![\"user-pic\"](\"/css/images/default.gif\")
\"who's\".
\"who's\".
Poon as a last name is funny.
But referring to the person throughout the article by her last name? HILARIOUS.
@ThickSkinned: That's the journalistic-ally (that's not a word, but you get it) correct way of writing. You give the persons first and last name, and then refer to them by their last name only from there on.
I'm totally OK with that. I consider homicide every time I'm on a plane or bus with a baby crying for 4+ hours.
On New Years Eve I flew out of Honolulu. By my count, there were 14 kids under the age of six, three of them infants, on the plane. The gate area was a zoo as the flight was delayed a couple hours. But when we were in the air, I never heard a peep from any of the kids.
But the lady next to me was crazy, belligerent and drunk. Before we took off, she told me all about how she was visiting her daughter, and how much she hates her. Then she got on her cell phone and called some guy back home and loudly called him a-hole and effer and so on. She was so drunk she kept repeating herself about how she's going to park her fifth wheel on the Ootchie River for $430/month and you can rent a canoe for only $12/day. And about her daughter, and how and why she hates her. And how she enjoyed the four hours in the airport bar much more than the three weeks she spent in Hawaii visiting her daughter. Who she hadn't spoken to in twelve years. And who she surprised by coming to visit for the holidays. And who asked her to leave after three weeks.
It was a full flight, so I couldn't move.
The woman behind me would not stop kicking my seat. I asked her to stop, and she said it was because my seat was reclined. Which it was, but only about halfway. So I put it back upright, and she still kept kicking the chair. Violently. I turned around again, and before I could say anything, she said, \"I'm sorry, these seats are just too small for me.\" And yeah, they were. She probably weighed 250 pounds.
On any given plane, the most annoying person is rarely one of the children.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-257467-100x100.png\")
@WBrink: So sorry, having extra bucks doesn't entitle you to anything. The airplane is just an extension of being in public.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-369596-100x100.png\")
@cordeliapotter: I couldn't agree more. Between the cramped seat space, an environment that's usually too warm, windows that never line up properly to let me see out of them without stooping and straining my neck, the constant drone of the engines, and a lack of proper food and hydration, the last thing I need is to listen to screaming children.
@cordeliapotter: Dude, I couldn't agree more. Could they maybe add a small, soundproofed section to hold the little kids in? I was on a 3 hour flight once that took 8 hours and all the time on the plane, from the long wait on the tarmac, all though the air, right up until 2 minutes before the fasten seat belts light came on when we were landing, this kid screamed. At the 2 minute mark there, his dad took him. Kit shut up immediately.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-487386-100x100.png\")
@Con Seannery: Why use a small, sound-proof section of the plane when the parents can spring for a $50 fire safe at Staples or something?
Also, Poon.
The lady used frequent flier miles, but infants traveling in a passengers lap costs 10% of the standard cost of the seat, which in business class is a lot. It might not seem fair, but she's still getting a bargain compared to if she had to buy a full priced ticket (or use more miles) to buy a seat for the child, which as far as I'm concerned, should be required. --Allowing infants to travel in a parent's lap is dangerous, and it creates more problems for the passengers around them.
@Oranges w/ Cheese: And just think, that's a business class seat. How much do you think a first class seat would cost?
@Con Seannery: Still doesn't cost that much. Trans-Pacific business should be 5K. FIRST would be 12.5K.
@jamar0303: $5k is a heavily discounted business class fare for most transpacific routes. For example, if I want to fly Newark to Tokyo on Continental, an advance purchase business class fare with restrictions is about $6k. A full fare ticket costs around $11k.
But note that a $1.2k infant fare doesn't necessarily mean it would cost $12k for an adult. It's 10% of the base fare (not including taxes) + taxes/fees. So the adult fare would probably have been around $10k + a couple hundred bucks in taxes and immigration fees. The kid pays $1k + the couple hundred bucks in taxes.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-37731-100x100.png\")
I have a hard time feeling sympathy for a person who is flying intercontinental business class for $60.
I think 10% of the airfare for a lap baby is reasonable, it should go to the people sitting adjacent.
Although I do agree with the author that the airline should allow her to cash in more FF miles for the baby's fare.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-537475-100x100.png\")
@Underpants Gnome: But she earned the tickets through cashing in her points. It's not like she got the tickets for free, and she was demanding a free ticket for her child.
