suze

What about when a passenger dies on a flight? I've read about that happening. That would be pretty much a nightmare.

sf7307

<<<That would be pretty much a nightmare.>>>

For the passenger who died

LittleWing

and for the person who has to remain seated next to the corpse for the remainder of the sold out flight. I'd make the stewardess do it and strap myself into their jumpseat.

nona1

I find being near babies and kids 'having a moment' excruciating so I don't know how I'd cope with a long journey trapped next to one. I hope I'd be sympathetic if ma/pa were doing all they could. If they weren't, I'd let rip at the parents (not the kid). Although I might try my death-mother-glare at the kid too.

Was on an 8 hour coach journey once with my son (age 10ish) with a little boy (age 5 ish) behind us. Blasted kid had a couple of little cars and kept driving them up the backs of our seat, leaning right over the back of our seats, and driving them all over the front of my son's seat over his head. I realised he probably just wanted to play with another kid (son just raised a fgsake eyebrow)so tried to be nice and explain we didn't want to play with him, please keep his cars on his own seat. He kept doing it. Mother didn't do a thing. Amazing. I was quite rude to her.

nanabee

<<Going deaf is pretty bad too IMO.>>

While a screaming baby would be hard on the ears, I doubt it would cause someone to go deaf!! I think most adults on airplanes have raised their own screaming babies, listened to their own teens rant and rave, and we all can remember going to night clubs or concerts (back in the day) when the decibels were blowing out the roof!

Clifton

from the Herald Sun (Australian newspaper):

<i>Qantas referred to emails allegedly written by Ms Barnard to a travel companion prior to the Australian trip in which she admitted wearing hearing aids, and submitted a volatile email Ms Barnard allegedly wrote a day after the incident to the US travel agent who booked the trip.

"I guess we are simply fortunate that my eardrum was exploding and I was swallowing blood. Had it not been for that, I would have dragged that kid out of his mother's arms and stomped him to death. Then we would have an 'international incident'," Ms Barnard allegedly wrote.</i>

karens

Wow.

Unbelievable.

nanabee

Her eardrum was exploding?

I find that very hard to believe her eardrum exploded because of a baby crying. Why weren't all the other passenger's eardrums exploding too?

She would have stomped the baby to death?

This woman is psychotic.

nanabee

I should add, I think Ms. Barnard is a travelers worst nightmare.

tenthumbs

I'm not so sure it's physically possible for an eardrum to explode and cause one to swallow blood....but I will ask one of the ER docs.

Ms. Barnard sounds hostile and mentally unstable. Perhaps the baby's parents should sue Qantas for seating them next to someone who physically threatened their child~it wouldn't be any more frivilous than Ms. Barnard's suit.

sicilyan

it is good idea


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=led5w...eature=related

Clifton

You've posted that weird youtube video twice now sicilyan. Apparently no one paid enough attention to you the first time.

"it is a good idea"

What is a good idea?

karens

It's a good idea to ignore that video. It's not creative, or funny.

(I'd cry, too, if I was a baby and was apparently left alone on a plane).

sicilyan

What is a good idea?

You have to watch and listen to the video til the end and you will have the answer...turn up the sound on your computer.

nanabee

Yes sicilyan someone throws the baby out of the plane. pathetic.

I don't know what your point is, the woman who file a complaint was probably a nut case and the whole story is probably made up or exaggerated.

Let's get real, I'm sure most of us on Fodor's have traveled enough to know screaming babies (while a problem) are no more a major travel nightmare than any other problems when 200 people are jammed together for a long flight.

I had a personal experience a year ago where a GROWN woman was flirting with another male passenger she had just met. She screeched out LOUD and quiet hysterically for the ENTIRE flight. It's not a problem with only babies.

nanabee

opps, just in case you get the wrong idea they sat a row apart from each other and she was laughing (AAAAA HAHAHAHAH!!!) at every stupid thing he said.

Clifton

Wow, is that what it was supposed to be? Someone throwing a baby out of a plane?

That is pathetic. So is anyone who'd share it. 'Humor' right up there with dumping newborns in dumpsters.

--

I don't enjoy sitting by screaming kids anymore than anyone else. I am very frustrated by those that don't take their parenting responsibility seriously and do or try nothing to resolve an issue. I sympathize with someone who is doing their best to handle traveling with a family member who is having a problem - be it a young upset child, an elderly parent with dementia, a handicapped member of the family or ... an obnoxious, bigoted, kid-hating spouse with a lack of volume control.

I agree - I don't think the woman of the stories was deafened by a screaming kid. They weren't even in adjoining seats, there was an aisle separating them. And given that she was at lest partially deaf, there's even less reason to believe that she'd be affected by a *single* scream than those around her. I think she's faking for the money. I think this case, as similar ones in the past, get brought up by people who simply hate kids and think they are entitled to a world that revolves around them and them alone.

laurieco

Being next to a screaming baby may not be my worst travel nightmare but it certainly is my worst airplane nightmare (other than the plane going down of course!) On a flight from NY to Vancouver to Hong Kong, there was a screaming baby in the seat in front of us and the kid never stopped, from NY to HK. The mother tried to shut it up but frankly, her efforts were as obnoxious as the screaming. No amount of ear plugs or ipods could shut it out.

I think that airlines should have a special sound-proofed section for parents with children under 12. That way they can all scream their heads off and the rest of us won't give a damn.

sicilyan

>>>I think that airlines should have a special sound-proofed section for parents with children under 12.<<<

the number is going--up--it is oke, too me!!!!!

Clifton

I kind of like this idea myself. If for some reason I did think our party might accidentally disturb others (which was probably the case well before we adopted our daughter), I think I'd rather be in the normal human being section myself as well.

I'd like to see a small I-hate-other-people section with plexiglass around it that they could sell to the people who are so worked up about it. They could even charge 20% more for the privilege, and that would help out paying for it by the people who want it.