Oh Florida people...

[Exterous]

I started wondering if our flight would make the news or not. It was Vegas to Florida so the odds were already high. It was Southwest so open seating and this mom dad, 2 year old and 4 year old boarded in the first group. Plenty of completely open seats to fill. Well mom, dad and 2 year old take one row, leaving the 4 year old in the row in front of them to sit with strangers. The 4 year old then proceeds to yell and cry about everything: wearing a seat belt, the plane moving, take off, the seat belt again, etc etc. This was a row diagonally behind us. I put my noise canceling headphones in and lost track of the various topics to cry about. However, the women right in front of us finally had enough and started yelling at the mom. The mom, who was ignoring her crying daughter, was not going to have her clearly amazing parenting skills questioned, yelled back for them to mind their own business. If a fight was going to happen we would have a front row seat, if not have it spill into our row. FAs finally had to come by and ask if there was going to be an issue. Grumbling ensued but they finally calmed down so no news feature for us. The daughter still spent most of the 4 hour flight yelling and crying.

Other highlights of the flight:
Mob at the gate despite a numerical boarding process

Multiple children running up and down the aisle during take off and minor turbulence while parents ignored the FAs pleas to get the children back in their seats to avoid getting hurt

The longest boarding process I think I've ever seen as people ignored the FA announcements (5+) to please step out of the aisles during boarding to let people by. (we left 15 minutes late because boarding took so long)

5+ announcements to not stand near the front lavatory

80 degree plane for the entire trip.

So good times!

 

[Captante]

Not to imply I'm doubting you, but how did you determine that they were in fact "Florida-People" ?

While they certainly have more then their share of folks on the shallow end of the gene-pool, they by no means have cornered the market.

Also anything cheap and open-seating is pretty much always going to be a problem these days.

 

[highland145]

No pics of this awesome experience?


Am dissapoint.

 

[purbeast0]

I don't even have a second kid yet but the thought of how we are going to travel once we do has already crossed my mind. We fly a lot of SW because of points/companion pass and it's just myself, my wife, and our son who is 4. He's pretty well versed in flying at this point and knows the routine. Hell he knows where the playground is in the FLL airport and knows his way around that airport.

But it's perfect now with us 3 taking a full row. And whenever we do have another kid, for a while, it will be a lap baby so we can still get just one row.

But once we need to take up 4 seats, I will be sitting by myself on the aisle and my wife and the kids would be taking up their own row.

Putting our son in a row by himself wouldn't even cross my mind. And not a chance my wife would let that happen too, let alone at his age right now. I can't fathom how a parent can think that is okay to do at that age.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

I don't even have a second kid yet but the thought of how we are going to travel once we do has already crossed my mind

Yeah the wife and I used to love going to Disney World - now after having a kid it sounds silly but I honestly don't want to go ever again until any and all of the kids are 10+ at minimal.

The last thing I want is to go to Disney and have it be nothing but a chore as we stop every 10 minutes for breast feeding, changing diapers, going back to the hotel for nap time, etc.


As far as travel in general, we've already taken our 2.5 year old kid to Germany, Hawaii, California and Florida.

I can only guess that in situations like the OP it's families that rarely if ever travel so they think that acting like asshats is completely acceptable or something.

 

[Exterous]

Not to imply I'm doubting you, but how did you determine that they were in fact "Florida-People" ?

While they certainly have more then their share of folks on the shallow end of the gene-pool, they by no means have cornered the market.

Also anything cheap and open-seating is pretty much always going to be a problem these days.

About the only thing the mom said to the daughter was "we're 30 minutes from home" when we landed because the daughter was crying because she found out the airplane landed at the airport and not their house

No pics of this awesome experience?


Am dissapoint.

It's coming. Assuming nothing happens to the camera and phone between now and when we get back

 

[pete6032]

Mom or dad should have sat in the row with both kids and then the other parent should have taken the open seat.

 

[Exterous]

Mom or dad should have sat in the row with both kids and then the other parent should have taken the open seat.

Or a parent with each child in different rows. So many better options than what was chosen

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Or a parent with each child in different rows. So many better options than what was chosen

Seating or not - You can easily hear your child being a prick and can police them from the row behind. Ignoring it (regardless of sitting next to them or not) doesn't fix the problem.

 

[clamum]

Seating or not - You can easily hear your child being a prick and can police them from the row behind. Ignoring it (regardless of sitting next to them or not) doesn't fix the problem.

Yeah that's a good point. Idiot parent would've probably ignored her had she been sitting right next to the daughter.

 

[ShookKnight]

Flying is a necessary evil.

Flying brings out the worst in humanity.

 

[snoopy7548]

Other highlights of the flight:
Mob at the gate despite a numerical boarding process

I hate this, but I typically fly where they board according to pre-determined groups. Everyone feels the need to jump up and form a line as soon as boarding begins, even if they're in Group D, so if you're in Group A or B (or C), you don't know where the F to go.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

I hate this, but I typically fly where they board according t pre-determined groups. Everyone feels the need to jump up and form a line as soon as boarding begins, even if they're in Group D, so if you're in Group A or B (or C), you don't know where the F to go.

o
Because regardless of group - you still want the best possible chance of getting a window/aisle (for freeboarding like Southwest)... and otherwise (for pre-determined seat airlines) you're fighting for that fucking overhead bin space.

The whole industry is just a giant piece of shit and all the chaos and havoc is caused by the airlines and the shit decisions that they can make with no ability to do any pushback.


This is a perfect example - people would rather have rectal exams then deal with the shit of airlines: https://southpark.cc.com/clips/153058/it-beats-dealing-with-the-airline-companies

 

[Craig234]

It's funny, I came to OT to post asking if anyone could remember a site that did snarky news articles with icons, and had a special icon just for Florida because it so constantly had 'only in Florida' stories, and saw this thread (and I just remembered the site, fark.com). Latest example:

Florida man arrested for fighting a gas pump.

NAPLES, Fla. (CBS12) - Eveninanimate objects have rights. WBBN in Naples reported that a Florida man is facing charges after he allegedly punched and kicked a gas pump. According to the report, 24-year-old Hunter Bleichtold deputies his rage was all over an argument he had with his girlfriend...

wjactv.com

 

[Craig234]

Flying brings out the worst in humanity.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Not to imply I'm doubting you, but how did you determine that they were in fact "Florida-People" ?

While they certainly have more then their share of folks on the shallow end of the gene-pool, they by no means have cornered the market.

Also anything cheap and open-seating is pretty much always going to be a problem these days.

An outbound flight from Vegas immediately after a holiday is generally "<destination> people."

 

[JEDIYoda]

What?? Planes don`t have on board nurseries??