Bad Experience With Thai Airways (children policy)

[Naroge]

My family has flown with Thai, in economy, with kids of all ages from 0 to teenagers. We always got extremely good service both on the ground and in the air. The family was always kept together. Never experienced anything like the OP describes.

[GrantSmith]

I've got to say though, if you think it's bad having a screaming child next to you in economy, you should try it in Business Class. Does my head in.

That's where a great pair of noise cancelling headphones become a godsent! Had this the other day on a Malaysia Airlines flight up the front, switched on the noise cancel and enjoyed the experience. Good set of lungs on the baby though

I've heard that Malaysia Airlines also don't allow babies and infants on their upperdeck levels of Business class on their 747 and 380 flights.

Edited June 19, 2013 by GrantSmith

[theblether]

I've got to say though, if you think it's bad having a screaming child next to you in economy, you should try it in Business Class. Does my head in.

That's where a great pair of noise cancelling headphones become a godsent! Had this the other day on a Malaysia Airlines flight up the front, switched on the noise cancel and enjoyed the experience. Good set of lungs on the baby though

I've heard that Malaysia Airlines also don't allow babies and infants on their upperdeck levels of Business class on their 747 and 380 flights.

Yup that's true, but I think it's only on certain routes. Not sure though.

[steve down under]

Personally if I booked a flight for myself and wife and kids I would expect to be able to sit with them on the flight and not be seperated on the whim of some office lackey who decides where you can sit so I think the OP is quite right to protest and expect to be seated with his family !

[sms747]

why do people with kids think they deserve special treatment over others? Is it really necessary to take two month old babies on long haul flights? I'm sure not.

[theblether]

Personally if I booked a flight for myself and wife and kids I would expect to be able to sit with them on the flight and not be seperated on the whim of some office lackey who decides where you can sit so I think the OP is quite right to protest and expect to be seated with his family !

Have you considered that the flight is leaving next week and all the other seats have been booked out to families?

I note the OP didn't say when he was planning to fly, I have an idea that was a deliberate omission, he would be slaughtered on here if he said it was the next couple of weeks. Some things left unsaid are very telling you know.

[samran]

Toddlers and babies shouldn't be in airplanes really. I find it selfish to think that a plane full of people should be held hostage by a screaming child. If anything, there should be separate areas for screaming children, as many package tours already do. This of course wouldn't be needed if parents raised their children properly and didn't think that THEIR little precious deserved special treatment.

If you ever wonder in your old age why you ended up sad and lonely, come back and read this post.

[saroq]

If you selected the seats at time of booking I can understand how you feel. Though of course the airline reserves the right to move you around if they deem it necessary. As for first/business class - your tickets would have cost more if it wasn't for these passengers.

They selected seats for me - not together.

Don`t really know what you are getting at with the first/business class thing. I fly both regularly and didn`t mention them in my post as a main point. Economy class passengers still need a decent level of service.

But you have to option of selecting your seats during the booking of your flights, either online or through your travel agent. If you'd done this and then got moved around you've got some grounds for complaint otherwise you are wiser now and will know for next time. My wife and I were separated when we checked in because I assumed that the travel agent would have booked two seats together. Since I didn't check I couldn't complain. That experience taught me to always make sure we have seats together now you can do the same.

[saroq]

why do people with kids think they deserve special treatment over others? Is it really necessary to take two month old babies on long haul flights? I'm sure not.

A reasonable percentage of people flying these days are doing so because they work overseas and are traveling home or to somewhere else for a holiday. Taking young children is necessary for many of these people unless you think they shouldn't travel to see family and friends for 5 or 6 years until their children are older. A bit hard for someone who works in Mongolia or other remote destinations. I don't like screaming kids either but with TV screen and ear phones it's not as big a problem as it use to be.

[mikemac]

I have been flying with Thai Airways for many years and have nothing but praise for their service. Cannot help thinking if some of the complaints about them are either from trolls or people who are not happy unless they are moaning.

I will be doing 3 return flights with them between Australia and Thailand this year and would not consider using another airline. Did try Air Asia once when I was in a hurry to get back to Australia, late 2011, NEVER AGAIN !

