Any of us who have traveled via air, either with kids in tow or
without, or who even have read any sort of news lately are keenly aware
that it's entirely possible that kids and airplanes don't mix. Toddlers
getting thrown off planes? Check. Breastfeeding bru-ha-has? We've got
those too. Disgruntled business travelers, or, really, anyone who
doesn't like to sit strapped to a seat for 4 hours that's being
constantly pummeled from behind by small feet? Yes, we've got those too.
As
someone who has sat for hours in a plane on the tarmac awaiting liftoff
with small kids in tow, desperately trying to entertain them and mete
out the snacks, or who has shared The Very Last Seat on a flight home
from Paris on a plane filled with Chilean card players with a squirmy
toddler, or who has snagged the Two Last Seats and lied about my
three-year-old's age to get home from Finland on a 10-hour flight
filled with Polish people who swarmed the aisles and ignored the
seatbelt signs, I know all about travel with children. And I tend to be
more forgiving, I guess, of the inevitable wailing on descent and other
behaviors exhibited by kids on planes. Hey, so they feel all
claustrophobic and bored? Me too. Except I can deal with it better
(barely).
So Southwest Airlines is apparently experimenting with a variety of boarding procedures involving families.
Hey, that pre-boarding invitation is almost worth taking the kids
along, just to have time to snag pillows and find room in the overhead
bins and snicker privately at everyone else who comes lumbering onto
the plane after you (TELL me you haven't been glad of getting on the
plane first!). But one of the scenarios they are playing with is having
certain rows on the planes set aside for families.
Read More...
