poollounger

Yikes.....I hadn't thought of that !!! However on a recent flight I watched dad fall asleep while his daughter tormented the people in the row behind...Mind you some of the financial advisers from a mortgage company in Essex out to Jerez for a weekend of indulgence were almost as bad...
Talking of bargains, I thought the penny flights were good value until I heard of someone who got a centime flight....

Lynn R

If someone had their unruly child seated next to me on a plane and fell asleep they would soon be in for a rude awakening - literally! On a flight back to the UK from Dubai we once had a very spoilt little boy who was seated in economy with his nanny whilst the parents were undisturbed in business class (Nice, eh?) and he was flinging his toys around the cabin. After being hit twice with one we took possession of the toy and refused to give it back. We also complained to the cabin crew. For goodness sake complain, and loudly, if other people's children are causing you problems - don't just sit there seething and put up with it. It's the classic British disease, being unwilling to complain. Just like in restaurants when we are asked "is everything all right" and we say "oh very nice thank you" even if it's awful and we are vowing never to go back!

susique

Yipeee!

poollounger

If I was in economy while my parents were in business I think I would fling my toys around the cabin just in order to get moved or make them swop with me....whether I was three or thirty three...Honestly I can make allowances for kids, as we were all young once. Sometimes it irks me when I see a family with one large child all jumping the queue . My worst experience with Ryanair was returning a year ago in August when they had run out of loo roll, tissues, paper napkins , you name it. Their exscuse was that the kids on the flight out had cleared them out and they hadn't had time to restock. Many miserable looking people were observed returning from the loos. What really bugged me was the smug way they met requests.. nothing apologetic.People should have demanded free bottles of water to improvise a bidet!!
Incidentally does anyone know if any airline has plans in the future for a Gatwick- Jerez route??
As to returning food in restaurants.. this is a difficult one. I had a marvellously mediocre pub meal last Sunday in the Midlands. It wasn't bad or uncooked, just nondescript, frozen fare, scraps of beef in a giant defrosted Yorkshire pudding, tasteless vegetables etc etc. I half knew what to expect, so didn't complain...they were cooking to a level they knew, and to a price. And many others seemd to be enjoying it. It's when one pays a lot and gets crap.. then I do complain!!!

matt begley

I travel with my kids all the time - it really is a great way to get some space on a plane! we just have to push past the oldies gathered early at the check in gates in the vain hope that they will get on first! In the past I have found the MacLaren buggy particulary effective!

anyone keen to hire a 3 and a 6 year old (the 3 year old is the loon) for long weekends (or longer by negotiation) please feel free to PM.... Other alternative uses include the highly popular deterrent of 'relatives looking for a free holiday' when we are at our place in Spain. LOL

aah the joys of airline travel........BTW you should try being in a car with them for 5 hours to appreciate the complete travel experience!

Lynn R

Oh yes, I can remember being a child - and being warned sternly by my parents of the consequences should I play up and embarrass them in public!

I never complain about babies crying etc on planes, it can't be helped and they are too young to understand why their ears hurt. I don't even mind so much if an excited child wants to talk to me throughout the flight or is getting boisterous after sitting still for a while and their parents at least make an effort to distract them or rein in their behaviour.

What I do object to and will say so forcefully is the parents who are oblivious to the discomfort their little darlings are causing to those around them (constantly kicking the seat in front of them or hanging off the back of it and pulling my hair, hitting my head with objects etc is a favourite).

I am hardly geriatric (just turned 50) and I don't single out children - just last week I was sitting in a so called Quiet carriage on a London train and had had a relatively peaceful journey until 2 guys got on and sat down opposite, proceeded to get out their mobile phones and take or make one call after another for the next 15 minutes. Everyone around me was tutting and frowning but guess which muggins eventually spoke up (politely I hope) and said "Excuse me, do you realise you are sitting in the Quiet carriage". They got up and took their phones into the corridor - point made. I think it is Ryanair that is soon going to allow passengers to use mobiles on planes - I hope to God that doesn't extend to all airlines as it is one of the few environments that is blessedly free from people bellowing into their mobiles. I can hear it now "Hello, I'm on the plane"

big wheels

I have no problem with people with small toddlers, small children in prams etc being boarded first. At least I know then where not to sit
What annoys me is the ones that push their way to the front of the queue with their strapping 6 foot tall teenager.

I don't worry about getting on first, it is being quick off the mark in getting off and through passport control before the crowd that I find important.

BW

Mourinho

As reported on CDL news site , baggage handlers working for Ryanair will strike every monday from 06/11 to january , flights will continue but no hold luggage will be accepted ,at present doesn't seem either side will back down and we all know there will be no compromise from Ryanair.

accommodation-in-spain

Re people travelling with kiddies, we have two we travel with who luckily we can keep entertained for our journeys to Spain. What gets me is the complete intolerance of other people - like a previous person said babies will cry as their ears really can hurt a lot on take off (a tip for this is to wait to feed them until takeoff - the sucking stops their ears popping or pop polystyrene cups over their ears - this helps with the air pressure change) but it is amazing how many dirty looks you get. I really do did feel like passing them over to see if these arrogant people could do any better

Also on my last trip only a week ago my 6 year old boy opened the table to pop his David Attenborough book on it (don't ask!). The lady in front gave a big tut and a filthy look to me - what are the tables for!? Are we now forbidden to open tables for books and food? He was not kicking the seat, jumping up and down or screaming, all he wanted to do was read his big bug book.

On the other hand whilst you are in Spain you never get a filthy look in the supermarket because you have children who like to giggle and look like they are having fun and funnilly enough our neighbour on the plane was a Spanish man who happily chatted away to my son in Spanish whilst my son chatted back in Spanglish

A lot of people seem to think that children should be seen and not heard - maybe we should look to the Spanish for a better roll model of how to view young children.

I understand people getting annoyed when children are not told when to stop something they shouldn't be doing but on the other hand some kiddies are well behaved and you really need to remember they are children and cannot read a long book on a flight to keep them entertained. I get bored as an adult after an hour or so of nothing to do so you can see why kiddies get bored. As for toilet paper, why would the kiddies use more than adults?? I think this may have been a pretty bad excuse from the airline - I think my children used the toilet once in two flights.

matt begley

I get bored as an adult after an hour or so of nothing to do so you can see why kiddies get bored. As for toilet paper, why would the kiddies use more than adults?? I think this may have been a pretty bad excuse from the airline - I think my children used the toilet once in two flights.[/QUOTE]

karma on its way.....

Andy Pipken

Because I use a wheelchair and dribble quite a lot, children tend to keep clear of me, also Iam always get to be first on the plane and first off, maybe you should try this method !!!!!!!

poollounger

This thread seems to have gone in a direction that has become anti-children and that was not the intention at all.
I wasn't blaming the kids for lack of loo roll on the plain.. as anyone who has observed will bear witness, some people use a couple of sheets, others use yards and yards. My qibble was with Ryanair's attitude.

accommodation-in-spain

Sorry Poollounger, I wasn't meant to get at you but I thought that the airline were pretty bad for blaming kids for the lack of toilet paper - they have smaller bums so surely they will use less paper

Next time i don't have the kiddies with me I will try the dribbling method - sounds like it works wonders.

poollounger

No offence taken.......possibility of a new thread.... do larger bottoms use more loo roll, therfore in view of Ryanairs parsimonious policies, should they be charged more ??? JDDR will probably ban us from the forum!!

EsuriJohn

Hi poolounger,

Southwest airlines (the worlds largest low cost airline) in the US does exactly that the oversize American bum is made to pay for TWO seats.

Regards,

John.