Child Free Flights?
October 1, 2010 by Cheryl Homer Wilson
I read an interesting article in the Travel section of the August 29, 2010 issue of The Washington Post titled “No Babies on Board”. A travel site asked 2000 people “would you want to sit next to a crying baby on an airplane?” This question was posed after a Florida woman sued Quantas Airlines claiming that a screaming baby on board a flight from Australia caused her ears to bleed. I had no idea you could sue a major corporation for such a thing! I have always chalked up traveling with near screaming, sick or ill-mannered children as coing with the territory! Who knew you had a choice?
Don’t get me wrong, I am not anti-children, however, I do tend to attract the criers, sick to the stomach, ill- mannered under four year olds on a regular basis and it is not limited to flights!
In the survey, fifty-nine percent of the respondents said “they would prefer a ‘Families Only section onboard flights. It was no surprise that non-parents liked the idea (68%). Almost 25% surveyed said they would prefer completely child-free flights!
Do I sense a new fee for airline travelers? Will we soon have access to flights with or without children or an Adults Only section? Depending on the length of the flight, I might be tempted to pay the premium!
Cheryl Homer Wilson, Executive Director
LeRoy W. Homer Jr. Foundation
