He's 11. And just to clarify he asked me to take a photo once and that was done quietly with no flash as so not to disturb other passengers.How old is your son? Is he too young to take a selfie of himself?
I absolutely did not cause a "broo-ha-ha" in business class!So... at least from my experience and from my mom's perspective... yeah. You were unprofessional. The issue isn't that your son was on the flight, the issue is that you were causing a broo-ha-ha in business class, which is typically pretty quiet as most people are working or trying to sleep - especially on a long haul flight.
I'm guessing this is more what happened. Business class passengers (now that I read the OP's response, I missed it before) are used to paying a premium for seats, many are business travelers. I see the jealousy thing less and less now. Many of business class passengers if they are business travelers aren't even paying for their flights, their companies typically do. Of all the travel my husband has done never once has he paid for his flight if for business, it's on his company credit card 100% of the time.My mom worked for an airline growing up, so I've been on tons of free flights. *Especially* when flying in business or first class, my mom was adamant that we not draw any attention to ourselves or mention in any way that we were using her passes. Our goal was to stay low, be quiet, and enjoy our free trip to our destination. She would have been mortified if the paying passenger sitting directly next to us knew we were using passes, let alone 5 or 10 people.
So... at least from my experience and from my mom's perspective... yeah. You were unprofessional. The issue isn't that your son was on the flight, the issue is that you were causing a broo-ha-ha in business class, which is typically pretty quiet as most people are working or trying to sleep - especially on a long haul flight.
You said "Lot's (between 5-10) of other passengers commented during the flight " I would not take that to mean two flights but if it was two flights then the odds that it was something on your end that caused the comments is the same if not more.It was 5-10 people between the inbound and outbound, so not all on the same flight.
If you were speaking to him more than once or twice per flight, it was probably disturbing the other passengers. I fly long-haul flights, about half the time in business class, and would be annoyed if one of the flight crew kept coming close to my seat to chat with one of the passengers.Probably because I did come over and speak to him for a few minutes every now and again and he wanted me to take a picture of him in his business class seat.
I agree. I think its awesome that you were able to bring your son. I didn't see how old your son is, but I would assume he is old enough to look after himself on the flight.What business is it of the passengers to comment at all if your son was behaving. Many professions allow certain perks to their employees and families. As long as it did not interfere with your work performance during the flights I do not think you did anything wrong or that it was unprofessional. You had cleared it with your supervisors so there should be no problem. I am sure it was exciting for your son to see you in the work environment and hope you had fun at your destination.
My question as well was how they did know he was your son? Did the passengers comments that they thought it was inappropriate that he was using your free flights or that he was on the flight while you were working?
I, personally, would have thought it wonderful (and said so) that your son was able to be with you at work.
MJ
This is what all the other crew were saying to me. It's fine as they do as well and it's approved by our employer.You did nothing wrong, it was approved by your employer so its no one else's business. People take issue with employee perks as they think why should I have to pay when he doesn't. Its begrudgery at its highest form. People get the hump in general with airline perks as they think you get paid huge amounts and have a glamourous life.
I regularly fly with crew who do this all the time and them and and there kids behaved like we did. And my son wasn't talking to me every chance he got.I would bet the people who do this all the time tell their kids to behave as if they were flying alone, rather than talking to mom every chance they get.
This is my thought, I went back to a pp and talking for a few minutes is a long time for a flight attendant to talk to a passenger, especially if it happened several times. My daughter flew at 11 and although I paid the fee, I knew she was mature enough to just sit quietly during the flight. I had assumed the child was younger and needed attention.Talking to him multiple times during the flights as well as stopping to take his picture... sounds to me like you were paying too much attention to him. Honestly, it does sound unprofessional to me. If that was truly all you were doing, and he didn't disrupt the other passengers, then I wouldn't have made a complaint, but I definitely would have noticed and thought to myself that it was unprofessional.
I have seen kids fly as unaccompanied minors, who have to be looked after by the flight attendants, and they don't get that much attention.
I would bet the people who do this all the time tell their kids to behave as if they were flying alone, rather than talking to mom every chance they get.
My take is that this shouldn't have been an issue at all. I do think some people who fly business class have a bit of a privileged attitude and could have been bothered that you spoke to your son. Not sure why but that's what it is sounding like. That would not have bothered me in the least. He wasn't whining or crying or constantly getting up or kicking the seat in front of him. Those things would bother me. There is no rule of silence in business class.I regularly fly with crew who do this all the time and them and and there kids behaved like we did. And my son wasn't talking to me every chance he got.
I regularly fly with crew who do this all the time and them and and there kids behaved like we did. And my son wasn't talking to me every chance he got.