“I Pay Too Much Money For First Class To Be Surrounded By Children!”

As Emirates now bans children in first class when using miles, I thought it would be a good time to revisit the issue of children in premium cabins. Here’s a story that really got under my skin…a passenger was not at all happy that a couple brought their two-year-old toddler into first class and tried at least three times to get them sent back to economy class before being shut down by flight attendants. I wish flight attendants had sent him back to economy class!

Man Becomes Upset When He Sees Family With Two-Year-Old Toddler In First Class, Tries To Get Them Thrown Out

A mother shared about the incident on reddit:

• A mother, father, and their two-year-old were flying cross country for Thanksgiving
• The couple decided to splurge for first class “due to a nice pay raise my husband recently got”
• Shortly after boarding, another first class passenger began glaring at the family
• Next, a flight attendant came up and asked to see their boarding passes to “make sure we were seated correctly”
• Upon confirming they were seated in first class, the flight attendant said, “Cool, y’all are good”
• Before takeoff, a different flight attendant onboard came up to the couple and again asked to inspect their boarding pass
• The flight took off, the husband fell asleep, and the child began coloring
• Suddenly, the mother felt a tap on her shoulder – it was the passenger that had been glaring at them
• He said that children are not allowed in first class and that the family needed to move to their “real” seats
• The mother refused to engage, instead calling for a flight attendant
• The man stood waiting in the aisle next to their seats until a flight attendant arrived
• When a flight attendant showed up, the man was told to sit down and stop bother this family, which had paid for their first class seats
• The child stayed seated and quietly playing throughout the flight, only getting up when “she had to go potty”
• While deboarding, the man again came up to the mother and called her a “fat c*nt” and said, “I pay too much money for first class to be surrounded by children.”

Let’s stop and pray. God, give me self-control, because I’m not sure I would have been able to resist punching that jerk in the face. Amen.

While we don’t know the airline or the route, I’ve seen people like this before and I cannot believe it went this far. I wish the flight attendant had downgraded him.

On reddit, the mother wondered if she was an a**hole for booking her toddler in first class.

The answer is no, even if the two-year-old had cried. Because what’s to say she would not have cried more in economy class? No one likes a crying baby, including me. And as a parent with a young child, few things are more stressing than when your baby cries onboard. Paying for first class gives you a larger seat, more personalized service, a nicer meal, but not the guarantee of silence.

As for the behavior of the man, I can only hope that miserable jerk finds peace.

CONCLUSION

How deliciously ironic it would have been if the flight attendants sent the man back to economy class. “Sir, we’re so sorry about the child near you. For your own safety and comfort we’ve found you a seat far away her…in the last row of the plane.” Whatever your view on children in first class, you have no right to approach another passenger and hassle them. The mother showed admirable restraint in this situation.