It's obviously hard to know exactly what happened on the flight from an article, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

I don't think it was unreasonable. The mother admitted the kids were "out of control" (her words), and they were walking around during the flight (completely unacceptable and unsafe...what was the mom thinking?). If you have two children with disabilities, I would think you would need more than two adults to accompany four children on a flight. Flying with four children on their best behavior on a good day has to be difficult; add in a pregnant aunt and two children with disabilities, and the situation becomes difficult at best.

What frustrates me the most is the sense of entitlement of people. Flying is not a right; it is a privilege. You pay the airline for a service, you play by their rules. If you don't like their rules, then don't fly. Not everyone makes for a good passenger. Certain disabilities, certain sizes, certain ages, lots of things prohibit people from flying on a daily basis.

And to say they were stranded without any money? Seriously, lady, you were flying with four children and a pregnant woman. What if the weather got bad and flights were delayed? What if you missed your connection due to a delay? What if someone got sick and you couldn't get on your connection? What if aunt went into premature labor? What would they have done then? Cried that they had no money? I cannot believe you would fly without money. That's just plain stupidity. Sorry to be so harsh, but c'mon, a little responsibility goes a long way.

Amy

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As someone who worked with children with disabilities and has a *lot* of children, I have to respectfully disagree. 2 adults to 4 children is more adequate(as long as they are doing their job ) When I was 8months pregnant, I was paid by the state, to watch THREE children at a time, and they were not my own. 2 were autistic, one simply mildly retarded. It should not be a req for more adults, simply ones who watch their children better. I did see that she said herself that they were out of control, and do have to say that she/they SHOULD have done something about that, yes. BUT the airline should have reimbursed them for the rest of their flight in the case that they refused/ or couldn't.

Can I just say that *my* children would never be walking on a plane? Even if it was me alone with them.

BTW, where is the video?

Oh sorry. It was on the news page. I will see if I can find the link

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Here you go
Video

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You are right. I should have said "more responsible" adults. DMIL is a special ed teacher, and they have nearly a 3:1 ratio of adults to children in her CLASSROOM. She has 11 teens (high schoolers) and 4 adults.

As for the walking up and down the aisles, I guess I took that as a sign of what kind of parent this woman was. Like you said, YOU would never let your children do that. Nor would I. My brother and I used to fly all the time when we were younger, and we were allowed to use the bathroom on the flight. That was the ONLY time we got up.

However, I do disagree that the airline should compensate them. The airline wouldn't have been able to sell tickets to other passengers for their connecting flight in that short of time. Unfortunately, that's the risk you take when you fly. For example, I bought tickets to go on a cruise before I found out I was pregnant. They were non-refundable (my choice). I rebooked them, but I had to pay rebooking fees and other stuff and the net loss was $600. Those were the rules.

Amy

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Actually, SWA has a program(for special guests and employees) where they can fill those seats, last minute. His Aunt and Uncle fly that way all the time-it's cheap although inconvenient. They have to go to the gate, go through the security and all that, and see if the plane will have an opening. So in such a scenario, they may have been able to fill the seats


Anyway, it's amazing how the media bends these things, though isn't it?

I tend to think that it is a bit too far, regardless. People have been thrown of the plane for a crying infant. It is a bit ridiculous IMO.

I can't imagine having two special needs children and having to fly with them...Last time we flew to OH a Dad was letting his toddler(maybe 18 months) walk down the isles with him so the kid didn't get bored and SCREAM like he had been- I don't find that to be over the top, IMO?!

I think it is really fun to "judge" the parents and say that 2 adults couldn't handle 4 needy kids.. I know I was stressed traveling with 1 normal infant.. It is easy to say we wouldn't do something when we're not in that situation.

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