While you might have a better chance of peace and quiet in premium cabins, it's by no means a guarantee. Plenty of news articles to be found of (DYKWIA) people very upset at paying for a business class flight only to be seated near someone else flying business with a screaming baby. I'm sure @sbiddle will have one up on TravelTalk one day.

Not sure there really is a good solution here. I can't imagine that child-free flights would work for airlines as they would be more likley to have lower load factors and therefore less profitability. You can offset that to some degree with premium prices, but unless you have an extremely busy route that model doesn't seem to work well (just look at how many economy seats vs. premium cabins that airlines are cramming in on all but a very exceptions). NC headphones probably won't help all that much as they aren't designed to cancel out the high pitch tones of a toddler exploring their vocal range - isolation (by head/earphones or earplugs) will help more.

There is a degree of responsibility for the parents to manage their kids behavior, but kids are kids and sometimes not much a parent can do. What does bother me is if there is a child on a flight that is disrupting passengers, for example by kicking the seat in front, and the parents either do nothing at all about it, or are openly hostile to a even a very polite request to ask them to stop. It's usually the same passenger/parent who puts their chair in full recline the moment the plane is in the air, loudly complains that they paid for a meal when on a seat only fare and expects that their seat neighbor and/or the cabin crew are there to babysit while they have a loud nap or extended trip to the bathroom.

Rikkitic:

 

Let me try to make myself clear on this. I am not anti-child but facile comments about grinning and bearing it don't help. For whatever reason, I am hypersensitive to this kind of noise. It doesn't just make me uncomfortable. It makes me suffer. It is exactly like sitting next to someone scraping their fingernails down a chalkboard for 6 or 8 or whatever hours. People who don't have this issue just don't understand it. 

 

So I get that people with children also have to fly and they don't enjoy imposing this on others. Fair enough. I am just asking why airlines don't do something about it. I would imagine enough other people might be bothered by this kind of thing to make child-free flights a worthwhile marketing idea. I don't know.

 

 

 

They do, ask for noise cancelling headphones. 

Rikkitic:

 

Let me try to make myself clear on this. I am not anti-child but facile comments about grinning and bearing it don't help. For whatever reason, I am hypersensitive to this kind of noise. It doesn't just make me uncomfortable. It makes me suffer. It is exactly like sitting next to someone scraping their fingernails down a chalkboard for 6 or 8 or whatever hours. People who don't have this issue just don't understand it. 

 

So I get that people with children also have to fly and they don't enjoy imposing this on others. Fair enough. I am just asking why airlines don't do something about it. I would imagine enough other people might be bothered by this kind of thing to make child-free flights a worthwhile marketing idea. I don't know.

 

They do.

First/business class seats. not maybe for child noise reasons, but for the comfort of been more distant from other passengers and prohibitive costs to flight with kids in mentioned classes :D

so you have an option to pay a little more for your mental health or suffer 

Rikkitic:

 

Let me try to make myself clear on this. I am not anti-child but facile comments about grinning and bearing it don't help. For whatever reason, I am hypersensitive to this kind of noise. It doesn't just make me uncomfortable. It makes me suffer. It is exactly like sitting next to someone scraping their fingernails down a chalkboard for 6 or 8 or whatever hours. People who don't have this issue just don't understand it. 

 

So I get that people with children also have to fly and they don't enjoy imposing this on others. Fair enough. I am just asking why airlines don't do something about it. I would imagine enough other people might be bothered by this kind of thing to make child-free flights a worthwhile marketing idea. I don't know.

 

 

 

I don't think anyone is tarnishing you saying any of that, we all understand. Since you are an outlier in this situation (So am I most of the time too) you must cater to the situation instead of the situation catering to you.

timmmay:

 

Put foam earplugs under noise cancelling headphones. NC only works on low frequencies, together they work well. Just turn the volume up a bit.

 

Parents do their best to keep kids quiet, but children aren't reasonable.

 

I have a vivid memory from around 9 when my sister was 6-7 crying for a while on the plane to Aussie, making a scene as she couldn't get something from the food cart. My parents were anti lollies, sugar, junk food and young sis wanted some of just that.
After around 15 minutes of this, dad grabbed her from her seat and held her up lion king style so everyone can watch her cry and asked if she got the attention she was looking for. She stopped crying and was shocked, to then start balling her eyes out from embarrassment and gave up.

Batman: Could always fly first class?

kobiak:

 

so you have an option to pay a little more for your mental health or suffer 

Generally not a little more, however. Premium Economy is often at least 2-3x times the price of an economy fare, and business class can easily be 5-10x the price.