@PandaWatch: The way I understood the article, she is demanding a free ticket for her child. She doesn't want to pay the standard surcharge to take a lap child on board. I don't think \"free\" frequent flier mile flights ever include add-ons such as baggage fees, unaccompanied minor fees, pet fees, etc.
I'm saying that the airline should allow her to redeem more miles to purchase the lap-child fee. But barring that, I don't think it's unreasonable to ask her to pay the same fee that anyone else in the cabin would pay for the same service.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-389492-100x100.png\")
@Underpants Gnome: according to the article, cashing in miles for the kid's ticket was apparently not an option:
\"At the very least, United could have offered the Poons an option of cashing in some miles to let baby fly.\"
This may seem like a stupid question, but here goes: If they charge 10% for the lap child, is that saying that her tickets (had she paid without FF credit) would have been $13,000 apiece?
I have never flown business class or internationally, but that seems very expensive.
If it is that expensive, $1280 is not unreasonable, I guess.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-437936-100x100.png\")
@missi1226: I just checked at united.com. The lowest return Business Class fare is about $12,000 and lowest return Economy is about $1,300.
If she had enough points to buy a third $60 ticket then there wouldn't be a problem.
@MrsLopsided: I just checked Orbitz, and found a variety of economy fairs between $1200-5600 depending on the carrier. There was a cluster of options between $1200-1500, then a sudden jump to $5600 if you chose to fly British Air. So, maybe
United has a similar 'fuck you' rate for this particular flight, and I can't find any carriers that cost this much, even for business class.
But then I remembered that Hong Kong uses the Dollar as well for their currency, and $1 HKG, is worth about $.13 USD, so maybe it was a $12,850 HKG, which works out to about $1650? No, that's simply too low. I can't figure this out for the life of me.
@MrsLopsided: Thanks for the info. As a grad student, I could not imagine having that type of money at my disposal, lol. I was irritated that the last time I flew cost me $350 (roundtrip to Denver from Atlanta), now I realize just how poor I am. =P
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-139181-100x100.png\")
@missi1226:
Looks like the account is over the limit now...guess I'll read the story later.
Missi - I don't know about $13K expensive. A round trip to the Philippines for me would have been about $6K if I had chosen to fly business class with my wife. Instead, I paid $1200 and flew cattle.
@missi1226: for business class.... its a little expensive, but not if she's flying far.... and that $1280 includes taxes, so its more like $1000....
Oh! It works now!
United really botched this one. They should've considered that it's likely that since she's cashing in her miles for tickets, she'll leave United's program.
The policy may be silly, I think it's more absurd to allow children in business or first class. It's a premium for a frigging reason. If I'm dropping $10K to fly international business to Shanghai, I'm paying for the premium to get sleep or prepare for my work upon arrival I'm not payin that premium to have some vacationing mom sit with her screaming kid beside me for 13 hours. That's what coach is for.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-472416-100x100.png\")
@jag164: I flew from Thailand to the US in first (company got a free upgrade -- it's not something I could afford on my own) and the entire first class section was filled by a family with numerous small children.
And they were all angels.
The youngest was an infant who cried a couple minutes on take off and landing because of ear pressure. Otherwise there was not a peep.
I think part of it had to do with the in seat video games, TV, and the very sweet flight attendants who kept the children smiling and calm with treats and stories.
I think children probably fly BETTER in first class.
@jag164: Holy crap, 10K for business to Shanghai? Buy your tickets in Shanghai instead- a quick round through local ticket offices shows that you should only be paying that if flying via Europe (Lufthansa, Turkish). Flying TPAC should cost half that, maybe a little more. And you get a nicer airline too (fly ANA or Singapore. You won't be going back).
@jag164: So, us plebeians in coach deserve to be subjected to screaming kids AND knee-in-chest seating? You get some extra legroom and a seat sized to fit someone bigger than an anorexic midget, I think you can afford some earplugs and ignore a screaming kid.
@Con Seannery: That's exactly what coach is for. If I find a screaming baby in business class next time I'm there, I'd flip out and the airline would have to remove a ranting, raving unhappy customer.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-301614-100x100.png\")
@jag164: I think you just described an upcoming article here: \"Man pays $10K to be seated next to screaming baby\" :P
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-159893-100x100.png\")
I got a \"This Account Has Exceeded Its CPU Quota\" message when I tried to post a comment.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-738213-100x100.png\")
Children Haters Club, welcome.
