Lifestyle

Half Of Flyers Think Parents Should Sit Separately And That’s Fine By Us, Jerks

by Valerie Williams
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Originally Published: 
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52 percent of travelers think families with kids under 10 should sit separately on a plane

There’s not a parent alive that would call flying with small children fun. Aside from logistics, there’s also the worry that you’re stressing out fellow passengers with your kids’ shenanigans, and it turns out, that worry is rooted in reality. A new survey shows that 52 percent of travelers feel families with kids under 10 should sit in a separate section of the plane.

Sounds good to us.

A study released by Airfare Watch Dog proves that travelers are more worried about sitting near our annoying kids than they are about being near someone with body odor (28 percent) or a passenger who’s sick or coughing (39.3 percent). They think parents and their kids should be isolated from the rest of the cabin.

Wow. That’s uh, really special.

The kid hate is real, as has been proven in one air travel horror story after another. There are certain people who feel children have no place in public life if they make so much as a sound, which is absolute fucking bullshit considering how many objectionable things adults do. Only difference is, adults are (supposed to be) old enough to know better.

Even before I had kids I’d take sitting next to a whiny toddler over a guy who ate an entire garlic pizza for lunch any day. Same with an obnoxiously drunk person. Or that asshole hacking up a lung who has no business being in close proximity with 100 strangers in a cabin with no fresh air.

Let’s just say it — air travel sucks. No matter your age or your seat buddy, there are unpleasant things happening at 37,000 feet and most of us are just trying to get through it without too much trouble.

But for parents, the struggle is especially real, and that’s when only considering things like packing enough snacks, diapers and distractions to keep our precious angels (relatively) chill during the flight. To know that over half of those seated around us wish we were in some isolation chamber so they could be free of the human noises our offspring make is pretty unnerving.

It’s also pretty infuriating, considering the above-listed offenses that are by no means exclusive to those under age 10. We paid for our tickets too, and our kids, annoying though they may be, are not second class citizens who should be hidden in some dark corner on the plane. Nor should we have to assemble apology goodie bags to make our tiny travelers more palatable to those who wish they weren’t there.

So yes, let’s seat families separately. Like, in first class. We’d be hard-pressed to think of a group of people more deserving of extra leg room (have you seen a 3-year-old try to stay in one of those tiny seats with no spare space for the entirety of a cross-country flight?), warm cookies, nicer TVs and top-shelf alcohol.

Especially the alcohol.

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