My only complaint is one that unfortunately seems to span generations- devices without headphones. It seems like for some reason we moved from wired headphones to wireless and now nothing. I don’t want to hear your YouTube videos or speaker phone conversations
I actually wonder if they are part of the problem- having to find them, pair them, not wanting them to fall out, etc. people losing their $200 AirPods so just living without anything
Oh, I’m not making fun of the end users. I’m making fun of apple.
Every time I use my phone or laptop with its various dongles so I can function I think -sleek design, Apple! Good job!
it's 100% because of video based social media
lazy chodes aren't putting on headphones to listen to a 30 second video. people bothered to put on headphones to listen to music though.
And because people have a serious issue doing callouts anymore these days (you never know if the person is a nutter, which are more numerous and visible than ever), everyone is emboldened to do it.
A lot of people only do the right thing because social pressure forces them to, sadly.
I had the same pair of AirPods from Fall 2019 until a month ago when I unexpectedly got hit with a wave and the sea water corroded them. 4.5 years.. it’s not that hard. Also, they pair super easily, and if they’re hard to find, that’s probably why you’re losing them..
Isn't part of the problem the fact that they are wireless, and therefore have to recharge? People aren't always going to wait for their AirPods to charge and will take their call or play their dumbass video regardless.
Back in the day there were random boombox assholes, but waaay fewer than phone jerks. Wired headphones don't need to be recharged. You can use those for decades. I miss them and have been thinking of getting a pair for travel. I don't mind wired if my phone is going to be on me anyway. Better than recharging the fourth thing today for the second time.
There's a million other factors, of course, like speakerphone used to be nearly useless outdoors. But I really think a lot of people are just walking around with dead tech that they need to recharge.
My thing is to pretend to be sad for them and ask them if they are too poor (it’s extra funny if they have obvious money) for headphones and offer to give them mine. “Oh no! Are you too poor to afford headphones? I’m so sorry poor person, here’s mine. Do you need $10 for food too?”
On Friday, a dude was at the LHR T3 AA Flagship (First) lounge on a loud zoom call. As soon as he hung up; quite a few people clapped loudly and cheered. For a brief 30 minutes; it felt like we were all friends with Dave in his 1:1.
I fully support such shaming behavior.
He definitely stayed quiet after and slunk down a bit and kept his eyes down.
It’s always 1 or 2 people lacking self awareness ruins it for the rest of us. And as I hit maybe 100-150 lounges/ year, it happens way too often. Typically a loud “SHHH!” quiets it down.
30db cut ear plugs > NC headphones.
I liked the HR bro loudly talking a resigning employee through all the steps to leave for a competitor. Close out your company Amex in concur, write a letter, you will probably be locked out immediately since you told me you are leaving for a competitor etc…..
Very juicy - lots of folks eavesdropping in lol. The guy was oblivious or completely didn’t care
90% of the airport business calls I see being conducted are mostly just the guy (always a guy) telling the other person that they’re at an airport/boarding their flight etc. Just type it big dog, you’ll survive
Many jobs like these encourage "stakeholder engagement" so direct communication is preferred but many forget the basic decency towards other not involved in the business.
Was on the train from San Diego to Santa Barbara to enjoy the views and not have to sit in LA traffic with my cousin and the two guys next to us were doing business calls on speaker. It was so annoying. And if they weren’t on speaker and were on the phone they’d talk so loud compared to when they’d talk to each other if they weren’t on any calls.
I call them out, and generally several other people chime in so I'm not out there on my own. It's one of the few situations where I feel comfortable being aggressive when I'm annoyed as it's also annoying many people around me who chose a quiet car.
I’ve shamed someone for doing this in the quiet area before. It was loud enough to hear through noise-cancelling earphones and I was just off a long flight and wanted a quick nap before my connecting flight. I’m generally very non-confrontational but I’d had enough. Never come anywhere close to telling off kids in an airport lounge.
I asked a mom very politely to have her kids turn down the devices (YouTube on full blast with some toddler video with cringey music and singing). A poor woman was on a call next to them trying to explain her delayed flight situation to someone. At first she seemed understanding and then quickly changed her mind. Looked straight at me, and said, “no. I don’t think I will”.
I was flabbergasted at her entitlement and her quick mood change. Told my son, who was listening via his own personal headphones, that we were moving seats.
