Tag: Travel with Children

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British Airways Has Just the Ticket (and New Lounges) for Flying Kiddos

January 8, 2013 at 12:19 PM | by | Comments (0)

We can't ignore the fact that we see more and more children becoming frequent flyers nowadays. 2013 is the year for British Airways to cater to their smallest flyers with the addition of expanded kid-friendly products and services.

As much as we would rather not travel with children, it's inevitable and it makes sense for an major airline like BA to take the energy to ensure the youngest frequent flyers are taken care of and comfy both in the air and on the ground. Realistically, these young flyers will grow up and become full-fledged customers with their own spending power.

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Another Airline Announces Another Baby Ban

September 26, 2012 at 4:45 PM | by | Comment (1)

"Should children be relegated to the back of the plane?" asks SFGate's The Mommy Files, to which we respond, "what, are we suddenly not allowed to strap the things to wings?" (we kid; obviously we don't advocate tying your baby below the far jet engine so that no one can hear its screaming temper tantrum, which probably wouldn't even be happening if you had raised it properly; how will the flight attendant bring the precious little crotch-snowflake its precious little orange juice if it isn't even inside the cabin?)

The issue is relevant again because AirAsia just announced that it's banning children from the first seven rows of long-haul flights, creating a Quiet Zone that travelers will be able to opt into by paying AirAsia's standard seat selection fee.

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Congress Continues Its Unending Quest to Ruin Air Travel

July 25, 2012 at 2:55 PM | by | Comment (1)

It is an iron-clad rule in the airline industry that whatever Congress touches, it breaks. The best example is the tarmac delay law, which went from being predictably disastrous to being actually disastrous, and which Congress - at the behest of the shrill busybodies from Flyers Rights - tried to expand and make into permanent law. But let's not forget the U.S. government's plan to fine foreign tourists in order to increase tourism, which was actually a plan to fine foreign tourists so Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada could use their money to promote "Vegas-style tourism."

And let's also not forget Congress's repeated forays into a wide array of airline policies that they don't quite understand but that they're more than happy to bluster about: baggage fee structures, safety regulations, opaque fees, etc.

And so we come to today's Congressional brainstorm. It's being done—of course—For The Children.

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Misbehaving Child on a Flight? Alaska Airlines Ain't Having That

June 4, 2012 at 5:53 PM | by | Comments (0)

As we have repeatedly confirmed and often mention, and with the exception of the "overweight passengers in seats" screaming match, there is absolutely nothing that gets travelers riled up like the "kids on airplanes" debate.

Of the many reasons we have an entire travel with children category, there's the plain fact that everyone has an opinion—and almost always a strong one—about the controversy. Either you have to do it and you don't understand why people won't make allowances for you and your children, or you loathe traveler parents and can't stand the little crotch flowers they drag along with them. There are enough people in the latter group that Malaysia Airlines has evaluated the market and started banning children from huge sections of their airplanes.

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Man Opens Airplane Emergency Door to Get Rid of Crying Child

March 7, 2012 at 1:54 PM | by | Comments (0)

Everyone's been next to the screaming child on the airplane. Your blood pressure instantly shoots up, and it doesn't take very long before you sincerely start to believe that travel with children on flights should be banned by law. The parents are almost always mortified, which somehow makes the entire spectacle even more annoying because in a very precise way it's all their fault, so what are they doing getting annoyed?

There was an incident a few years ago when Allegiant Air removed an entire family from a flight (parents and kids) because the parents couldn't or wouldn't get their adorable little angels under control. There's a reason why some people are calling for banishing kids to the back of airplanes.

Fast forward to last month in Vietnam, when an obviously harried woman—accompanying an tantrum-throwing child—just could not wait any longer to get off her Vietnam Airlines airplane. The flight was over and she had simply had enough. So she asked the man next to her, 29-year-old Le Van Thuan, to pop the emergency door and release the slide. And, because this story is awesome, that's exactly what he did.

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An Early Nomination for the Stupidest Travelers of 2012

January 2, 2012 at 8:58 AM | by | Comments (0)

Last year it took us until the end of January to open nominations for the stupidest traveler of the year. But now that we're living in the future, here in 2012, everything moves faster.

It's the first week of the new year and already there are stories of travelers who—if they aren't straightforwardly blistering idiots—start off at least as idiot-adjacent. But then at the end there's a punchline that literally causes our blood pressure to spike, and that crosses the line into incandescently stupid.

The Fickes family of North Carolina has quite the broode. There are the two parents, Kathy and Jason Fickes. Then there's their 3-year old son. Then there are their 18-month old twins. Then there's their eight-month old baby. All six of the Fickes were traveling to Chicago to visit grandparents over Christmas. So far so good. The problem enters inasmuch as they tried to fit the entire family into a single row in coach on a US Airways flight.