Wondered how long before the child haters came out.
@JGKojak: I would rather put up with a screaming baby than an adult that has truly gagging flatulence...seriously
@JGKojak: Its age racism. They probably wait for the next elevator or give the parent dirty looks whenever they get in one with an infant.
I just flew home and back, switching planes at Denver so I had 4 different flights. Yes, there were babies on board, and yes, sometimes they screamed. Which is why I brought my mp3 player - but I was more worried that maybe the poor kid had an inner ear problem and its eardrum might burst, than about how I was being uncomfortable.
@JGKojak:
Wow, there's some heartfelt anger out there toward the ankle-biters. Can't say I've ever had a bad experience on a plane that was caused by infants or children. Perhaps I've just been lucky.
@theirishscion: You've been lucky. Just wait until you're stuck on a full transatlantic flight next to a guy holding a \"baby\" (there is no way in hell this kid was under 2) who doesn't actually fit in the guy's lap and who starts howling any time you try to turn on a light to read, eat, or anything else.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-98237-100x100.png\")
@theirishscion: You've been lucky. Last time I flew intercontinental... straight shot from Dubai, no less... there were at last five babies and a couple toddlers in the cabin, and for most of the trip at least one of them was going off at any given time. Thank god for noise-canceling headphones. I wish there was such a thing as baby-noise-canceling full-head helmets... for the babies.
@speedwell: the last time I flew to Europe, I had more problems with people who kept getting up, moving past me with their gigantic coats. No babies, just people who couldn't sit down and stop bothering people as they walked by.
@JGKojak: Wow, you're totally right. Because some people don't deal well with babies screaming for hours straight -- not to mention their incompetent parents -- on airplane flights, it means they hate children. Awesome! Thanks for your comment!
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-11023-100x100.png\")
@RogueSophist: I don't fly a lot, but I hardly think this should be portrayed as the way all children behave on planes. I did a cross-country trip this last summer and there were infants and toddlers in the coach cabin going both directions, and none of them \"screamed for hours straight\". An occasional child might be a problem... but an occasional adult is disruptive, too.
@Repique: Yeah, I have had one bad experience with a screaming baby over the course of 20 flights. My biggest problem is the person in front of you who insists on leaning ALL THE WAY BACK. Now, my knees are pushing into the seat when the seat back is upright. Because this person wants to lean back, I have to lean back to get a little more room, causing the person behind me to think the same about me. I pity the row against the wall and envy the exit row and the row facing the wall.
@Repique: Completely agreed. My perhaps over-the-top sarcasm was directed at JGKojak's inappropriate generalization that the commenters here who have had problems with babies on planes hate children. Which I sincerely doubt is the case.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-210047-100x100.png\")
Oh hell yes. I love this policy. The collective suffereing of the flight while your child screams is worth at least a grand. It's called \"aligning economic incentives to promote desirable behavior.\"
What is the surprising aspect, or anti-consumer story here? The airline has set its price for an infant lap-child fare, and you accept or decline to pay it. Her ticket didn't cost $60. It cost $60 plus 100,000+ miles. Let that show in the story, why don't you?
Eliot's column is worthless -- it's all about people who think they shouldn't have to pay so much for this or that.
A real consumer-unfriendly story is when some business uses deceptive practices, lies, or treats someone against their own rules in an unreasonable way. This is not such a story.
I guess it would be less attention-grabbing to put the correct headline: \"Mother upset at having to pay for her child to travel business class\" or \"Mom's ticket cost the equivalent of $12,800, she doesn't want to pay $1280 for her child\"
But that probably will not generate as much ill-informed sympathy.
@kepler11: Mom's ticket did not cost the equivalent of 1280. that's their walk up, day of flight rate. Mom is booking well in advance.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-68654-100x100.png\")
@kepler11: agree with your post; not with your bold.
i wish the ticketing agent had been a little more creative in this circumstance. like, \"ok, ma'am. i can understand that you think $1280 is too much for your child, so let's use the miles for her seat. your total now comes to $12,920. how will you be paying today?\"
sometimes, when you put things in perspective, people stop being morons.
@mac-phisto: Ah, so using miles to pay off her seat makes it cost way more. That makes sense! (she tried to pay with miles, they'd have none of it)
@kepler11: Ow, my eyes. And seriously, 12.8k for business... on United? If I'm going to be paying that much it'll be on airline that's actually worth flying on. And it'll cost less. Seriously, that woman should have been claiming her miles through ANA or Singapore instead.