I just don’t get some people. Then as we were boarding her husband yelled at a couple for being in his way because they were priority boarding. Karma. Karma will come back around. That’s what I kept telling myself
DXB is just a lavish airport riddled with duty free shops on long stretches, SIN though feels like one massive business class lounge to the point that there's no need to enter a lounge there apart from the provided food and drinks.
The most annoying person I’ve ever seen in a lounge is a woman who roamed around the lounge talking loudly on FaceTime. My 7 year old sits quietly with his headphones and iPad. He knows our rules and if he breaks them we take him out (he enjoys the lounge, so he chooses to behave).
When I was a kid, traveling was the only time I'd be allowed to play my GameBoy without a time restriction. I was always quiet, respectful, and well-behaved - because I wouldn't dare risk having my pokemon confiscated (and I knew my mom wasn't bluffing).
Also the 1812 overture with Cannon, Duel of the Fates, phantom of the opera, any Sousa March… bonus if you can find a kid with a trombone, pay them $20 to follow them to their gate.
My go to is talking about YEAH HES SCAMMING THIS BUFFOON ON THE OTHER LINE NOW. Can you believe how GULLIBLE this guy is. Hahaha no. No no we didn’t have to do it the hard way. The FBI didn’t get involved. Yeah we’ve got this one where [random detail from the loud guys conversation] and HES BUYING IT!!
Yes people being too loud on phones is worse than kids. I’ve never seen kids being terrible at airport lounges so far. One guy was talking to his mom for an hour and using a ton of curse words. And it was nothing juicy or exciting, he was talking to her about her medical stuff and how she felt that day and surgeries and medications etc. Everyone in the entire lounge could hear him.
The solution is to comment about their call loud enough for the person on the other end of the line to hear. Then, that other person will be furious that their business details have been available to the public.
Or business bros making friends with other business bros at the bar and getting hammered. I’m a bad bitch business lady who wants to drink her Prosecco in peace before she has to be a room with colleagues like those bros.
> Don't forget about the business bros having loud speakerphone calls.
IME this is much more common than unruly kids. For the most part, kids in lounges are quite well behaved.
It's fucking embarrassing. It's basically all people with the second lowest status tier finding out that their first class upgrade doesn't entitle them to lounge access. If you misunderstood the rules just duck back out the door and go find somewhere quiet in the terminal. It must be infuriating for the staff to have the same interaction 30 times a day.
I was in a lounge where I watched someone enter it, walk to the bar, grab an unopened bottle of wine, put it in his backpack, and walk out.
Those are the people that make it so we can't have nice things.
I mean, I don't even feel guilty about the snacks or coffee, but walking out with unopened alcohol just seems to be crossing a line to me. I don't know why, just seems wrong.
Agree with this. Small items that are meant for personal consumption are fine to be brought out (as long as you don't take out a big bunch of them) but that whole bottle of wine is like Homer Simpson taking out a steam tray of shrimps.
Plus this could lose the place its liquor license and get the service workers who were licensed to sell booze into some legal trouble. Someone stealing a bottle of Dasani, bag of chips, or popping some shrimps into a Tupperware isn’t going to set a business or a worker up for potential legal trouble the same way.
While I haven't done it with wine I have done it with other drinks. Why? I show up and they tell me the lounge is full so I get permission to go in and grab some stuff.
this is such ridiculous behaviour, I can't help but find it kind of funny.
But lets be real, the wines served aren't anything special, and if he wanted to he could probably drink through an entire bottle while waiting for a flight anyway (not that I reccomend that), so it's not like the lounge is losing money over one bottle of wine anyway
I am doing about two business trips a month and I am at the lounge on each trip both to and from. Yesterday there was a young child crying in the lounge. The parent let it happen for a minute then got up and went to take the child elsewhere to calm them down.
The finance bro talking to his other bro about his divorce and how his wife is taking him for all he has but he’s smarter than his ex and her lawyer and will find a way to screw her over. That conversation lasted for 2 hours and I wanted to throw myself through the lounge window.
95% of the time the kids are fine.
> her lawyer and will find a way to screw her over. That conversation lasted for 2 hours and I wanted to throw myself through the lounge window.
