People who can't admit their own mistakes and insist on blaming others, particularly when they go to the media with their whining, make me stabby.

These people suck. Fark them.

It's true, though, that figuring out how to get kids under age 2 onto a plane is typically not obvious when you're booking online. Plus two separate gate agents didn't have any problems with this.

Actually I recall flying once on SWA (not with my kids, sadly) when the head stew came on the PA with: "We have only four oxygen masks in each row, so if you're traveling with more than one lap child, you should probably decide now which one has more potential." Now that's just the kind of humor I like, but I couldn't believe she could say that and keep her job. The whole plane guffawed, though.

/csb

SurfaceTension: FTFA:"I felt we were discriminated against because we had too many children in their eyes," said Kathy Fickes.

Um, no...you weren't. They tried to accommodate you and when that failed they kicked you off so they could take off and not inconvenience every other person on the plane because you couldn't read website instructions.

And got a full refund of their ticket to boot. Anyways it's a Federal Law and not company policy - so technically it's not the company's fault.

"Do you want screaming or no-screaming?"

FTFA: "We were going to have one of the twins sit with my 3-year-old and my husband and I each hold one of the two remaining children," she said.

I don't understand why should couldn't have stuck one up her gaping vage like the woman stealing that case of beer.

The crazy thing is they got refunds. Did they actually purchase nonrestricted full-fare?

...annnnnd once again, kids make everything better.

/farking breeders
//yep, I said it

December 21, 2011 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- A family flying to Chicago for the holidays was kicked off a plane because they had too many young children, they say.

O Rly?

The U.S. Airways policy states the adult must be traveling with the infant. The Fickes could have flown if they bought a ticket in advance for one of their kids under 2, although that child would have been required to fly in a car seat. The Fickes say they would have done that if someone explained the policy before boarding. U.S. Airways refunded the family's tickets.

STFU, you family or Pricks...er, Fickes.

Marcus Aurelius: They bought three tickets

Well there's your problem right there.

This. And they expected a 3 year old to babysit an infant? WTF are these people thinking?

SurfaceTension: FTFA:"I felt we were discriminated against because we had too many children in their eyes," said Kathy Fickes.

Um, no...you weren't. They tried to accommodate you and when that failed they kicked you off so they could take off and not further delayinconvenience every other person on the plane because you couldn't read website instructions and had already delayed the plane for 50 minutes.

Although the couple sounds like they tried to do whatever they had to on the plane, they still tried to beat the system and in the process put a couple of hundred people at a disadvantage.

Ugh, fark these people. Why in the lord holy baby jesus's name would you choose to fly with this brood. Pay for mom and dad's flight to you. Do not try and bring 4 very young children with two adults on a plane while only paying for 3 seats.

Jesus christ! Airline v. unstoppable parents!!!! I have no farking idea who to root for in this one.

I came here fully ready to defend these people and then RTFA. WTF? You cannot place a 20 month old in a seat with a 3 year old. Farking asshats.

lecavalier: Jesus christ! Airline v. unstoppable parents!!!! I have no farking idea who to root for in this one.

I think it's a pretty cut and dry Alien vs. Predator situation.

PsychoTherapist: It's true, though, that figuring out how to get kids under age 2 onto a plane is typically not obvious when you're booking online. Plus two separate gate agents didn't have any problems with this.

Actually I recall flying once on SWA (not with my kids, sadly) when the head stew came on the PA with: "We have only four oxygen masks in each row, so if you're traveling with more than one lap child, you should probably decide now which one has more potential." Now that's just the kind of humor I like, but I couldn't believe she could say that and keep her job. The whole plane guffawed, though.

/csb

And that is exactly why I love flying Southwest. They don't perform their duties from a corporate scripted handbook. They get the job done and if they feel like it, do it with a twist.

The most miserable flying experience of my life involved a long-assed ride from LA to Hawaii seated in front of two hyperactive brats (couldn't have been older than four) with their progressively more inebriated mothers seated on either side ignored them yelling, screaming, throwing pillows etc. At one point, I returned the pillow the tots tossed over at me, and mentioned to one MOTY that perhaps she might consider driving to Hawaii the next time.

Dang kids..

stevie1der: lecavalier: Jesus christ! Airline v. unstoppable parents!!!! I have no farking idea who to root for in this one.

I think it's a pretty cut and dry Alien vs. Predator situation.

Man, I don't know. Predators have honor and chivalry. I can't find an angle here.

Freeloading breeders, good.

I fail to see the problem here; throwing the people off the flight and ruining their Christmas is an ugly thing to do. The plane's cargo hold is there for a reason. Use it. Just put the kids in some pet carriers and stow them down there for the flight. Everyone is happy, and the kids get to experience the magic of freight distribution.

Depending on their carry-on luggage they should have had more than enough room to stuff at least 2 of them into an overhead bin. Failing that one of them would have fit fully under the seat in front.

Maybe they should have dust taped them to the cargo hold doors.

One window seat pleeze..

MAYORBOB: The most miserable flying experience of my life involved a long-assed ride from LA to Hawaii seated in front of two hyperactive brats (couldn't have been older than four) with their progressively more inebriated mothers seated on either side ignored them yelling, screaming, throwing pillows etc. At one point, I returned the pillow the tots tossed over at me, and mentioned to one MOTY that perhaps she might consider driving to Hawaii the next time.