@jamar0303: Say Jamar, can you please recommend me a good Asian airline? Because I can't find the three posts you've made so far on this same page plugging ANA and Singapore. Do you get paid $1 every time you mention them or something?
We get it. You hate US airlines. You like those ones better. Stuff a sock in it already. I'm sure you're also a member of the \"American cars are horrible and Toyota is run by Jesus himself\" club too.
The fact that you made this post means that you know nothing about the topic. Unless you like (a) less room, (b) less comfortable seats, (c) less attentive service, and (d) less appealing food, ANA or Singapore beat the pants of any US-based carrier.
I feel bad for the people sitting near her who will have paid $12,000 and will have to sit next to a crying baby for a 10 hour flight.
@alyssariffic: When I was a kid, I used to fly a lot, and I was a perfectly behaved flyer... except for the completely debilitating air sickness I got within 10 minutes of taking off. I would barf every 10 minutes until I was dry heaving, then spend the rest of the flight nauseated and unable to keep anything down, even water. A couple times (flying from East Coast to Korea), this resulted in severe dehydration that required an intravenous banana bag once I landed. Well, my family I was visiting, amongst whom there are no less than 3 pediatricians, decided it was the best course of action.
In retrospect, I kind of feel bad for those people who had to listen to me barf and moan for 20 hours.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-81727-100x100.png\")
@alyssariffic: On a recent 11 hour flight, there were two babies in the flight. Sure they cried here and there and goo-goo-gah-gah the whole flight, but it wasn't that bad. Besides, it was kind of sweet and nice to see them run around the aisles smiling at everyone.
@alyssariffic: I love how you assume that every child is an incessantly screaming terror to be around.
Lighten up, you were probably a right brat yourself, and people tolerated you just fine.
@acklenheights: I work for an airline that automatically credits our front cabin pax with a chunk of points if there is a minor up front, due to the number of complaints we've already gotten about the cry machines. We'll soon be offering open bar service, which we'll be using to justify our 21+ only rule for First Class - and our premium pax couldn't be happier.
@acklenheights: My parents didn't take me on planes. They also reprimanded me when I was a brat. Most other parents fail on both counts.
@cordeliapotter: The moral of the story: put young children in the overhead bins, and smack your kids.
Misleading title. She paid $60 plus who knows how much FFM's to for her ticket. Seems fair to me.
@blitzcat:
No doubt. The FFM are worth tens of thousands of dollars. This has nothing to do with policy. It has to do with PAYING for what you buy. The airline should just give her something worth $1280 because she has frequent flier miles?
Jeez Ben, you're better than that. Leave the pandering to this \"Elliot.\"
@GreatCaesarsGhost: Not on United they aren't. The devaluing of United FF miles has gone way to far to claim that they're worth \"tens of thousands of dollars.\"
If it's reasonable to charge 10% for a baby-in-lap ticket, isn't it also reasonable that the fee be assessed in the same currency as the original ticket? In other words, the woman should have the opportunity to pay an additional 10,000 miles for the ticket, instead of $1280. Was she offered that choice?
Aside: I too have flown international to China, and I understand the \"child-haters\" who don't want the child in business in the first place; a child in a bad mood can ruin a flight, and that's a LONG flight! However, the woman did earn her miles legitimately, and if she wants to cash in for a business ticket, that's her right.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-342721-100x100.png\")
Lap infants are NOT free on international flights-- that's the law. They are required to hold tickets. Ten percent of the full-fare plus taxes is pretty much industry standard. An average RT business class ticket to HKG is about 10K and average taxes are a couple hundred bucks, which makes it perfectly logical that the infant rate would be $1,200. The airline doesn't have to allow lap infants-- they offer that as a courtesy to their customers. Instead of complaining about having to pay $1,200 to transport the child, the OP should be happy that they're spending about $1,400 for about $36,000 worth of travel. And the OP could have bought tickets in coach and would have been paying around $300 for the lap infant. Or she could have used FF miles for all three of them. I don't really understand how the OP claims to be a frequent flier but doesn't understand that lap infants aren't free-- anyone who has traveled with an infant will confirm that they are NOT free.
Can I just say there were two babies and several small children on my flight yesterday and none of them screamed for 4 hours straight? I've only been on a flight where a child cried for more than a few minutes once, and his mother's solution to spank him wildly and at random, so I didn't really blame him.