That thread regarding the screaming kids on flights and whether or not they should be "sedated" is a real hoot, link to it is on this thread somewhere.

[mattk1]

Toddlers and babies shouldn't be in airplanes really. I find it selfish to think that a plane full of people should be held hostage by a screaming child. If anything, there should be separate areas for screaming children, as many package tours already do. This of course wouldn't be needed if parents raised their children properly and didn't think that THEIR little precious deserved special treatment.

Indeed, the words of a sad and lonely old man..

[RabC]

Toddlers and babies shouldn't be in airplanes really. I find it selfish to think that a plane full of people should be held hostage by a screaming child. If anything, there should be separate areas for screaming children, as many package tours already do. This of course wouldn't be needed if parents raised their children properly and didn't think that THEIR little precious deserved special treatment.

Indeed, the words of a sad and lonely old man..

Or a professional traveller.

I fly round trip to Europe 5-7 times/year and my company pays to ensure I arrive fit for work. Sitting next to a screaming brat is not conducive to this, so I fly first/business and subsidise these peoples flights. Suck it up and book earlier or pay more.

[samran]

Toddlers and babies shouldn't be in airplanes really. I find it selfish to think that a plane full of people should be held hostage by a screaming child. If anything, there should be separate areas for screaming children, as many package tours already do. This of course wouldn't be needed if parents raised their children properly and didn't think that THEIR little precious deserved special treatment.

Indeed, the words of a sad and lonely old man..

Or a professional traveller.

I fly round trip to Europe 5-7 times/year and my company pays to ensure I arrive fit for work. Sitting next to a screaming brat is not conducive to this, so I fly first/business and subsidise these peoples flights. Suck it up and book earlier or pay more.

I'm one of them. I fly econ, so I just don't sit near the bulkhead. I go down the back of the plane, away from the parents with children. Works a treat.

[notmyself]

I go down the back of the plane, away from the parents with children. Works a treat.

Also useful sitting at the rear of the aircraft if it should happen to hit a mountain.

[taotoo]

I go down the back of the plane, away from the parents with children. Works a treat.

Also useful sitting at the rear of the aircraft if it should happen to hit a mountain.

Keep it to yourself or the OP might kick off wanting to change his seats again.

[sustento]

Toddlers and babies shouldn't be in airplanes really. I find it selfish to think that a plane full of people should be held hostage by a screaming child. If anything, there should be separate areas for screaming children, as many package tours already do. This of course wouldn't be needed if parents raised their children properly and didn't think that THEIR little precious deserved special treatment.

Indeed, the words of a sad and lonely old man..

Or a professional traveller.

I fly round trip to Europe 5-7 times/year and my company pays to ensure I arrive fit for work. Sitting next to a screaming brat is not conducive to this, so I fly first/business and subsidise these peoples flights. Suck it up and book earlier or pay more.

I'm one of them. I fly econ, so I just don't sit near the bulkhead. I go down the back of the plane, away from the parents with children. Works a treat.

As long as you avoid the seats near the dunnies

[wooloomooloo]

Also useful sitting at the rear of the aircraft if it should happen to hit a mountain.

As my mate once so eloquently put it - planes don't reverse into mountains.

Good point, but I still wouldn't fancy my chances even if I were strapped to the tailfin.

[Khunangkaro]

Quote lorbhaim Post #56:

.......It turned out that the suitcase weighs 2 kg over the weight assigned to the flight. I was charged the total amount in respect of these two kg total of 2,680 baht. .......(End quote)

Before check in weigh your luggage at unmanned counter. Fix weight up to maximum allowed without charge. (If allowance is 20Kg, maximum allowed might be 23.5Kg. Find out at manned counter beforehand. )

[Jasun]

The world airline awards were announced yesterday, and there were 8 Asian airlines in the top 10. Thai Airways wasn't one of them.

[Arkady]

Concentrate on 1st and biz but nearly all the 1st class and a lot of the biz are taken up by freeloaders such as THAI staff, corrupt government officials, their friends and family etc. Came back from Jo'burg biz class and Mrs Arkady and I were virtually the only people who had paid for their seats. The rest were all Thai males and, judging by their conversation, they had been on some kind of a "study trip" in South Africa. It's pathetic the way the airline is used as a piggy bank by crooks and it means they have to squeeze more income out of econ.