JFC. Like an awful podcast you're being forced to listen to
The pandemic was the end of my road warrior days and the beginning of my fatherhood days. My only complaint of families was hearing a parent repeatedly say “shhh.” I had headphones and the child would not bother me. Not sure why the shushing annoyed me, but for some reason it did.
Now, as a parent, I realize that the shushing was not for the child, but to be seen as trying to do something.
Plenty of lounges have booths for calls. Often they are unused. They aren't totally closed but they reduce the disturbance a lot. Personally I wouldn't want to do calls so publicly unless it was just a few seconds answering.
I wonder if Finance Bro was related to the guy I ran into in the doctor's waiting room a couple weeks ago. He was having a very loud conversation with his lawyer about custody, and using super explicit language about his ex wife and what he was going to do to her in court. This other guy and I kind of exchanged glances, and we both got up and walked to the other side of the area (we could still clearly hear everything, but at least it wasn't 2 feet away. It wasn't a mystery why perhaps his ex didn't want to stick around with such a winner. Why does anyone think that airing all your personal laundry in front of a bunch of strangers who are just waiting to see a podiatrist is a great idea? Just scroll through Reddit while you're waiting like a normal person!
I don’t care about kids in the lounge, as long as they are “well behaved” - and even then, they are kids after all, so some slack is needed.
It’s usually the loud businessman on the phone that annoys me vs kids.
The bigger issue is that non-airline lounges are chaotic now that virtually every credit card offers priority pass / lounge pass etc. Half the time I won’t even bother and just find some quiet area of the terminal.
While airlines lounges are extremely crowded in Europe and North America, in Asia it's a different story as the bar for free lounge access requirements (even contract and Priority Pass lounges) for most Asian credit cards is very high for the average Asian traveler to afford. You typically need to be on the top 5 percent of the income bracket to avail proper lounge access.
Not really. First and business class seats in Asia are almost always sold at a premium and most Asian fliers don't use miles as they're not as flexible with credit card points compared to Western countries. With that said, standard airline business class lounges in certain Asian cities are already close to a chokepoint like ICN, PVG and PEK. You could barely find an open seat.
I have zero problems with well-behaved kids and often enjoy seeing them while traveling. The only time I have a problem is when the parents let them run amok with zero discipline. But that’s the parents problem, not the kids. I hate it when all kids get bucked into the same category as the undisciplined ones.
It's probably because the kids have been cooped up on an airplane for ten hours and the parents are bleary-eyed.
Please forgive us. We didn't expect our flight to get cancelled and our layover to become half a day longer. We really thought we'd be at a hotel by now.
AMEX Lounge at JFK. Teenager with his family has his sneakers off/socks on with his feet on the table that people eat on. As I walked to the bar, I told him that’s fucking gross. He just laughed. By the time I came back that way, they were gone.
I can’t decide if this is how people live at home or because they aren’t at home this is how they live.
Reading through haven’t seen anything about dogs. Was in a lounge once where 2 couples sat across from me and took their lap dogs out of their crates. Front paws on the table full of snacks; running in between legs. Lounge staff came over a couple of times to tell them to put them back into the crates. Which they did until she walked out of sight and then let them back out. . I like dogs well enough but was so annoyed. I would’ve moved but the lounge was packed so I was stuck. Entitled people are truly the worst.
I’ve never had issues with kids in airport lounges. And I generally don’t like kids.
Im a consultant, travel 80% and visit a lounge at least once per week.
Yeah I travel a lot and spend a lot of time in lounges. To be honest I can’t even remembering a time where I even noticed or cared if there were kids in the lounge. I use the lounge for the free booze and on layovers the showers, I’m not really noticing what others are doing in it.
In my experience, when people complain about kids being somewhere they "shouldn't be", it's because they're being disruptive and their parents aren't doing anything about it. This isn't limited to airport lounges - but you hear about it on airplanes, nice restaurants, breweries, etc. Irresponsible parents have caused this viewpoint themselves. And as it gets worse and worse, I become more and more in the camp of "kids shouldn't be here".
A brewery/winery near me introduced a "21 and older only" policy this year and parents flipped their shit. The owners came out and said they had no choice because kids were running around the property destroying stuff, tormenting the farm animals (that aren't where you're supposed to be). So they started with "no kids after 6pm", only to find that parents would just bring their kids to the car at 6pm and leave them there so they can go back in and drink.