The only other times I've seen babies cry in flight, it was usually for a short time and during times when it was likely that their ears were popping. I fly pretty regularly. How do I keep missing all these shrieking babies?
@Katxyz:
I agree, there is a lot of baby hatin' here. In the many times I've gone down to Orlando (the hot spot for bringing the childrens) I've never had a screaming kid on the plane. Not every kid in the world is a screaming, uncontrollable brat. I do agree that it is annoying to be around someone who cannot control their child, but only a small percentage of children are actually obnoxious little snots.
The other aspect of it, yes, even if you're held up in a plane with a bad child, suck it up. Sure it's hell, but it'll be over, then you can resume your normal childless life.
(f.d. I don't have children, and barely like them... but I do have an adorable niece. ;) )
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-51496-100x100.png\")
@Katxyz: Consider yourself very lucky.
I have been completely surrounded by screaming babies. I have had apple juice spilled on me. Several times I have been treated to the aroma of human feces because someone was changing the kid in their seat rather than the bathroom.
Most recently, I sat down in disgusting, wet mashed up orange fish crackers.
Babies should all be placed together in the back of the plane and should be charged for a seat like the rest of us.
@Katxyz: People notice the one screaming baby, not the other twenty kids who, like my son every time we've flown, spend the whole flight quietly coloring.
@Katxyz: Who knows? I wish you had been on my flight from Dubai this fall. At least five children and at any given time, one of them was crying, whining, or screaming.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-254112-100x100.png\")
she should put the kid in a dog carrier. carry-on pets are only $175.
If this was a red eye fight the price of a baby's ticket is too low at $1280. For those of us who fly cross country at least once a month I think we'd like a child free airline or at least a 21+ daily cross country flight. Just like they do at movies.
@MiriamSanny: In addition to our first class soon going to 21+, the entire cabin of our aircraft will be 21+ for transcons on Wednesdays, due to the abundantly flowing alcohol we give away for SuperFly Wednesdays...
See you onboard!
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-462867-100x100.png\")
Why does everyone assume that the baby will cry the entire flight? I hate that attitude. When my son was a baby, I recall getting all kinds of dirty looks walking toward my seat. At the end of the flight, those same people would coo at him and say, \"your baby is so well behaved\". I wanted to kick them in the shins.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-386753-100x100.png\")
@Magspie: I'm right there with you!
We flew from Detroit to London in May, when my son was 13 months old, to visit my husband's family. I got a LOT of nasty looks when we were boarding, both on the way there and the way back. Our little guy was perfectly well-behaved the entire flight to London, and cried for MAYBE two minutes on the flight home. (And of course we did our best to soothe him and quiet him down as fast as we could.)
I don't understand this whole \"no babies should ever be on planes\" attitude. Going to England via boat isn't really an option for most people, and I don't want my son to wait till he's 10 (or whatever age is deemed \"acceptable\") to meet half his family. It's not like I just decided to get my kicks that day by taking a transcontinental flight with a baby.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-74542-100x100.png\")
@PandaWatch: Them's the breaks. Bring a kid on a plane and ANYONE who didn't bring a kid on a plane is going to quietly resent you. Did you never fly pre-child? I'm sure you did and remember this feeling.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-413348-100x100.png\")
The two adult tickets didn't cost $60 bucks a piece. The miles do have a value. In this case they are worth about $26000 dollars. If you think that 3 business class tickets to their destination would have cost $39000 dollars to get those same 3 tickets for under $1400 total doesn't seem at all reasonable. If they have that many miles, they have obviously flown a lot or spent a crap load of money on credit cards. The extra money shouldn't be that big of a deal for what they get in return. If they can't afford to fly with the added fare, how were they going to afford food, transportation etc. once they got to their destination.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-435401-100x100.png\")
eat the baby, problem solved! well I suppose this might be an utterly useless suggestion but not entirely out of the realm of possibility... for cannibals.
