Thought of the Day 01.12.10

Yesterday on the show, we discussed the problem of screaming children on a plane, where the obvious solutions of either making the other passengers endure or kicking the kids off are both undesirable. But what if this dilemma is really due to a lack of imagination by the airlines? Consider some possibilities:

An airline which only serves people over the age of 18, or 12 for that matter. Does anyone doubt this option would sell, and probably at a premium?

An airline which deliberately caters to families travelling with children, a sort of playplace in the skies. They could sell more seats (since kids are both smaller and weigh less) and provide a big play area in the middle of the plane, making the flight better for everyone.

Or an airline which simply has distinct child and no-child rows similar to the old smoking and non-smoking areas. Having these rows at the front might even alleviate some of the pre-boarding issues airlines deal with.

The widespread affordability of air travel has made the current problem possible. Perhaps a little creative thinking will both solve it and make a profit in the process.
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2 comments:

Scott D. said...

What's really funny is that I just flew back into Phoenix yesterday from a visit to my grandmother's house with a four year old and three month old in tow. My feeling is that the parents have a responsibility to keep the children from being noisy as much as possible. This helps the other passengers' nerves, and it provides a teachable moment for older children how to appropriately behave in close quarters public areas such as busses, planes, and restaurants.

January 12, 2010 at 6:14 PM
Benjamin said...

It's true: parents do have a responsibility to teach their kids to be quite in public. But, teaching and learning is a process and so we all (the public) have a responsibility to help that process take place. Part of that is, like Andrew says, to not expect perfection on the first, second, third or 18th try. Teaching and learning take time and practice. There will be success only after many failures. Furthermore, I think that we also have a responsibility not to expect that every parent will be responsible themselves with their children and to not expect perfection when in public. You know, the general public is not going to be luxurious. We are hoping that it will be quiet on a plane. We even get that about, what 90% of the time? How can we expect that 100% of the time though you know? Little in life is 100%.

January 17, 2010 at 9:27 PM

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