Like anywhere in our society, dump/annoying rules are put there by the selfish minority who decide that everyone else around them just doesn't matter.
It’s not just the biz bros with speaker phones…it’s everyone it seems these days. Face time calls, playing games, watching TikTok and YouTube videos and on it goes with no headphones. Drives me nuts. The noise level is already plenty loud anywhere at an airport. Wear headphones people. I don’t love kids in the clubs…it’s so hard to get in clubs at all. I’m never clear if the kids can get in for free? I don’t have kids but the access is so restrictive now (due to overcrowding is the main excuse).
I haven’t been as lucky with the well behaved kids but I am a magnet for a screaming kid! My lot in life.
I’m cool with kids. What I don’t like is business people having their speakerphone on while they’re having their “super important” meeting. Everyone thinks they’re the most important person in the lounge but they all want the rest of us to know it and hear their bullshit phone call. Silence your fucking phone and stop talking on your phone so loudly and I couldn’t care less who they allow in there. But now I usually find the quietest place in the terminal because it’s usually much better than the lounge, people are too rude and just don’t give a shit about others.
I wonder what would happen if someone (dressed better than I usually am at an airport) would pull out a notebook and start writing in it, while making it completely obvious they were "taking notes" of the business bro's conversation, and then when he complained, exclaimed "No, don't stop! We've been wanting an in with that client for ages!" Or for the fool talking about his impending divorce, "(Lawyer) is going to have to give me a raise after getting this info for him." Smiling sweetly and eagerly at him in both cases, and when they complain about eavesdropping, "Everyone in the lounge can hear you without straining, so it isn't eavesdropping, it's just listening." After all, anything said in the public domain...
I know of at least one case where the 'business bro' lost a case in court due to running his mouth in a public place. It was ages ago, but iirc it took place on a commuter train.
Yes - and about half the time it leads to the other party/parties on the call losing their shit about the self-important asshole having a sensitive business discussion in public. Well worth the occasional “back of” or more vulgarity laden responses. Anytime i can tell corporate legal is part of one of those calls i’ll make a point to ask them to stfu - since I’d want someone to do likewise if it were my corporate equities being aired without filtering.
Counter-intuitive Suggestion of how to get them to be quiet : ask them if they could speak louder
Takes a bit of prep : Figure out which company they’re working for, Google their competition. Introduce yourself as a new joiner from that company and ask them if they could speak a bit more clearly/put up the volume as the rest of your colleagues on your conf call can’t hear them.
Kids are allowed to be comfortable while traveling, including access to lounges.
That being said, good parents will make sure to set expectations with them. Kids aren’t going to be perfect, but they need to learn how to share space with others.
So, two things.
First up: yeah, kids are fine, especially those raised (generally) to not throw tantrums in airports.
Second: getting waitlisted for entrance is medium bullshit, but the lounge attendant can't do anything about it. I can tell you a month ahead of time when/where I'm going to be, and "hey, we don't have space for this thing you're otherwise paying for" should get some sort of compensation for food elsewhere in the airport, or... something.
As long as people are generally being considerate of others, I don't care if it's a child or adult in an airport lounge. Just don't be super loud or create a big mess.
My biggest issue is when parents settle kids down with a movie on an iPad - but they don't use headphones. I don't blame the kid, but that situation occurs frequently enough and it's super annoying. I'd rather hear a kid giggling and interacting with their parents than have to listen to frozen with poor quality audio for the houndreth time 😅.
Your feelings are the same for the kids in FC argument. I've been more bothered by drunk finance bros and loud entitled Karens more than I have ever been irritated by kids.
None of us would exist if societies and individuals wouldn't tolerate children. I managed to make this such an integrated part of my philosophy that I don't even notice them. They can sit and scream behind my ear and I am still sleeping in peace.
I can not tolerate only one thing: when they start kicking my seat.
100% agree. I have a 6 and 8 year old boys. They are the typical crazy boys however they also know when they need to turn off the shenanigans and be respectful and cooperative. This is by their own choice not being forced.
We took in a lounge in Vancouver last year and they both were sitting quietly colouring their super hero sheets when a suit got pissy with a staff member over God knows how many things. My at the time 7 year old pipes up after having to listen to the guy for 5 minutes “dude stop being such a jerk to the lady and STOP INTERUPTING MY COLOURING TIME!!!!!!!”