@RedwoodFlyer:
wow, haven't heard that book mentioned in a while... did a bit of an article related to that in high school too for bonus points
I don't think $1,280 is NEARLY enough, but maybe an alternative. Every person who has to hear (or smell) the baby during the flight is to be paid $500 in cash by the parent.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-102449-100x100.png\")
Not a child hater, here, infants gotta get places too, you know... But I kinda take UAL's side on this one... she's essentially asking to be treated better than all other customers and complaining that she's not. On top of that, very few of the comments have even mentioned that the Customer Service exec handed over a 300 dollar voucher! Most of us have to spend the night outside of a Sbarro for that to happen. So in effect, the ticket's not 1280, it's 980. Sounds like she was surprised that the policy applied to business class prices and didn't like it. And since it looks absurd when you line it up against the 60$, it plays well in the papers.
Dirty pool, Popken.
How about noting that the actual flight should have cost $12,000 for this lady? How about noting that $60 was for the taxes on a frequent flier redemption flight?
Come on. I love the site, but sometimes you guys are just as misleading and underhanded in what you present as the companies you are here to disparage.
Posted later in the comments there:
\"
Just wanted to clarify
Infant fare policy has been inconsistent:
First time I called (to hold a reservation) was told my son's ticket was $30-$40
2nd time - Price went up to $150 (confirmed reservation)
3rd time - Price $1285
I had them repeat their policy: an infant will be charged 10% of the lowest adult fare. The lowest adult fare is a little under $1000. 10% of that is $100. They refuse to let me use my miles to buy my son's lapchild ticket.
Does it really matter if he's sitting with me in economy/business/first? He's not occupying a seat. My son also currently weighs 10lbs, how much fuel is spent on him vs a full grown adult sitting in economy. It's not justifiable. If they left me buy an economy ticket, then at least we'll get to bring extra luggage. Seriously, $1300 for him to sit in my lap?!?
Should I have spent my miles as I've earned them instead of treating myself to a little bit of luxury? Each ticket cost 90k miles. That's a pretty significant amount of travel. I've also used another 250k miles for previous trips.
I am not going to just show up at the airport with my son w/o a ticket. That's a logistical nightmare. We are going to travel, rather use up my miles than to have them expire.\"
Wish Consumerist had included this; it really makes the OP's case better.
@HeartBurnKid, creepy morbid freak: YES! I thought everyone else's figures were a little odd. Seriously, 12K for United business? No way, not when better airlines are charging less.
On one hand, the this is a bit of a logistical mess and a very poorly written set of rules, but on the other hand, no matter what any parents say, traveling with babies near by is beyond annoying, and thats in coach. I can't imagine what kind of looks she's gonna get in business class. My sympathies are for the OP, but my gut says she just shouldn't be bringing her baby in business class for the sake of everyone else on board. I don't care how well behaved your kid is, if their under 6, there's a high probability that they'll annoy someone on the flight. I speak from personal experience remembering back when I was 6 and \"well behaved\". Here's another hint... wake your kid up before the the plane starts to descend. You'll save your kid a lot of crying later.
Oh good grief. She tried to have free cake and eat it too and then suddenly cries over the price of the fork.
Next time check the price of the fork before you accept the free cake.
\"As it stands now, Poon won't travel with her son. It's too expensive.\"
Really? Am I supposed to feel sorry that someone who has enough money that they can acquire nearly $30,000 worth of mile credits through business class flights because they have to pay a fraction of that to take their kid?
Sorry, just can't do it. I had to take out a loan to fly to Morocco for summer study in coach, for $1300. THAT'S \"too expensive.\" This lady is just a whiner. Some people think they are entitled to anything.
@aguacarbonica: That's not what she paid for tickets, even in miles.
Maybe she has to, yknow, fly for business and is using those for a vacation.
@MrsLopsided: Well by your figures she'd need a spare 2400 - or is Hong Kong suddenly free when she buys her kid a ticket?
What about the poor bastard sitting next to them that actually paid full business class rates for an intercontinental flight?
I do believe that if I paid $5000.00 for a plane ticket and had to sit next to a baby that I would be getting very intoxicated on that flight.
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Like many others, I agree this complaint has no leg to stand on. You're talking about a business class ticket here.
Her ticket wasn't just $60. It was $60 + HER FREQUENT FLIER MILES, and if my math serves me correct, her ticket would've cost $13k before her miles.
Letting the baby fly for only a mere $1.3k sounds like a bargain. Maybe next time she should accrue more miles which would COVER the baby too before deciding to go on a trip. Or just switch back to the economy seats if you want to save some money.
@krunk4ever: No, it wouldn't have. Read the dang comments - it didn't cost her near that much, and according to United, it shouldn't either.
12 grand is their WALK UP. They're supposed to do 12 grand of the lowest business, which is 1 grand.
