I had to do some flying for a business trip, so my colleague and I had business class tickets booked with a very nice airline. Our travel took about 26 hours total each way with the longest segment being a 14+ hour flight in both directions.

My flight to our destination was great. The plane was very quiet, the service was unbelievable, and in general, it made the more than 24 hours of travel time bearable. I landed exhausted but feeling like with a bit of sleep I could be human again. All in all, a wonderful experience.

The flight home, however, was a total shitshow. I started my travel after a full day, and the total travel time was again more than 24 hours. So, by the time my 14-hour flight was off the ground I had already been up for a day-and-a-half. It was time for some rest. Unfortunately, the person behind me had two babies. One was with him, the other was with his wife in the centre aisle of seats.

14 Hour flight

For a full 14 hours straight, one or both of them was crying. It got so bad that I stood up, shot a look that said “I want to smother AND shake your babies”, and walked to the back of the plane to get away from the noise. In this plane there is a bar and lounge area where you can stretch and meet other people. Just hang out and unwind. Since I was so exhausted and couldn’t sleep, I figured I might as well try to socialize. WRONG.

It was at this moment that I had a slight short circuit and a bit of a meltdown in my brain. I’d been listening to the crying and carrying on for something like 8 hours at this point, my tickets cost a small fortune, and I desperately needed sleep.

I confronted the situation. I said, “Huh. Seems a little F up to bring screaming, crying babies on a PLANE”! I said it loud and clear enough that everyone in the bar turned to look at the parents and the kids. And I was clearly not alone in my opinion.

They brought the kids back to the cabin area, and when I returned to my seat about an hour later the kids were still carrying on, and the parents gave me a look like, “How dare you”. I just stared them down, looked at the inconsolable, snot-nosed kids, shook my head, and took my seat. I was so fuming mad that I wanted to ask the attendants if I could switch seats with someone…but I would have felt terrible for anyone I put in that position.

At one point, the crying got so bad that one of the flight attendants asked the parents if they needed help! When a plane full of people are sick of your kids’ bullshit, you know you’re messing up. Right?!

I would love to see kids not allowed in business or first class seats on a plane. People in these sections are usually traveling for business, and actually need to sleep on the plane so they can be functional for work. Having kids running around, carrying on, crying, etc. makes it totally impossible to get rest. I had noise canceling headphones, ear buds, ear plugs, etc. None of them could block out the racket made by these two little shits.

Anyway, that’s my gripe. Anybody think I’m crazy for asking for one section of the plane to be child free?