Dear Airline Industry,
I know you’re hurting. I know money is tight these days (trust me), and I know new ways of ‘packaging’ airfare is required in this economy. I also know that I’d like to ride out the turbulence of these tough times with you. I’ve been in love with air travel since I munched my first honey-roasted peanut at 10,000 feet at the age of seven, and like many, many other families, sharing my love of air travel with my own children is important to me.
But you’re making it hard to stick by you. At a time when luxury resorts and cruise ships across the world are rolling out the red carpet for kids (I have personally worked with Expedia.com, Omni Resorts, and Preferred Hotels in their efforts to create family-friendly programs and offerings), you’re making it increasingly difficult for families to arrive at their destination. I’d say that traveling families are the ones suffering, but the truth is, airlines are shooting themselves in the foot.
How so? Let’s start with this month’s headliner: airlines charging for ‘premium’ coach seats. Premium…coach? Isn’t that an oxymoron? Before you hold families hostage in this manner, follow the trail of logic: who typically pays for airline upgrades? Business travelers. Solo travelers. Couples celebrating a special occasion like a honeymoon. Not family travelers, I can assure you. When I shop flights for my family of five, I’m looking for the best deal, and nothing more. After all, I still need to shelter, feed, and entertain my motley crew all vacation long.
So let’s apply this logic to an actual scenario: Business traveler Joe has upgraded his coach seat to premium level. (I’m trying not to laugh, really.) He’s happily sitting in his aisle seat for which he’s paid an extra $44. Single Traveling Parent Jane, her preschooler, and her toddler walk down the aisle to find their seats. Because Jane has not (and would never) pay to upgrade her seats, she has two middle seats and one window, necessitating a separation from at least one small child. As this is logistically ridiculous, the call to action falls on poor Business Traveler Joe, who has two choices, neither of which are attractive: 1. vacate the seat he just paid extra for, to allow Jane’s family to stay together, or 2. hold his ground, and entertain an unaccompanied toddler for the duration of the flight. Airline, you’ve accomplished two things here: you’ve angered Joe, who’s probably a frequent flyer and loyal customer, and you’ve upset Jane (who probably tweets). But wait, you have your $44, so you’re good.
There’s more. Because you’re charging for premium seats, Airline, and separating family groups, family travelers now have to pack more carry-on luggage. And you know you already think we pack too much! As a family travel writer, I’ve long advocated packing carry-on only or one carry-on per family (you’re welcome), but because I now have to plan for the contingency that my school-aged children will sit apart from me, each child needs his or her own backpack full of entertainment (and food…don’t get me started on that). More carry-on bags mean a greater burden on the already overloaded overhead luggage compartments (which, of course, is due to fees placed on checked luggage, but we won’t go there, either). So in this second scenario, in which I’ve boarded your plane with five carry-ons instead of one, what you get is increased stress, chaos, and crowds in your already over-stressed cabin. Not only are your overworked flight attendants negotiating my seats with disgruntled business travelers, but they’re now also trying to stuff my backpacks into bins. Backpacks that would not have existed had you not 1. charged me for checked bags (whoops, I went there) and 2. charged me to sit with my kids.
Airline, I’m not mad. Really. Some family-friendly airlines I love quite dearly. Mostly, I’m worried for you. You can run all the flashy promotions you’d like (some of your kids fly free deals are excellent), but at the end of the day, families won’t remember what deal you’re running on your website. They won’t care how convenient you made online check-in or how shiny your homepage is. They’re accustomed to the ordeal of security, and they’re even planning on you losing their luggage. What they will remember: the seven circles of hell you did or did not put them through in order to get from Point A to Point B.
Family travel is only gaining in popularity. The industry brands I work with every day, from eco-tour operations to luxury resorts, know this. But the travel industry cycle we’re all a part of only works if we can get where we’re going.
Please get on-board. We miss the family-friendly skies.
Sincerely,
A Family Travel Writer
About the author
What a great post! Well said, and thanks for speaking for MANY, MANY of us family travelers out there!
We just returned from a cross country ordeal/flight with my family of 4, including 1 lap child. At least this time I wasn’t given the stink eye and treated like a prisoner transport for not purchasing a seat for my 1 year old who would never sit in a seat alone … AND we got 3 seats together. A tiny victory. Sad that it’s come to being grateful-to-the-point-of-tears over such a tiny triumph.
Love your site.
Fabulous post. And you are so right about all of it.
So true! Thank you!
Couldn’t agree more!
