Kicking the seat in front

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Viewing 15 posts - 16 through 30 (of 35 total)

  • Edski777
    Participant

    So:
    1. Ask the parents politely to let their kid stop the misbehaviour;
    2. If not the desired result: inform the cabin crew and let them resolve the issue;
    3. Use the normal escalation: stewardess, CSD, captain;
    4. Lodge a full complaint with the airline and demand fair compensation;
    5. Use social media to inform the general public and cause reputation damage;

    or if that takes too long: fight it out on the spot? (British hooligan solution)

    And for the sociopathic behaviour of your child: as a parent travelling with your kid you will always be responsible for the under-aged individual. In many countries the person on the receiving end of his behaviour can and should sue the parent for damages.
    That would put an end to the misery on board in the future.


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    “What is your problem? The mother is very upset by your attitude!”


    @Airtravel104
    – there has to be more to this story. I can not believe any professional cabin crew would attack the suffering passenger in that way, merely for complaining about a kid kicking his seat & whats more, walking away from the situation..


    AlanOrton1
    Participant

    Martyn – I would agree, it is hard to add much more given the detail provided and only one side of the story that has been drip fed over a few posts.

    Re-reading the original post, I’m not sure most would confuse luggage being loaded below them, to being kicked repeatedly in the back for 30 mins. Possibly a little melodramatic.


    CathayLoyalist2
    Participant

    On the same topic but a slight variation. Travelling Y from HKG to LHR last year and seated in the first row of the Y Cabin. The seats behind has the IFE screen in that seat back. The, what turned out to be aging gentleman was playing on the games channel and thumping the touch screen so giving the impression he was kicking the seat. I politely asked if he would stop but as he didn’t speak English or decided not to understand I , with due regard to health and safety, handcuffed the miscreant and then gently and swiftly lifted him into the overhead locker and wrapped him in a blanket before he knew what was going on!.Peace ensued such bliss. For those about to report this for an inappropriate post, I in fact went to the galley explained the situation to the cabin crew and they spoke to the passenger in Cantonese. He was apologetic and the rest of the flight passed off without any further altercations. “it’s not what you say it is how you say it” as a previous poster has remarked

    *****Edited by Business Traveller*****


    Airtravel104
    Participant

    Kicking the seat:
    So after the male cabin attendant was told what had actually happened, he offered to re-seat the kicked passenger to a middle seat — the only seat left unoccupied. The kicked passenger refused, saying that he wanted to be seated with spouse and that it did not solve the problem of spouse also disturbed by the kicking.
    Kicked passenger suggested that the family of 3 be moved to first class. Male attendant claimed he had no authority to do that. And left.
    Shortly after a female purser arrived, and nicely but non-stop, explained to the kicked passenger that the mother is very upset trying to control the boy, but the passenger must understand that he is only a boy and boys will be boys.
    Kicked passenger asked female purser if she was suggesting that to fly that airline passengers are to expect to be picked and boys who caused disturbance are to be tolerated.
    Speechless except to keep repeating that the mother is already very upset and nothing more could be expected.
    The kicked passenger suggested 1. re-seat the family to first class where there were more than 3 seats available. 2.Switch mother and boy since the passenger seated in front of the picked passenger had already suggested that boys are to be expected to be rambunctious, meaning that kicked passenger might just put up with it.
    Negotiations went on and the entire row of passengers seated behind the family got up and switched seats with them.
    The raucous of boy kicking and girl screaming seemed to have continued. later on the female purser came by and scolded the kicked passenger for not being understanding since she had approached him very nicely. Kicked passenger said that asking nicely something unreasonable was not acceptable service. The female purser did not seem to understand that kicked passenger had not cared about “nice” but wanted not to be kicked.
    About 15 minutes later the purser came back, and told the kicked passenger that “the captain has issued a warning to him.” By then the kicked passenger had put on his earplugs and ignored the purser. Before the landing of the plane, the passenger who had suggested that “boys will be boys” offered the couple chewing gum. The kicked passenger accepted the chewing gum and said thank you.
    Can anyone guess what airline that might have been?


    esselle
    Participant

    Random guess…..CZ or BA


    Yeoman
    Participant

    the suspends is killing me.. put me out of my misery!


    Yeoman
    Participant

    *suspense


    AlanOrton1
    Participant

    Be surprised if it is a European carrier as I don’t think any have a config of 8 F seats.
    I would go for a US carrier, but those that fly the A321 often have more than 8 F seats.


    Airtravel104
    Participant

    I seem to have typed picked for kicked…Freudian slip because by this time somehow the male attendant and the female purser had shifted the focus to the kicked passenger as the problem and not the kicking. If an entire team is shielding the boy, how would the boy ever learn that it was not good behavior to kick the seat in front!
    What area condones this kind of behavior from a male child?


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    My guess is its one of the American carriers (presume the 321 is in the US). I think European crews are professional enough not to need to go and run to the Captain…about a kicking boy….


    EU_Flyer
    Participant

    Turkish Airlines? They have plenty of A321s with 8 seats up front.

    Gulfair?

    Possibly Qatar? Etihad as last suggestion. Do they even operate A321s?


    Airtravel104
    Participant

    Interesting that most of you sleuth the 8 seats in First class and which airline has 321’s rather than trying to figure what kind of culture would actually expect the kicked passenger to put up with the nonsense from a boy. Not only that, but everyone shielded the boy and essentially condoned his behavior as “boys will be boys.” A similar situation occurs at some of the airports and shopping malls in this region. Boys screaming zoom around without anyone trying to stop them. It has to be a cultural thing.
    Alex got it on a third try…It was Gulfair, and the passenger seated in front of the mother said that boys do behave like that in their culture, suggesting that the kicked passenger might respect the culture of his host country. Later on when the spouse suggested to the kicked passenger that perhaps he should acquiesce, the kicked passenger responded that while it is reasonable to expect foreign men not to wear sleeveless shirts in 110 degree heat, it is not reasonable to expect a foreigner to put up with his seat being kicked by an obnoxious boy.
    The surprising outcome was that everyone colluded in pampering the boy including the other passengers willing to change seats with the family. How will this boy ever learn to respect another person’s rights to a peaceful ride?!
    How will that boy fit into another society should he decide to study abroad?! Or work abroad. Is it really a kindness to that boy not to allow him to learn how to be civil to other people?
    The farce though seemed to be for the purser to issue the passenger a warning.


    Flightlevel
    Participant

    If that culture allows boys to be boys it may explain why so many boys are using weapons against their own countrymen and women in that region, the British maxim that ‘children should be seen (or watched!) and not heard’ is more appropriate!
    Politically incorrect, and true unfortunately.


    K1ngston
    Participant

    I have just got back to SG from the UK travelling with SQ this time, and on the return leg I had such child sitting behind me and I allowed the kicking for about 20 minutes and then got up to remonstrate with the parents and the mother couldn’t have been nicer, explaining that she is trying to stop the child from kicking and she was doing everything in her power to stop the child!

    It certainly defused the situation I told her I understood her dilemma 13 hours in the air was a lot for a 3-4 year old.

    Anyway in the end they changed places and the child slept, and I was quick to comment to Mother and Child how well behaved she had been for the journey to both their delight….

    I really am a “nice ol Hector”

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