Sounds like a bit of a niche market. If there's a way to make a dollar, the airlines are doing it. Earplugs, headphones, and premium economy might be your best bet.

kobiak:

 

Rikkitic:

 

Let me try to make myself clear on this. I am not anti-child but facile comments about grinning and bearing it don't help. For whatever reason, I am hypersensitive to this kind of noise. It doesn't just make me uncomfortable. It makes me suffer. It is exactly like sitting next to someone scraping their fingernails down a chalkboard for 6 or 8 or whatever hours. People who don't have this issue just don't understand it. 

 

So I get that people with children also have to fly and they don't enjoy imposing this on others. Fair enough. I am just asking why airlines don't do something about it. I would imagine enough other people might be bothered by this kind of thing to make child-free flights a worthwhile marketing idea. I don't know.

 

 

They do.

 

First/business class seats. not maybe for child noise reasons, but for the comfort of been more distant from other passengers and prohibitive costs to flight with kids in mentioned classes :D

 

so you have an option to pay a littlebucketloads more for your mental health or suffer 

 

Fixed.

ajobbins:

 

 

 

There is a degree of responsibility for the parents to manage their kids behavior, but kids are kids and sometimes not much a parent can do. What does bother me is if there is a child on a flight that is disrupting passengers, for example by kicking the seat in front, and the parents either do nothing at all about it, or are openly hostile to a even a very polite request to ask them to stop. It's usually the same passenger/parent who puts their chair in full recline the moment the plane is in the air, loudly complains that they paid for a meal when on a seat only fare and expects that their seat neighbor and/or the cabin crew are there to babysit while they have a loud nap or extended trip to the bathroom.

 

I was going to add something here but you have beaten me to it as said in your last para. same sentiment here.  

muppet:

 

hsvhel:

 

A friend of mine takes small bags the kids hand out to near by passengers that give the eye roll of doom when they walk down the isle.....

 

 

What is in the small bag? Lollies? A Gun? Earmuffs?

 

Little sorry note, some ear plugs and some lollies.....be surprised how many hardened arsehats have had a change of mood when confronted with a little face saying sorry

hsvhel:

 

Little sorry note, some ear plugs and some lollies.....be surprised how many hardened arsehats have had a change of mood when confronted with a little face saying sorry

 

Clooney does this.

But takes it next level. Sennheiser gift packs :)

hsvhel:

 

muppet:

 

hsvhel:

 

A friend of mine takes small bags the kids hand out to near by passengers that give the eye roll of doom when they walk down the isle.....

 

 

What is in the small bag? Lollies? A Gun? Earmuffs?

 

 

 

 

Little sorry note, some ear plugs and some lollies.....be surprised how many hardened arsehats have had a change of mood when confronted with a little face saying sorry

 

 

 

Do the kids understand why you make them hand these out to people?
I know someone said kids are unreasonable earlier...

Got a flight coming up later this year to Aus where we will be taking the little ones. Not gonna lie, I'm dreading it. Miss 2 year old is very much in that 'I'm independent and wish to test my boundaries' stage. Believe me when I say, as parents, we will be doing everything under the sun to keep her happy, content and most importantly quiet. But when she loses the plot often the only way to settle her is to let her work through her feelings in her own time, anything else is a lesson in futility. 

The idea of an adults only flight is interesting but personally I think it would never take off. The economics of it, other then heavy routes, wouldn't pay off and quite frankly as soon as you exclude one lot of people, the allowed lot's behavior seems to get worse in my experience. Having children around is often a good way to moderate a room - most people know that kids are impressionable and nervous wee things so will moderate their own behaviour to suit - take kids out of the equation and some yob will take it as an invite to enjoy themselves a little too much.

kingjj:

 

Got a flight coming up later this year to Aus where we will be taking the little ones. Not gonna lie, I'm dreading it. Miss 2 year old is very much in that 'I'm independent and wish to test my boundaries' stage. Believe me when I say, as parents, we will be doing everything under the sun to keep her happy, content and most importantly quiet. But when she loses the plot often the only way to settle her is to let her work through her feelings in her own time, anything else is a lesson in futility.

Don't forget to pack the Phenergan in your carry on

kingjj:

 

Got a flight coming up later this year to Aus where we will be taking the little ones. Not gonna lie, I'm dreading it. Miss 2 year old is very much in that 'I'm independent and wish to test my boundaries' stage. Believe me when I say, as parents, we will be doing everything under the sun to keep her happy, content and most importantly quiet. But when she loses the plot often the only way to settle her is to let her work through her feelings in her own time, anything else is a lesson in futility. 

 

The idea of an adults only flight is interesting but personally I think it would never take off. The economics of it, other then heavy routes, wouldn't pay off and quite frankly as soon as you exclude one lot of people, the allowed lot's behavior seems to get worse in my experience. Having children around is often a good way to moderate a room - most people know that kids are impressionable and nervous wee things so will moderate their own behaviour to suit - take kids out of the equation and some yob will take it as an invite to enjoy themselves a little too much.

 

Give her a sweet during take off and landing.  Helps to equalize the pressure by the swallowing action.