seems like airlines are trying to tell parents not to bring small children on flights with them by splitting up families and forcing them to sit on long flights in different parts of the plane. Many passengers with children have had to argue with hostile airlines workers about getting their children seated next to them. Many airlines have also banned several different types of strollers. It’s almost making parents feel unwelcome if they have a baby or small child with them.

So, what’s the solution here? Well, there’s no easy one. Parents want to sit with their baby as well as the rest of their family. Passengers on flights want peace and quiet. And the airlines just want to try their absolute best to keep everyone satisfied so that they come back again soon. So, to keep everyone happy, airlines are going to have to come up with creative solutions. Like flights that don’t allow children. Or flights that advise all passengers that children are welcome. Or cheaper seat reservation fees so that families can stay seated together. Whatever the case, it’s not fair to put babies and parents in the back of the airplane simply to keep other passengers happy.

We respect airlines for trying. But that idea just isn’t going to fly.

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