Nanny on a Plane
Someone do something about that screaming monster!!!
It’s a good thing that some airlines are thinking about the sanity of their passangers. We have all experienced the occasional plane ride with a screaming baby and a parent who has no clue what to do; making it hard for half the passengers not to go apeshit. Etihad and JAL may be on to something.
Imagine this, you are on a business trip flying from New York to Hong Kong with a stop over in the UAE. A young couple with an infant is in the row behind you. Your mind is running wild with excitement and anxiety on the prospects of this very promising investor meeting in Hong Kong. You keep running revenue projections and customer acquisition strategies over and over in your head. The plane starts to taxi down the runway, and the couple behind you is still getting situated when the screaming starts. It does not stop, as the hours go by…
In the late 1970's the airline industry introduced the Business Class for those who can afford more for a roomy seat in the front of the plane. Finally some airlines are now starting to recognize that not all passengers are created equally.That some of them are tiny humans and they get super cranky under controlled air pressure at high altitudes and don’t know how to pop their tiny ears.
While Malaysian Airlines and AirAsia are creating “child-free zones” and alienating a segment of their customer base others are getting creative to cease the opportunity to appeal to parent-flyers. Etihad is planning to train 500 of the airline’s cabin crew as childcare specialists to act as “onboard nannies” for long-haul flights. JAL will soon be recommending “kid-friendly flights” with kids’ books and toys for those traveling with toddlers.
I can’t wait to see how the US airline industry will do. Who will take the first move to risk a lawsuit? Will it be a parent accusing the airline of discrimination? Or a frequent business traveller?
I’ve only flown once with a tiny human and that was a quick 3hr flight to Florida; and I think I had it easy. Little man was only 7 months and slept most of the way. But there was a brief 10-15min period I just had no clue what was wrong and I could not get him to stop screaming; and it felt like an eternity. But this December, I will need a nanny on the plane. I’m taking a 22month-old on a trip to Sri Lanka. Total flying hours 17 hours and that is just getting there. Too bad I already bought the tickets on Emirates.