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Oh wow, people hate it when children are on airplanes. NO ONE HAS EVER SAID THAT HERE BEFORE.
Could we please have some additions to the comment code to outlaw rehashing the same argument every. single. time. this comes up?
I really think that there should be some type of a discount for people sitting within the same area as a baby. Kind of like a \"discount for dealing with someone elses abortion gone wrong\".
Yes, I hate children...and parents who just HAVE to bring those little snot producers everywhere they go...
She obviously has the cash to hire a nanny at home...leave the kid!
Wow, people really don't like babies. I couldn't afford a 10,000 plane ticket to anywhere. Perhaps one should take the train instead!!
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\"United Airlines\"
There's your problem.
Not all kids cry. I was on a flight from Dubai 2 years back and was seated right next to an infant. In my head I was saying ah crap, hopefully the flight isn't booked.No such luck, The good news though: I was shocked how quite the kid was. The only time he cried was when the mom asked me to hold him so she could use the facilities, and that was probably stranger anxiety.
I can't believe that a frequent flyer like this would be clueless enough to WANT to put a baby in Business Class! Some of those other passengers in Business Class paid $10K or more to do that. Don't ruin their experience with your crying baby.
I'm a kid-hater and darn proud of it!
I'm sick to death of stupid, ugly, twits and their knuckle-dragging, nose-drooling crotch-droppings running wild and screaming like a pack of howler monkeys and ruining everything for decent people who only wish to shop, read, eat, and fly in peace. It's disgusting how much these stroller-nazis are pandered to and allowed to get away with the most rude, nasty, and selfish behavior, contributing nothing to the world, all because they
just HAD to squat out their grubby little progeny and gain some pathetic form of validation from society.
I don't put up with it anymore, and neither should anyone else, especially when trapped in a tiny metal tube flying through the air with no escape from the human larva crammed in next to them.
@Vastarien202: I'm sick to death of stupid, ugly, twits and their knuckle-dragging, nose-drooling crotch-droppings running wild and screaming like a pack of howler monkeys and ruining everything for decent people who only wish to shop, read, eat, and fly in peace.
That sounds to me like this family that was flying the last time I went cross country. Course, the oldest of them was older than me, and I was in my early 20s.
Or don't you want to acknowledge that everyone can be a moron.
Don't forget, you too were once a crotch dropping.
Jesus Hangliding Christ, it's like some people think kids have the monopoly on being misbehaved, or for that matter, forgot they too were once the children now being complained about. Or is it that everyone who hates kids was a perfect kid?
Also, for the love of cheese, she didn't shell out 12 grand a ticket, or even the equivalent in FF miles - that's the flipping walk up rate, and she got charged something far less, which is what her kid should be getting.
Don't like it, take it up with the airline that lets kids in business - they're the ones letting these people on.
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having the option to book child free flights, as well as sleeper flights (with fully flat bed like sleepers like they have on some trains) SHOULD be an option the airlines offer. The airlines suck my nasty balls, as well as TSA. They can all go to hell in my opinion. I've stopped flying.
Oh, and the door between the cockpit and the cabin - SHOULD BE F***ING NOT THERE. Make it impossible to get into the cockpit and planes couldn't be used as weapons.
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I think this is the first positive story I've seen about United on here. It's great that they're deterring people from bringing babies onto the plane.
Ya, first flight on United over holidays (1/1 - 1/5) SFO to ROC via ORD, baggage didn't make transfer at ORD in both directions, only like 2 people working baggage claim, and I had to pay $15 for the privledge of them loosing my bags? joy.
I used to love flying, now it just feels like rape.
I will admit, my first leg from SFO to ORD was on a \"new\" 767 with actual inflight \"snacks\" you could purchase for $6, and I must say it was pretty good. (Hummis and tuna), but from ORD to SFO, nothing. What did they run out? I even brought a bunch of $5's and $1's in anticipation. First class was getting water/oj when I was running to my flight (late from ROC), when I was panting I asked if I could have some of that water, the steward said \"no\" despite my sweating in 14degree cold. 1st class should be the first thing to go. more seats per flight, everyone treated equally. none of this preferred seating bologna.
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I get an \"error establishing database connection\" when I go to the link.
@PandaWatch: I get \"CPU quota exceeded\".
Man, BlueHost must suck. And to think I was about to look into them as a hosting company :|