In Defense of the Kid-Free Flight

When news broke last week that Jetblue was launching kid-free flights from New York to Fort Lauderdale, I was aghast. Though it’s been many years now, I’ll never forget the red eye I took to Paris with my 8-month-old, who fell asleep at takeoff only to wake up during dinner service and proceed to scream bloody murder.

What followed was a harrowing eight-hour effort to keep my wide-awake baby quiet in a darkened plane, while everyone around me slept. To the man who yelled, “Give that baby some ice!”—I will always despise you.

You might think this would lead me to question JetBlue’s decision. We parents are people too, dammit. But the more I thought about it, the more I felt that, in fact, kid-free flights might actually be a good thing.

After all, even before I was a parent, I was a traveler who never ever minded kids up in the air. Other children’s tears or tantrums don’t bother me. On the contrary, I’m a huge empath and have always wanted to be a person who helps. Mom struggling with a stroller? That’s my cue. Toddler getting antsy and bored in their seat? Sure, I’ve got time for a round of peek-a-boo.

Now that I’m a mom, my empathy for other parents is heightened even further. To consider a European mindset, children are a part of our society and our collective responsibility. Conversely, people who get pissed about kids on planes are an active part of the problem. Much as you shouldn’t begrudge a person in a wheelchair requiring extra accommodations, you shouldn’t begrudge a two-year-old who needs to get his wiggles out. (Also, can’t these grumps just pack a pair of noise-cancelling headphones and move on?)

But righteousness aside, there is an alternate view: What if kid-free flights are an opportunity to stick the people who feel disgruntled about a child’s developmentally appropriate behavior all in one place? Perhaps it would even empower parents such as myself who feel pressured to apologize for our kid-carrying status? Back to that man who unhelpfully suggested ice. Good riddance, I say!

My angry-seatmate experience is no outlier. Just this month, a mother from the U.K. shared a video where another passenger called her selfish for traveling with children before she even sat down. (For what it’s worth, her two kids were well-behaved the entire flight.) There was also the Barstool Sports contributor who went viral for giving real time updates aboard a Delta flight, wherein he shamed parents who were unable to soothe a crying baby.

The chance to stick all these mean-spirited people in one place? Kind of tantalizing.

Additionally, let’s say you are a parent trying to take an adults-only getaway. A kid-free flight is essentially the equivalent of splurging on a luxury hotel. “It almost feels like a chance to treat yourself to a true break from it all,” says one of my well-traveled mom-friends. On the flip side, another parent I chatted with at the school pickup line says she’s concerned a move like this only serves to further vilify families: “I see the benefits of separating the grumbly people, but it also rewards their crankiness.”

Bottom line: I’m tired of apologizing for my children’s very existence. If adults are allowed to be irritable during air travel, why can’t the same hold true for people under the age of 10? And if kid-free flights grant parents a pass from eye rolls at 32,000 feet, then pass the peanuts.