Snowrooster, do you think nine responses is enough for us to understand your point-of-view? Why so defensive?

"I would not be surprised to find out that USAir did issue free upgrade vouchers to the rest of the passengers in First Class."

I would.

GoTravel:

I do not know how long your flight was but I would have moved. I would have followed up with a letter to the airlines and let them address the issue.

Children range in age from new borns through age 17. I have had flights where the cries of a baby and the screams of a teen have been unbearable.

I give "them" the LOOK. They usually shut up and call for their mommies or daddies who also get the LOOK. If a baby is inconsoleable(sp) and the flight is full I'll ask if I can hold the baby...that gets parents moving.

While annoying, I notice that 99% of the passengers SAY NOTHING. If you would begin to speak up then some change would be possible. How many of you shrink into your seats and suffer...then complain on the travel boards? You have to become very vocal so that these people with children will clearly know that the air zone is shared.

Now for adults..age 18 and up...who are loud on the plane be sure you lead by example. Your conversations, arguing with spouses, planning your big ole corporate take downs are JUST as annoying...to me. And yes...I give you the LOOK too but, you don't see me or you act like you don't...

Peace...

Tandoori - I'm sorry, I didn't realize there was a cap on posts. How am I being defensive by sharing my perspective? I felt the need to clarify as your post seemed to indicate that you thought the child on the lap in first class had a paid ticket, which is not the case. If that's not what you meant, I apologize.

TG, it was bad. The since we were right behind the FC passengers (the parents and child stayed behind a little to round up belongings) exiting the plane, we heard comments from the other passengers.

They were along the lines of "you'll be hearing from us". Not ugly or threatening but firm.

I guess I am lucky with my dd. She has been (knock on wood) an angel when we travel. I think in that situation I would have asked to be moved say to the exit row.

Did anyone catch "Airline" on Monday? They had 2 twin toddlers running up and down the aisle. I missed what happened on the plane as I was interrupted, but I saw the twins running through the airport. They were a handful to put it mildly...

The person most at fault in this situation is the flight attendant. Setting aside the issue of other passengers' rights to a peaceful flight, at no time should a toddler or young child be allowed to freely roam airplane aisles. And if the "fasten seat belt" sign is on due to turbulence, it is essential that the child be on the parent's lap with the child belt fastened. A 30 pound toddler unrestrained in an airplane cabin can become the equivalent of a several-hundred pound flying projectile in a severe incident of turbulence, evasive maneuvering, or an emergency situation. Even under normal flight conditions, there are many hazards in the cabin aisles. The child could fall, cut herself on something sharp, trip a taller passenger or crew member who didn't see them, be burned by hot beverages, find and ingest a stray pill or other hazardous substance, be enticed into the restroom by a pedophile or other predator. The list is endless. Airlines do not like lawsuits, therefore they do not like toddlers to get injured on their planes. I am quite certain the flight attendant in question violated airline policy in permitting the child to roam free and unattended, particularly during turbulence. If the FA insisted the child be restrained, the parents would have suffered the biggest inconvenience from the ensuing tantrum and would (hopefully) learn to book a seat for the child in the future, not to mention learning some constructive strategies for dealing with toddlers on long flights. By the way, I wonder if these same parents would let their toddler run around in a busy street if the kid threw a big tantrum over being made to stay on the sidewalk or hold an adult's hand...??? When my kids and I see negligent parents letting their children engage in clearly endangering behavior, we look at each other and say, "Ahh, well it's survival of the fittest!"

I say ditto on those who would give the kid "the look". With a running, screaming child, if the parents are clearly trying to get the kid under control, I would cut them some slack. If the parents are oblivious or feel their child has a right to express themselves by bothering others (and creating a safety hazard) then other adults are perfectly within their rights to give the offending child "the look" and perhaps say a stern "go back to your seat and sit down". Being scolded by a stranger may be just what it takes to jar the kid back to equilibrium.

GT, I'm sure it was bad. But I don't think the airlines would immediately comp everyone w/free upgrades. Now maybe if the passengers all made a major-stink of it then they would. Unfortunately, what's right and what happens aren't always the same thing.

This begs the question of what then about those (like yourself) in coach? Would they offer upgrades to them?

Once again this is turning into an episode of Dr.Phil. All parents and super moms giving themselves a pat on the back.

I wouldn't ask for an upgrade because the bulkhead was a sufficient noise buffer nor did anyone else in coach have problems with the child.

Interestingly, the bulkhead seats across from us had dad, toddler in own seat, and mom. I don't think I heard that child make a noise.

Let me rephrase this.

What I'm trying to find out, if you were one of the First Class passengers (not coach) would you have said something to the airlines?

People pay a lot of money for the luxury of First Class that those of us in steerage don't expect.

From what I could see of the parents, the father in particular, he would just pat his son on the head, say "sshhh" and that was the end of it. I could not see mom from my view.

Omigod. She's out of her mind. Fodors should attach an alarm to her screen name: woop, woop, warning, warning

ooops. sorry, not you, GoTravel.

Go Travel shouts fire in a crowded room because she is desperate for attention. Sad, almost pathetic, actually.

FIRE!!!

There ya go MikeT!

Lesliec1 expressed it a lot better than I did - and I can see how I might have fallen into Gojacks' "pat on the back" classification. The point is that this whole thing is a safety issue and not a financial one.

After reading through thread on bad seat mates, I realize the answer is quite simple.

The airline will give you nothing because if they gave everyone a refund because of the actions of another passenger, whether they are 30 or 3, they'd owe a refund to about 1/3rd of their passengers.