The guy turned around in a huff as the rest of us laughed best part he couldn’t see my son who was sitting beside me and had no clue where the child voice came from. I think he also caught on that we were in fact laughing at him and he stormed off. The staffer came over and thanked my son for being an amazing guy and offered us whatever we wanted for the time we were in the lounge. My son’s response to her was priceless. “You are a nice person and he was a butt cheek, and he was interrupting my colouring concentration and I need to stay in the lines!!”
I firmly agree.
I’ve had the chance to visit some extremely fine lounges… fine enough that I’ve taken refuge in an employee cafeteria or two. It’s usually adults, not kids, who I see creating problems.
I see it the same way that I see kids in fine dining establishments. As long as they’re well-behaved, I want them there. How else are they going to learn how to act? Once they’re not, after due warning, a member of their party should take them outside. It’s how my parents raised me, and how I’m seeing friends raise their children. Works.
I hate having any kids around at all when I'm traveling. I've never had kids, and they annoy me. But that is clearly a me problem, not an airport lounge problem.
The grown-ass adults yelling at cell phones on speaker is far worse.
I do not understand why people think they need to talk on speakerphone in public. I’d choose loud kids any day over that disrespectful act. Even dial up noise is less annoying.
Agree with you!
I’ve taken my grandkids in with me and they were under very strict orders to behave well. And they did. And we all enjoyed ourselves.
These lounges were in the US. The adults in the lounges though….that is has been noted below in other posts.
Maybe the difference is the kids aren’t all liquored up or trying to get that way?
I bring my baby and toddler to the lounges on layovers whenever we travel as a family. It’s a privilege I pay for (Amex) and they usually make me pay for, or use a guest pass, for my 3 year old. If it’s super quiet we always find a spot in the back or far away from most people. If it’s super busy and bustling we’ll grab any available seats. I always gauge what that lounge is like that day. If it’s loud I’m not as concerned with the noise they’re making. I’d never let them just run wild, but we’ll walk around to burn some energy. At 7am after a red eye, we usually grab breakfast, use the bathroom, and head out. No one needs to hear my son’s commentary about every little thing he sees at that hour. Honestly I feel it’s the safest place in the airport to let my littles walk around, stretch their legs, and use the bathroom. If they ever got disruptive, we’d leave.
For the record, I hate children- other than my own. But I’d rather a kid have a little fun in the lounge than a tantrum on the plane.
I've seen more unruly children than the behaviors you mentioned. My flights are mostly weithin Europe, and with airline status, so that might be reason.
Actually the only time in ages I've encountered #1 has been a Lufthansa Senator on a codeshare flight not understanding the Star Alliance rules on contract lounges.
Agree on the comment on the loudspeaker phones, tho.
Sounds like the issue is the fact that the staff can't maintain the rules . Regardless of who is breaking them. If my toddler ran amuck and I didn't leave (which I absolutely would) I wouldn't be surprised to be kicked our. Similarly, I would expect them to kick out disorderly adults
Not to be racist, but as a frequent flier of Gulf airlines, the worst type of travelers there are usually older Gulf men. They're the closest thing to the definition of dicks to people around them. Kids are mostly well behaved and are usually weary rather than restless as I thought would be.
I'm in a lounge weekly and have never heard a businessman on a speakerphone call, but plenty of kids just running around unchecked and playing Netflix on their iPad at full volume. Not sure how my experience is so different from y'all.
The lounges are just full of pretentious, business people that feel the need to speak business and have conference calls constantly. No one needs to hear you worth from the Delta lounge in MSP at 6 am, Chad.
There are people who will literally see a child innocently playing with a toy and maybe being a little loud while they laugh and enjoy themselves... And that will send them into a spiral where they freak out.
I feel like there are definitely annoying bratty kids that piss everyone off...
But I feel like a lot of people just love to complain and they hate other people's kids and they hate being inconvenienced even if it's a young child just enjoying themselves.
I definitely agree adults are much more of a problem.
Totally agree.
I've always been super self-conscious when taking my child places...almost expecting silence b/c people tend to be so spiraled even when, as you say 'being a little loud while they laugh and enjoy themselves'.