Once some Japanese businessmen were kicked off the plane in Tokyo to make room for an air force general and his entourage who hadn't even bothered to book. I am sorry but people who can behave like that are not going to give a damn about a farang and his sprog.

Edited June 20, 2013 by Arkady

[GrantSmith]

The world airline awards were announced yesterday, and there were 8 Asian airlines in the top 10. Thai Airways wasn't one of them.

Perhaps Thai didn't pay enough to get in the top 10 Which is almost ironic

Amongst frequent flyers Skytrax is an annual joke...

[RabC]

Concentrate on 1st and biz but nearly all the 1st class and a lot of the biz are taken up by freeloaders such as THAI staff, corrupt government officials, their friends and family etc. Came back from Jo'burg biz class and Mrs Arkady and I were virtually the only people who had paid for their seats. The rest were all Thai males and, judging by their conversation, they had been on some kind of a "study trip" in South Africa. It's pathetic the way the airline is used as a piggy bank by crooks and it means they have to squeeze more income out of econ.

Once some Japanese businessmen were kicked off the plane in Tokyo to make room for an air force general and his entourage who hadn't even bothered to book. I am sorry but people who can behave like that are not going to give a dam_n about a farang and his sprog.

I fly to/from the UK 5-7 times a year in first. The load factor is normally around 80% and is normally made up of UK business men and older Aussie Couples, on average there are maybe 2 Thais of the 8 of us in first class. Edited June 20, 2013 by RabC

[gerry1011]

 

Toddlers and babies shouldn't be in airplanes really. I find it selfish to think that a plane full of people should be held hostage by a screaming child. If anything, there should be separate areas for screaming children, as many package tours already do. This of course wouldn't be needed if parents raised their children properly and didn't think that THEIR little precious deserved special treatment.

 

 

Indeed, the words of a sad and lonely old man..

 

Or a professional traveller.

I fly round trip to Europe 5-7 times/year and my company pays to ensure I arrive fit for work. Sitting next to a screaming brat is not conducive to this, so I fly first/business and subsidise these peoples flights. Suck it up and book earlier or pay more. 

I don't feel sad, I am not lonely, also not old... but the thing I hate the most on a plane are kids and their parents who selfishly seek 'free special treatment' while they completely disregard the comfort of the other passengers.

I travel to Europe for my business in first class exclusively in order to, not only arrive fresh for the meetings... but also to put as much distance between me and the families with kids. I am very willing to pay a big premium for that extra distance between me and this great source of annoyance, as long as I can relax in a kids free cabin.

Fellow business travellers, if you can afford to reschedule a meeting in case of "emergency", there is one more thing you can do: I asked Thai to put in my profile that I would not fly if there are kids in first class. So, even if they have some last minute upgrades with kids, they inform me at the check in and I am very happy to take the next flight. I prefer to reschedule a meeting than living a nightmare for 11hrs and arrive destroyed at a meeting.

If there is a family paying full fare first class ticket I have no problem, I fly the next day. But in the case the ground crew wants to upgrade a family for any reason (it happens rarely thank god, but it did happen), then they would have to chose between upsetting the frequent traveller or making the parents of the kids more confortable. Up to them to judge who is more important for their business.

They do it for platinum (and gold I guess) members. I asked nicely to write that in my profile and they were happy to do.

If more frequent business travelers do this it could help reduce the annoyance of upgraded families in the front cabins. Its already something... but of course... it only pushes these annoying families further back

Sent from my GT-I8190 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[ava15]

I really hope this is a bad attempt at trolling haha

[Khunangkaro]

Advice to traveling parents. Also very useful at home.

The Five S Way To Calm A Fussy Baby | Colic Baby Solution - The Happiest Baby On The Block.

For babies up to three months.

http://www.happiestbaby.com/calm-colicky-infants/

Edited June 20, 2013 by Khunangkaro

[roamer]

My daughter flies Brisbane to BKK next month with her kids, 6 and 9 on China Airlines who have allocated them all in separate seating rows. She ain't sweating it, they won't be taking off like that without breaking all the safety rules.

