What cheeses me off

[RooFlyer]

As cabin crew, I’ve had enough of pushy parents demanding special treatment | Meryl Love

I am fed up of solo flyers - usually women - having to give up their seats just because other passengers have kids in tow, says airline crew member Meryl Love

www.theguardian.com

OK. Which AFFer also is known as Meryl Love? . My type of FA!

 

[drron]

As cabin crew, I’ve had enough of pushy parents demanding special treatment | Meryl Love

I am fed up of solo flyers - usually women - having to give up their seats just because other passengers have kids in tow, says airline crew member Meryl Love

www.theguardian.com

But the article says the mother was laded with baby gear and they wanted to shift a woman who was in an exit row. surely not allowed I would think.

 

[Lynda2475]

But the article says the mother was laded with baby gear and they wanted to shift a woman who was in an exit row. surely not allowed I would think.

Yes but that wouldnt stop some parents with an entitlement complex from trying it on.

Once on A380 from DFW - I had the first Y exit row (the one that is next to door and the first class galley, not the one further back near the loos and which is a full row ahead of the bulkhead where bassinettes are) all to myself. About an hour after take-off this woman with a screaming baby decides to move herself to the exit row window seat (didn't bring the infant seat belt and spreads toys etc all over the middle seat on top of my pillow and handbag) and starts to settle in. I promptly went to the FA and explained that it is not permitted for children to sit in exit row and she was sent packing back to back of Y giving me the stink eye.

One reason i like that row the most in Y is because you are guaranteed to not be seated next to a child, I paid extra for the privilege of leg room and no child neighbours and wouldnt have that eroded by someone flouting the policy.

 

[bussyboy]

Surely the default response should be "let me find some space at the back of the plane for your family..."

 

[TheRealTMA]

But the article says the mother was laded with baby gear and they wanted to shift a woman who was in an exit row. surely not allowed I would think.

Makes no difference to the " the Mary and Josephs"!

 

[Lynda2475]

People too lazy or too cheap to select seats at booking, who then want others to move to accommodate their poor planning also usually only ask people to with better seats to swap. They might have a better sucess rate asking people at the back to swap than in premium seats.

 

[Quickstatus]

The writer assumes wrong for the reasons that (apparently) men get asked less than women to swop to another seat. If indeed women are asked more ( which I don't think it is) it would be because women are generally more approachable and empathetic than men.

But I suspect the article is more about women's "oppression" and less about actual passengers with babies...

 

[Lynda2475]

The writer assumes wrong for the reasons that (apparently) men get asked less than women to swop to another seat. If indeed women are asked more ( which I don't think it is) it would be because women are generally more approachable and empathetic than men.

But I suspect the article is more about women's "oppression" and less about actual passengers with babies...

Thats a huge leap imo.

And ime women do get impacted more to accommodate children especially with unaccompanied minors. On several occasions I found my Y aisle seat changed to a different row upon boarding a SYD-MEL/MEL-SYD flight so that I was seated next to an unaccompanied minor and then witnessed a man in my original seat.

And in J been approached to swap a row 2 seat for a couple where one was seated on row 3 seat, when they could have offered for the man in row 3 to move to row 2 and taken last row themselves.

 

[Quickstatus]

And ime women do get impacted more to accommodate children especially with unaccompanied minors.

That bit I agree with. But that is due to an unwritten airline policy of placing female travellers next to UM

 

[TheRealTMA]

It's amusing with these stories, that to accomodate themselves and children, they always want to move to the better seats, not just seats together.

 

[JohnK]

People who stand on crowded public transport when there is a seat available. Like wall-to-wall crowded, and people still trying to get on, but men - and it usually is men - who ‘refuse to sit’.

We can't assume that everyone is more comfortable sitting.

At times I prefer to stand as I hate getting blocked in when more people board. But I do usually move away from the seats so I'm not blocking someone from getting a seat.

 

[NM]

People too lazy or too cheap to select seats at booking, who then want others to move to accommodate their poor planning also usually only ask people to with better seats to swap. They might have a better sucess rate asking people at the back to swap than in premium seats.

Families not allocated seats together is not always due to poor planning or unwillingness to pay for seat assignments. Sometimes, despite good planning, circumstances do not work out as planned.

