Crying kid for 10 hours - Upper Deck LH (UA Ticket) Business

All,

I'm writing this to get advice, not to whine....

First of all, I have kids and like kids a lot. That said, I just spent 10+ hours on BLR-FRA on LH's 747-8I (amazing plane btw) on Upper Deck Business Class - Full Fare.

While the services were great, and the suites are extra-comfy, someone decided to take their 3 and 4 year old kids with him to business class, and one of them did not stop crying and shouting for 7-8 hours (+- few hours when i think they feel asleep from exhaustion).

While I don't blame anyone (as I said, I have kids) I feel I paid a lot of money to be able to sleep and rest/work, and I choose upper deck for hope it will be even quieter.

Should I just chalk it up to "this stuff happens" or do you think I should complain and ask for something in return? I did ask to be moved downstairs but 2 people did it before me and they had no more room.

This was a United ticket, on LH codeshare - If you do think i should complain - who do I go to? If not, I'll know for next time..

Thanks

ClarkyBoy

 

I would never take my kid in business .. :-(

 

Pack earplugs and a set of over the ear headphones. I also have an app that creates white noise if I need to drown background noises out.

I think we are going to get into a whole "kids in business or first" debate, so let me make one observation. Before complaining, how would your opinion change if you were told the child was potentially terminally ill and they were flying for treatment.

Would that change your attitude?

 

Unfortunately, I'd put this in the "stuff happens" column. It sounds like the crew would have been happy to move you if they only had a place to move you to. The noisy kid was already in the place where they would disturb the fewest people (unfortunately you were one of them). I'm not sure what more the crew could have done beyond perhaps asking the noisy family to keep it down.

And unfortunately, even earplugs and noise-cancelling headsets isn't a match against crying children. Sorry to hear you had a lousy flight.

 

You could always become Deaf.

It usually solves most if not all problems associated with hearing unwanted noises like a wailing banshee.

(Joking but at some point everyone becomes late-deafened with all the blaring music y'all listen to these days).

 

I always take my kids in business.

 

Lufthansa if you're going to complain at all, but I wouldn't.

 

Me either plus Lufthansa rarely responds to legitimate complaints.

ClarkyBoy, I understand how it sucks but chalk it up to FirstWorldProblems. You're certainly entitled to express your displeasure but I'm fairly sure Lufty will brush it off.

 

Crying kids happen. It sucks for everyone, especially for the parents of the inconsolable child. LH (and especially UA) deserves zero liability/blame for what happened and even writing to them and insinuating as such is a waste of your time and theirs.

They'll most likely, and rightfully, simply ignore your letter.

 

That is a very long time for a parent not to do something about a child crying, but I guess at some point some people just give up?

Doesn't make it any less ridiculous, but unfortunately I also would chalk it up to the "it happens" column.

I would still say something though... to the FA at least, to go ask the parent if there's anything they can do to help. Not to say they didn't, but it never hurts to let someone know when something is bothering you.

As for the cabin debacle, my son is 2 and I would only consider taking him in Business if the First cabin class was full.

 

Having kids myself I know how hard it can be to console an inconsolable child...having said that what I would have done is approached the parents myself and asked if there was anything I could do to help...heck I've even engaged with kids who were inconsolable near me by making smiley faces or pretending to be a clown or play peek a boo with them. Works all the time and you can see the huge relief on the side of the parents...especially those who try everything in their power to console their kids...

For the record I have taken my kids in First/Business many times and they actually tend to behave better there than they do in Coach...go figure.

 

What if one of the other passengers in the cabin was terminally ill and flying for treatment?

 

Perhaps because it's less of a zoo atmosphere? I have mostly encountered well-behaved kids in C/F. In general, if kids of 3-4 years are not well-behaved, I tend to think the blame goes to the parents, and they should be banned from C/F on future flights

 

My kid better be good on our flight...

 

Listening to a crying kid for that long sucks. If the kids were 3-4 year old I really do have to wonder why they would be upset for that long...seems very strange. Something is off there whether the kid has a special issue, was sick, or the parents are lacking in some parenting. None of which really changes the fact that it is terrible to listen to for that long when you are trying to rest and work. Personally I wouldn't complain as there is nothing else the airline really could have done. I would just hope that was was your turn to sit next to the upset kid and hope your turn doesn't come up again for a long time.

 

If that is the case, then you also need to include DYKWIMs, drunks, and people who pay movies on their laptops without headphones into the ban. They are just as annoying IMHO.

If the kids are running around in the aisles with the parent's ignoring them it is one thing, but if they are truly upset and unable to be calmed, then there might have been other factors at play. Who knows.

 

Stuff happens. I don't think it's worth complaining about. It does suck, though.

 

Agree on the last two, but not sure how a DYKWIM would affect me (for an extended period of time). But this thread isn't about them anyway.

 

I would only complain to the airline if you felt that the airline failed to provide some service or accommodation that you reasonably expected to receive. Nothing in your original post suggests that there's anything you expected them to do that they didn't do.

That said, it would be nice if the airlines provided some training to their flight crews on distracting or engaging children in the cases like this, when their discomfort extends during a significant portion of the trip and the parents are unwilling or unable to do it themselves. Of course, there are always exceptions (if the child is in continuous physical pain, for instance) but in most cases it's usually pretty straightforward to get a child to focus on something else. I'm not suggesting that the airline has a responsibility to the parents of the child to provide this service, but rather to the other impacted passengers.

 

Couldnt the parent just put some vodka in the kid's food. That should make the ktfo real fast.... jk.

But I believe that if kids don't behave, or don't know how to act in public in general, #1 It's the parent's fault. They should know better and teach them what to do & what not. Now ... if the crying is during take off/landing that's explainable because of the air pressure change in their ears causes discomfort. #2 Kids should'nt just be banned from C/F ... they should be banned or placed in a seperate area because all the ppl in Coach have to deal with a screaming child too. Just because people pay more for C/F, does that make them more special & elite so they don't have to deal w/the noise? (I guess so huh ... ? but this is coming from someone who has never flew C/F so take it at that)

 

Actually there are a few other factors to consider... really young kids can be colic, and they can bawl for hours at a time with no particular reason. Granted, this generally doesn't affect older kids, but it's still possible that you'll hear an inconsolable baby and this is why.

The other thing is that at times they might have problems with their ears, long after take-off. I've personally noticed that if I'm recovering from a cold often the pressure change leads to pain, and not just discomfort. I would imagine that if a child was in the same situation -- or worse, they had an ear infection or something similar -- that it's possible they'd be in serious pain for quite a while.

With that said, I've never been a situation where a child (mine or otherwise) was in a plan crying for that long a period of time. I seem to recall reading a story on BoardingArea recently though, and I guess that anything is possible. As a parent, even if I could somehow "tune it out" I know I would be mortified if my son cried for all 10 hours of a flight... that's just ridiculous.

 

Agreed. That said, the OP mentioned crying and shouting. Not quite sure how to interpret shouting. Misbehaving without interference from parent?

 

An idea would be to take the inconsolable child into the only enclosed space in the plane that the passengers have access to until the calm down. Yes. I really mean that they could be taken into the lavatory until they calm down enough to be back into the cabin.

At least their screaming will be muffled a bit

 

And if they're still loud just start flushing

 

Perhaps airlines should install not just crew rest areas in the cargo hold, but also "timeout" rooms for inconsolable children. Could perhaps double as a holding cell for drunks or other misbehaving adults, to cut down on diversions