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Kids Traveling Solo Now Have Their Very Own Delta Lounge at Atlanta Airport

July 14, 2011 at 8:34 AM | by | Comments (0)

Traveling with children can sometimes be a pain, but Delta’s got a new idea that might make things a little better. For right now it’s only for unaccompanied minors traveling without Mom or Dad, but maybe eventually it’ll be open for all the little ones to swing by and blow off some steam.

The Delta Sky Zone is open in Atlanta on Concourses, B, C, and E, and it’s available to those little ones connecting all by themselves—or with a little help from Delta employees. Inside, kids have access to brand new furniture to bounce all over, XBOX 360s, and unfortunately some kind of educational materials. We’re thinking that there’s got to be some soda and chips thrown in their too, or at least a little tap water. Video games during a layover would definitely make us thirsty!

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Legoland Florida Puts the Pieces Together for an Opening Date of October 15

June 30, 2011 at 8:42 AM | by | Comments (0)

Get your little plastic pieces ready, as it's finally almost time to hit new world's newest Legoland just outside of Orlando. It's not just any old land dedicated to Legos either, as this place is going to be the biggest—as in 150 acres—Legoland in the world. As you might remember the place was kind of Cypress Gardens for many many years, but on October 15 it will be officially transformed into a shrine of all things Lego.

It's park number five around the world for the Lego empire, as there's already a park in California along with options in Denmark, Germany, and the United Kingdom. In total there's going to be around 50 new rides, shows, and attractions, so there will be more to see than just crazy-nuts Lego creations. Although, we're pretty sure there's going to plenty of those too.

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The Plastic Pieces are on Their Way to Malaysia for Asia's First Legoland

Where: Malaysia
March 1, 2011 at 10:16 AM | by | Comment (1)

We’ve been eagerly awaiting the arrival of all things Lego to Florida, but now it seems like we might want to turn our attention elsewhere around the globe. The plastic pieces are on the move, and it looks like Malaysia might be welcoming the first Legoland in Asia sometime in 2012.

Apparently bulldozers have already been hard at work clearing around 75 acres or so for the new park, and its 40 plus rides and attractions that will make up the new Legoland Malaysia. This will be the sixth land devoted to Legos worldwide, so if you’ve already been to the other five, you better start planning your trip to hit up the latest and the greatest. There’s over 30 million plastic pieces to assemble, so you’ve still got a little bit of time to find a decent flight.

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New Passport Forms Heart Your Two Moms (or Dads)

January 11, 2011 at 2:48 PM | by | Comments (0)

It's small, but very notable: US passport forms for children have been changed in order to accommodate families with two dads or two moms, by changing the "mother" and "father" headings to include "parent 1" and "parent 2." The new forms became available January 3, meaning 2011 begins just another governmental agency's acceptance (the Department of State, in this case) of same-sex couples. They may not be able to get married yet in all states, but being able to sign on as official parents of their children is a major step.

The Global Cocktails blog has quotes from the Family Equality Council in appreciation:

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Opening Day is a Year Away, But Florida's Legoland is Already Selling Tickets

November 3, 2010 at 8:43 AM | by | Comments (0)

Opening day is still like at least a year away, but the newest Legoland is already trying to build a little bit of buzz in Florida.

Last week, park officials busted out the artist renderings and other pretty pictures for some of the new attractions. One of the main attractions that caught our eye might just make Cinderella jealous, as the park will have its very own castle within the Castle Hill section of the park. No princesses inside the castle though, as there’s going to be a dragon-themed coaster working its way in and out of the toy fortress.

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Could the Next Airline Fee Be For Childless Airplane Sections?

August 30, 2010 at 5:21 PM | by | Comments (2)

Repeated Jaunted experiments have shown that, next to "overweight passengers on planes" disagreements, nothing generates heat like "kids on planes" arguments. Both debates even have the same sides. On one hand, there are people who insist they shouldn't be miserable because they got an unfortunate seat next to an obese adult or a screaming child. On the other side, you've got overweight folks and parents who point out that hey, they get to fly too.

Now, thanks to suggestions coming out of a new study, there are renewed discussions about separating children from fliers who want nothing to do with them. "Family-only sections" are being bandied about, and there's even talk of "child-free flights!" Apparently surveys show that an overwhelming number of people without kids prefer not to to have their flights ruined by unruly kids. Fascinating! Even more fascinating, it turns out that the surveys are filled with stacked questions and all end up justifying a new round of airline fees. Strange!

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