Beautifully written! From a mom about to embark on traveling with 2 kids (sometimes as a solo parent) I appreciate all efforts to clue the airlines into just how horrible their actions are. It was bad enough trying to get seated with one kid. In 2 years when the littlest needs a seat how much more horrible will air travel be? Hopefully it won’t. I think we all pray the airlines will mend their ways and like you said, get us back to the family-friendly skies.
AMEN! Sharing on all my feeds as DeSuMama.
Thank you for this article. I couldn’t have said it any better myself. I hope that the airlines are listening. It is hard enough to fly with a family of 5; continuing to place undo burden and aggravation on me are just going to encourage me to keep my travel closer to home, not hop aboard their flight.
So TRUE!!! What’s sad is, after flying to and from Vegas to visit my mother with my 4.5 yr old (we live in Maryland) I’m looking into possibly taking AMTRAK instead next time! Tiny seats, obnoxious flight attendants who look at children the way wait staff in a restaurant look at the elderly, ridiculous extra fees, and sooooo soooo sooo much more, have driven our flight loving family to choosing to stay within driving distance for our trips. I would much rather get where I want to go, faster, by plane, but they (the airline industry) have made it less than ideal to do so. My son loves to fly, and remembers his manners while flying (respects others space and uses his “library” voice, etc), but the flight attendants seem to get very irritated when he wants to ask for his own drink (rather than have a parent order it for you). He’s verbal and articulate, can’t they take the two seconds they spend glaring at me and listen to the boy? Is it really so much to ask? Any how, sorry for the rant, but the post got me going! I agree with the whole of it and appreciate your effort to get the industries attention!
On behalf of flight attendants everywhere…THANK YOU for bringing this oxymoronic, illogical craziness to light! It IS shooting airlines in the foot! Just raise the fairs and let’s all go back to normal, PLEASE?
I have stopped flying. I refuse to fly for several reasons most notably TSA. But even if I did travel I would look at every option possible to avoid air travel. Why? Over priced, RUDE agents, bad service, and for some reason, you “airlines” have gotten it into your heads that WE, the paying customer are the problem. That we are not customers that you should service but rather people who use your service that OWE you something. My last flight was an utter nightmare. TSA was bad enough but the rude service reps to the little to no service pre- flight, during flight, and after flight. Your extra charges for bags and other little additional inconveniences are too much to handle. At my age… I don’t need it and frankly… refuse to fly again until someone in the air travel industry fixes it. Sad too, I use to fly twice a year. Not much by many standards but that is two tickets that will not be sold added to the growing number of people who will not fly… adds up doesn’t it.
Well put! Thanks for saying it!
Love, love, love this post, Amy! Will go share, share, share it!
So it’s illegal to leave your children alone in a car for even a couple of minutes, but it is apparently fine to separate kids from parents for multi-hour flights? Craziness.
I actually think the business travel community is going to rise up in outrage over this too. As you point out, it’s just as annoying and inconvenient to them.
Great post. Will definitely share this!
I am so tired of ALL the nickel-and-dime fees, and this newest development is just absurd. I would rather they just incorporate those costs into a higher-priced ticket. Psychologically, that sits better with me than having to pay an extra $25 per piece of luggage, or $44 for an aisle seat for my kid.
Well written and right on target!
Amy, this post rocks! Thank you for saying what we are all thinking and constantly battling. I am making a career out of trying to get people to fly with their children and experience great places but the airline industry is making it very hard for me to convince already nervous parents to book a flight. Sharing this everywhere!!!!
My husband is an aviation cunsultant and is faced with these challenges everyday when working for airlines. ThE airlines goals are to achieve both money in their pockets and happy customers but it is becoming an Imposible task.
Thank you. Last time i flew i was nursing. Twice once we had been seated we were moved. Once because we couldn’t be seated as a family behind an exit row? Second because of a plane problem they didt discover until we all had been borded. We can’t afford to check luggage and it is impossible to carry everything and our kids in our arms and waiting behind people with carryons tbat take up an entire overhead bin so when you finally make it to your seat you have nowhere for your bag. So annoying.
Great post! I’m in the planning stages of a Disney trip this fall and it will be my five year old’s first time on an airplane. I am so dreading the hassle that air travel has become, but it’s the only way to go for this trip. If airlines made traveling for families easier, I’d be willing to fly more often and be a better consumer. Until then, most of our vacations are in driving distance!
Glad I read this I’m traveling for the first time with my baby girl this July she is 14 months. But she’ll be on my lap she is still so small but it reminds me to make sure to watch that we always have seats together- this is ridiculous they really need to get it together.
That might explain why families arrive at our hotel in their car!!
Great post! I can’t even count the number of times an airline has tried to seat my now 3 yr old separately from me. And, even when I’ve PAID to pre-select seats.