Advertiser Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links below. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers.
Back in November, I shared my feelings on why children do not belong in Polaris® Lounges and other premium spaces. This doesn’t just apply only to misbehaving children as plenty of adults behave poorly in lounges. Mind your manners and stop acting like you’re in your living room at home.
Almost nothing ruins the experience of relaxing in a lounge before a flight like children running around, screaming, and making big messes while consuming food in a lounge. I say almost because the boorish behavior of many adults is on a par with anything that children can bring.
Gary at View from the Wing posted earlier today about a Reddit post that called out the mess left behind in what looks like a Centurion or Chase lounge.
I can’t tell you how many times I have seen children (and adults) dropping food all over the floor, leaving stacks of dishes, and even eating directly off of the buffet or using their fingers when they should be using tongs. I took the picture above in a United Club℠. This was the cleanest location I could find. Sure this is also on the staff for not cleaning up after guests, but it also comes down to people leaving dirty napkins on seats and food discarded everywhere. Not okay.
Am I the problem? I find this gross and an appalling lack of manners to put your bare feet on a chair in an airport lounge like this. pic.twitter.com/rCm8d3a9zG
— Māra MacDonald (@maramacdonald) April 28, 2023
Please stop putting bare feet on seats as I spotted this morning in the airline lounge. It’s unsanitary and inconsiderate to other travelers. #travel #etiquette pic.twitter.com/Lc9G0wQSJk
— Tiffany Dowd (@LuxeTiffany) May 18, 2019
Shoes and feet do not belong on furniture any more than they belong on the walls of the aircraft. This is gross.
Lounges Should Have Enforceable Codes of Conduct
Lounges should require people to maintain the relaxing atmosphere that they set out to offer. This includes keeping your clothing and shoes on, not making messes, controlling unruly children, not taking calls on speakerphone or FaceTime, and generally being considerate. Staff should be trained and empowered to call people out on bad behavior, toss them out, and ban them from future visits based on the severity of the infractions. I don’t think the problem is uniquely American as called out below, either.
Sitting at the airport lounge…
Poorly behaved American children running around…
SCREAMING
Throwing food
Hitting the parentsWhy do I never see this in Europe or Latam?
Unless of course… it is an American child.
— The Way of Jerz (@TheJerzWay) May 23, 2023
Anthony’s Take: It’s not hard to behave in a lounge, but many children and adults don’t seem to be able to control themselves. Add alcohol and people feeling entitled because they have status, hold a certain credit card, or have purchased a premium fare and you have a mess. Airlines and lounge operators need to let their staff hold people accountable and passengers need to mind their manners.
(The featured image does not include one of the actual children and is a stock image from max-kegfire added to a photo I took of the Polaris® lounge.)
User Generated Content Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat encourages constructive discussions, comments, and questions. Responses are not provided by or commissioned by any bank advertisers. These responses have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the responsibility of the bank advertiser to respond to comments.
12 comments
The Laqua onsen in Tokyo has the best check-in system and lounges should adapt something similar. The attendant had me go through an iPad showing pictograms and text of the behavior rules which were available in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese. I had to review a few screens showing the rules (i.e. no smoking, no tattoos allowed, etc.) and click agree to each page before entering. Amex could do this through their QR Code check-in system.
How about you STFU.
Did the article hit too close to home, Karen? Put your feet down, chew with your mouth closed, and control your spawn.
Best travel experience of last year was at the UA Club at MCO… some like 6 year old was running around behind guests yelling “HEY SIRI!” to activate peoples phones. They also had overflowing tables of plates and debris that would make the Collyer brothers blush. One of the lounge desk agents came over and gave them a warning which the parents kind of smirked at. Ten minutes later, and not quietly, one of the desk agents came back and told them they must leave the Club immediately. And no, they can’t take any of their food with them. I didn’t hear the parents reply but the agent reiterated he was well within house rules to ask them to leave due to repeated disruptions, and they had been warned. A couple of people actually clapped.
That’s good! I was in a club in IAH with a couple families in a group with similar behavior going on, and the club was really busy and the staff seemed overwhelmed with everything going on and just the regular cleanup and service. Finally, before I left I did see one staff member ask them not to let their children run around the busy lounge. These kids were literally running around like they were at an outdoor plaplayground. As I was pulling my luggage away a kid was jumping over the back of the chair I just vacated. It was unreal and I wondered if the staff did anything after I left.
Your assertions are plenty reasonable but people who want to allow their children – or themselves – to act like wild animals are going to take offense. People will only act in a mannerly fashion in a lounge if they have manners to begin with.
I’ve noticed it’s been really bad in some recent lounge visits.
Examples:
A couple weeks ago I was at a lounge where they had been in the process of switching from breakfast to lunch, and a somewhat lengthy line (lenthy for the lounge maybe 15-20 people long) had formed. Then a family unleashed their children on the buffet where these kids cut everyone in line, cut between people at the buffet to grab what they wanted, weaving between people carrying plates and beverages, while grabbing food off the buffet with their hands.
Finally last week a family letting small children climb across the backs of chairs in the seating area, there were seats back to back so they were climbing on seats where other guests were seated and one kids knocked over a lamp on he table between chairs and spilled another guest’s drink.
In Houston last month the lounge was pretty busy and there were kids literally running around the seating areas loudly playing and very routy behavior as if they were playing in a park, not appropriate behavior for indoors and especially not a lounge or restaurant.
It’s not all kids, and some adults can be disruptive assholes, but I’ve definitely seen a trend lately of unruly kids and parents allowing obnoxious and uncouth behavior from their children in the lounges. At the very least I wish the employees had the power to boot out these obnoxious offenders, but I’d definitely support a ban on kids.
I smell a Jussie Smollet imposter.
Kids won’t be banned from lounges. It’s the new trend and you’ll have to put up with it. Business travel post covid is a massive slump and most business class tickets are now sold to leisure travellers. That type of traveller tends to want more for their own money. That means more families with kids and more obnoxious adults. Some lounges even provide dedicated kids areas in their lounges.
Lounges, status cards, and premium tickets are cash cows for most airlines and airports. And they are relying on the leisure traveller far more than they used to.
Where they were dominated before by people on genuine business, and the general business behaviour etiquette they had became the unwritten rules for conduct, they are slowly becoming more geared towards leisure travel. This will lead to a more casual environment creeping into lounges. Of the lounges you frequent fall into this market (dominated or significantly propped up by leisure travellers) then expect a relaxation on standards.
Good you know money can’t buy class since you have no class! How many kids do you have? None? Is that because your partner is another male? Get a life you need it!
And cue the gay bashing.
I am quite straight, and I completely agree with the author. I raised my kids to behave in public. What I see nowadays with little monsters completely unchecked by their lazy parents is appalling.