I was on a train in a situation like that and the guy (and his girlfriend) adjacent to me had the same issue in front of them. They just started cursing. Not loud, not obnoxiously, but just like adults would not do when around children; just enough to not alert the conductors. It took about ten minutes before the mother turned around and they just laughed in her face.

It was glorious.

I can't do shiat like this because I just end up exploding and going to jail or getting killed so it was much more enjoyable to see someone with sense do it.

3 months after giving birth to twins, you decide it would be a good time to have ANOTHER kid? 3 farking months after giving birth to twins?

There you are with one kid approaching the terrible 2's, a 3 month old infant on each tit, and you're thinking: "Gee, if only we had another baby..."

Good lord woman - pace yourself.

Hey, lady with all the kids, next time try our eco-friendly "green" birthing chair:

So, the airline tried to find a couple of ways to accommodate them and delayed the flight before deciding that there wasn't a way to make it happen and that makes the the airline the bad guys?

How is a three-year-old supposed to hold an infant in their lap safely if the airplane hits any significant turbulence or has a hard landing? On what planet is having a three-year-old restraining an infant a good idea?

Website should be more obvious.
Gate agents should have caught this.
Family should have called before booking.
Refund issued.

Run of the mill derp all around. Why is this news?

LouDobbsAwaaaay: "We were going to have one of the twins sit with my 3-year-old and my husband and I each hold one of the two remaining children," she said.

So the airline didn't want to accommodate your attempt to leave one of your infants with your three year old? You weren't kicked off the plane for having too many children; you were kicked off for having too few adults.

And the whole plane breathed a sigh of relief when they saw your crying, screaming, snot-nosed freakshow of a clown-car family get booted.

Except for the people that missed their connecting flight in Chicago due to the 50 minute hold up by these assholes, who probably wanted to kill the parents instead.

5 people, you need 5 seats and 5 tickets. I'm surprised that airlines, that are grubbing for every penny they can get, have not started enforcing this. They could give a discount for under 6 if they wanted to.

And if you weigh as much as 3 people you should have to buy three tickets too.

I feel a rant... OK, rant is coming out now.

And, what they should really do is... they should also institute a fair weight policy. They weigh you and all your bags and coats and crap at once. If you are over 250 pounds total, you pay by the pound. No embarrassment being weighed separately, it is your super heavy bag that puts it over 350, right? No more cramming 50 pounds of crap in your carry on and trying to jam it under my seat, no more fatty rolls oozing into my seat, 250 pound limit per person, lard-os. It costs fuel to haul all that lard and crap around, the first airline to do so would have my business, and the fattys would jam onto the other airlines until they had to start charging too.

Three children is now approaching clown car status?

They should've sat one parent with one child in one row and another parent with the other child in another to meet guidelines. It could've been done by the check in agent.

darch: ...annnnnd once again, kids make everything better.

/farking breeders
//yep, I said it

/non-breeders can carry their "crotch fruit" in a diaper bag.

We have 5 children and I do not sympathize with these people. When we traveled by plane with all of them, we purchased seats for all, including the youngest so that we could use a baby seat. And we trained to behave properly. Our biggest "problem" was my 4-year-old son standing on the seat and flirting with girls in the row behind him.

Totally common on Aer Lingus.

Devo: Three children is now approaching clown car status?

They should've sat one parent with one child in one row and another parent with the other child in another to meet guidelines. It could've been done by the check in agent.

You might want to try some reading comprehension.

4 kids. 3 of them under two years old, not able to sit in a seat by themselves. The idiot parents wanted to put one infant in each adult lap, then pawn the remaining twin off on the 3 year old's lap because they only bought 3 seats.

hailin: Makes sense to me. In the case of an emergency there is no way they would be able to handle getting their four kids off the airplane quickly. Besides, a three-year-old can not be expected to take care of a 14-month old. What were these people thinking?

I mean it is a 13-hour drive. It is makeable within a day even with stopping for gas, lunch, and breaks. Just leave REALLY early in the morning (like 2 a.m.) and hope the kids sleep the first five hours. My parents didn't fly with us when we were under 6 (and even then we only flew maybe 5 times), so I remember a lot of road trips with a few multi-days, but 15 hours wasn't uncommon. Back then I had coloring books, regular book when I was old enough to read, the radio/a cassette player), and travel games I played with my sister. It wasn't that bad. Now you can get portable DVD players and video game systems to keep kids entertained so long road trips should be even easier.

They paid at least $1200 to fly. They could have pocketed some serious cash had they driven, not to mention the hassle of having to herd them through airports and security checkpoints and terminals and gate seating and on and on and on.

Then again, something tells me they wouldn't have cared too much about the havoc in their wake and the misery everyone around them got to experience.

Devo: Three children is now approaching clown car status?

They should've sat one parent with one child in one row and another parent with the other child in another to meet guidelines. It could've been done by the check in agent.

4 children: a three year old, twins, and an eight month old.

4 kids in 3 years is, under international law, clown-car status.

KarmicDisaster: I feel a rant... OK, rant is coming out now.

I hope you wiped after that

MAYORBOB: MOTY

What is "MOTY"?

Friskya: Sybarite: The Fickes have a 3-year-old, 20-month-old twins and an 8-month-old

God damn people, get a hobby.

Sounds like they already have one.

Zing!

Damn it, Gatorade burns when it gets in your nose! BTW you owe me a new keyboard for that.

Mambo Bananapatch: MAYORBOB: MOTY

What is "MOTY"?

Mother of the Year.