My son and his wife and 2yo were booked on a BNE-NTL flight recently. They specifically booked one of the few 717 operated services so they could select a row of 3 adjacent seats (D-E-F) together. Well planned and pre-assigned.

Of course that all turns to mush when their Friday evening flight is cancelled just prior to scheduled departure (checked in and waiting at the gate) due to runway damage at NTL. This meant all flights to NTL were cancelled and all passengers re-booked on "next available" flight. So they specifically requested the next 717 operated service, which they received. But there was no available block of 3 seats together at the time they were moved to that flight.

Eventually, after regularly checking the mobile app they were able to find D-E-F seats and rearrange themselves. But if they did not happen to check at a time when they were available, they would have been split, hopefully with 2yo next to one of the parents!

I don't think they fit your "too lazy or too cheap" label, but may well have asked other passengers if they were willing to move once on board. And yes, I do realise its a very short flight.

 

[VPS]

Asking a simple question from BUPA you have to use WhatsApp and they don't respond for nearly 20 hours and then you're too busy to chat

Do others have the same issues with contacting their health funds

 

[drron]

Yes and on some non LCC airlines you have no choice of seating even if you could pay. just found out another problem with EK sale business fares. Not able to select seats until 48 hours from flight time. So right on 48 hours I went to select our seats. On the SIN-DXB segment on a 777 there were only 2 J seats available. And yes the worse case scenario only E seats. So middle seat of 3 in the middle on a 2-3-2 J cabin. pick row 8 or 10.
So my dipping the toes into the MEA airlines has already had it's first casualty. No more EK for us.

 

[NM]

Yes and on some non LCC airlines you have no choice of seating even if you could pay. just found out another problem with EK sale business fares. Not able to select seats until 48 hours from flight time. So right on 48 hours I went to select our seats. On the SIN-DXB segment on a 777 there were only 2 J seats available. And yes the worse case scenario only E seats. So middle seat of 3 in the middle on a 2-3-2 J cabin. pick row 8 or 10.
So my dipping the toes into the MEA airlines has already had it's first casualty. No more EK for us.

That's disappointing. I wonder if people with inbound connections were able to jump the 48-hour queue for that sector? Keep checking regularly to see if something becomes available. Perhaps some people's plans might have last minute changes, freeing up some more desirable seat options (of course you already know that and have already planned hourly checks).

 

[Lynda2475]

Yes one has to be careful now that some carriers are doing lite J fares - no seat selection and no checked baggage included. Have to triple check the class you book.

 

[CMA222]

Asking a simple question from BUPA you have to use WhatsApp and they don't respond for nearly 20 hours and then you're too busy to chat

Do others have the same issues with contacting their health funds

I have this afternoon written to the Company Secretary of Bupa complaining about the inability to contact Bupa and the failure rate of promised call backs and undertakings to do something that is not subsequently done and requires a complete restart. I compared them to Qantas in the letter but said Bupa call centre is Australian based so at least if it is possible to eventually get through the person tries to assist, sometimes unsuccessfully. I tried WhatsApp ages ago and gave up. Health funds are great at collecting premiums but that is the limit of their efficiency I have found.

 

[dajop]

It's amusing with these stories, that to accomodate themselves and children, they always want to move to the better seats, not just seats together.

It doesn't matter whether it's parents with children or anyone else. It's always this way. The logical solution is always to offer those in inferior seats to swap.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Yes and on some non LCC airlines you have no choice of seating even if you could pay. just found out another problem with EK sale business fares. Not able to select seats until 48 hours from flight time. So right on 48 hours I went to select our seats. On the SIN-DXB segment on a 777 there were only 2 J seats available. And yes the worse case scenario only E seats. So middle seat of 3 in the middle on a 2-3-2 J cabin. pick row 8 or 10.
So my dipping the toes into the MEA airlines has already had it's first casualty. No more EK for us.

Without airline W status on most airlines, youse get wot youse pay for, Bru!

 

[drron]

We doctors are lucky. took all of 2 minutes to put our health fund on hold for the 10 weeks we are away. Just had to send the email confirmation of the flights in and out of Australia.
And that 2 minutes started from when I began to dial.