[kyb789]

I have only had 2 bad experiences on a flight. One with a 2 month old sitting near me, and one with a 2 year old sitting near me. Enough said.

[alexgav]

I am sure some of you may not agree with me but I will give you my opinion from a cabin crew point of view. I have done this job for the last 10 years. The first 7 years I have flown long haul and after I have meet a Thai girl and get married I have requested to change the base and to do short haul flights, now I am working for a major European company (not low cost) and I am based in north Italy. I love my job very much and I do not intend to write a post where I complain about how hard my job is, I just trie to share my point of view.

The first is a little bit off-topic but there are some myths like the one about the cabin crew that must attend the passengers bags. My company and many others forbid this practice. It is mentioned when you purchase the ticket somewhere that you must be able to lift your own bag. Why is that? It is simple, in the first place almost all companies operate in minimum crew (on short flights) so if i hurt myself while i put your bag in the overhead bin, you must wait for another crew member to come from home and cover the flight since you can't take without one crew member. Then this may be ok if you are in a base airport but what if you are in another country? A little tricky and companies don't need complications and yes this did happened many times before.

Also some of you may not understand that some of us are doing sometimes up to 6 flights per day, yesterday I have done 5 short legs on a Boeing 737-800 with a capacity of 187 seats and an average of 150 passengers per leg onboard, so about 750 passengers in one day, also in the package 5 take offs and 5 landings. Please think if I must lift 10% of this bags would I be fix to operate in an emergency situation?

The nice thing about my job is that we do have very very clear rules and procedures. You may think well what about a old lady or a pregnant women traveling alone... All companies offer assistance for such passengers with special needs. They will bring the passenger onboard and attend the passenger until he or she is seated and bags are in overhead bin. I personally give a hand where possible but it is because I want to not because I have to.

About the OP problem, I strongly suggest you take the advice given by other posters and come to airport sooner. Ask politely to the checkin staff and you have a good chance, also try to ask the crew onboard and I am convince that if there are available seats they will sort it out. It all depends on your attitude. It's enough to say please and throw a smile. Please keep in mind that there are many reasons why they can refuse you if you are not being polite.

They can say they can't put you all on the same row because there are no spare oxygen masks. Or because there are emergency exit seats where children and infants can't be seated, and to be honest you can't do anything about it.

Assigning seats in an airplane is not as easy as people think, there are some things to take in consideration.

Anyway my point is if you will be polite I am sure they will take good care of you, if you come onboard and start screaming at the crew they will not help you and you can't do anything about it. Like I said rules on an airplane at very precise and intimidation never works.

Hope it helps and best regards.

[Khun Falang]

>1. My wife and I were bumped out of business class just before boarding when some big Thai HiSO and family showed up, forcing us to economy with refund.<

Same happened to me. Except, there was no offer for a price difference refund. What they offered me was empty seats on my left and on my right in economy class. No kidding!! True, it was many years ago, but the attitudes at TG have not changed much over the years. I switched to EVA and I have been very happy with their service and professionalism. I also prefer the route LAX-TPE-BKK over LAX-NRT-BKK. The flight between LAX and TPE is much longer than the one to NRT. I can sleep longer. And the second leg is only 3:30 hrs. Much more manageable than the 6 hrs from NRT to BKK where it is too short to get another deep, resting sleep.

I went back to TG when they flew nonstop from LAX. I enjoyed that luxury and ignored everything else about TG. Once they ended the nonstop flights, I came back running to EVA. EVA is also much cheaper than the sheisters at TG. EVA also credits your mileage IMMEDIATELY upon completeion of flight. TG wants you to wait for a few days... Why> Dn't they use computers? And forget about your transferred miles from Starwoood hotels being credited to your account at TG without you sending a few strong e-mails. Miles from car rental company were not credited several times. I once maintained a 2 years' correspondence with TG about missing, lousy 500 miles from a rental company. You would not believe the rejection (of the miles) and denials on the part of TG. And I was a gold card member with them at the time...

I am back to EVA and life is enjoyable again

[joeaverage]

why do people with kids think they deserve special treatment over others? Is it really necessary to take two month old babies on long haul flights? I'm sure not.

would you suggest they walk?