This is a story from Yahoo.com, so its journalistic cred is suspect. Take it for what you will. There are two aspects to it which I love.
First the headline:
Toddler Tantrum Gets Family Booted from JetBlue Flight. Is Flying Still Kid-friendly?
The synopsis:
A two year-old kid having a gigantic tantrum prior to takeoff results in the pilot deciding to return to the gate and the family of four are removed from the plane.
According to the story the whole experience of spending an extra night at the point of origin and then purchasing tickets on another airline cost the family about $2000.
First, I love the fact that the airline kicked the family off the plane. I understand and am sympathetic to the problems of traveling with children (or simply raising children, in general) and, because it takes a village to raise the little darlings, I know that sometimes one just has to accept a little inconvenience. But I also believe the decision to have children really does mean the accceptance of some limitations on your otherwise carefree existence. Maybe you just can't take family vacations by airplane until the kiddies reach a certain age.
The second thing I love is this quote from the mother of the family: "I don't know that I could blame JetBlue, to be totally fair," Colette told the local news affiliate. "I just feel like it's airplane travel today in general." It is so refreshing to have someone, in an obviously tense situation like this, no doubt frustrated and more than a little angry, express a reasonable opinion. Of course, some lawyer might contact her tomorrow and convince her to sue, but let's hope not.
The story identified the mother as a pediatrician. Presumably she learned a little bit more about children from this real-world experience.
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