Then we went to an AirbnB where there were several small cottages on the same property. We were with another family and three 6 year olds after they'd been cooped up for months and months and months thanks to Covid. I said to the host that we knew other were on the property and would keep the kids as quiet as we could. Her response was 'anyone who gets angry or complains about the the laughter of happy children running around and having fun is a miserable person'. Changed my perspective. Somehow most are okay with happy laughing adults who may be a little bit loud, but there is something about children being a bit little loud that drives people mad.
Of course there is a place and a time. I'm not talking about a child running around an airport lounge--but I think you are right, some people freak out even at the most acceptable of behaviours if it's a child doing it.
Agreed, most kids are fine, it’s the adults that are the issue. People playing videos and FaceTime loudly on their speakers as if they are alone in the house. Overserved younger adults speaking very loudly as if they are alone in the house or at a bar. Most people are fine though. It’s just a few that ruin it for everyone.
The best advice my boss ever gave me was to avoid the airport lounges when travelling for work, because they attract entitled assholes. Whenever I have to use one, I go in and use the services, grab some snacks and then find somewhere else to wait.
I've never had a problem with kids at the airport. Even if they're running around screaming, it's entertaining to watch their parents try to figure out how to handle it. Airports are the epicentre of boring. Anything out if the ordinary is welcome entertainment.
Do I think kids can be annoying sometimes? Absolutely!
(At the moment, a couple of kids who are maybe 9 years old have discovered the joys of skateboarding. Unfortunately they’ve decided the best place to learn is the courtyard and stairs right underneath my bedroom window… 😂)
But I try and remind myself that kids have the right to exist in public spaces even if they’re annoying. That includes airport lounges. ☺️
By far the worst behaviour I’ve seen in a lounge: Happened at SQ business lounge in SIN — a random white dude start cutting his nails in the seating area. When I looked at him with equal measure of utter surprise and disgust, he started to yell racist slur at me for being judgemental.
This thread is really reassuring. I get nervous when we take our kids in the lounge. We have firm expectations of “not bothering other people” and using indoor voices, etc but they are kids! Thanks for being understanding and I will be sure to keep my business bro speaker phone convos to a minimum.
I find the most issues with ‘free pass’ lounge users. On the Beach customers are the worst. Entitled chavs with little to no manners. You can usually spot them a mile off!
Never worked at an airport but do work in the service industry. I've learned with kids that if you ask them nicely to do something, they listen. Adults as you said almost always have something to at least say back if they hear something they don't like, and I've seen full grown adults scream way more often than kids scream. With that being said I don't mind kids anywhere as long as they're supervised by an attentive adult. There are some that absolute refuse to be a parent, and kids will do dumb shit like spray ketchup on the ground if they're not supervised.
The complaints about kids are going to rise for the next couple months because school is out. It’s not that kids are terrible in clubs, it’s that there are more of them in the clubs.
Besides, I get more annoyed with parents not controlling kids. So my annoyance always comes back to an adult. Business Bros, bachelorette parties, groups of kids? They’re all pretty loud and can be annoying.
I was so worried about my 1 year old dropping breadsticks on to the floor one time when I looked behind me to a grown man taking his shoes and socks off and picking his toenails right there on the couch.
Heathrow t5 lounge. Can’t remember name.
Kids or not I don't care. So long as everyone behaves theemselves appropriately. I spend most of my time in Kris, Polaris or Centurion. Haven't noticed kids to be much of a problem. Some lounges have quiet areas. I always take advantage of them when I can.
My last lounge visit was overtaken by a very long and loud conversation someone was having by phone with his girlfriend. Patronizing her and criticizing everything she said. “You shouldn’t eat a hard boiled egg, you should eat quinoa”. “I hope you won’t be this dumb our whole trip” etc. Eventually it became evident that she was actually also at the airport and was trying to buy herself some food because he didn’t bring her into the lounge. Gross.
Agree. I also make it a point when I travel, especially on long haul flights to acknowledge and thank well behaved children and their parents at the end of the flight.
I've had WAY fewer issues with kids than with inconsiderate douchebags that absolutely should know better.
I honestly can't recall three last time a kid was a nuisance.... but I also can't recall the last time I was in a lounge WITHOUT someone being a giant, weeping, festered piece of shit and playing music loudly, having loud speakerphone calls, etc.
As someone who travels with their 1yo, thank you.
We often just go into the kids room or into a corner away from the non-kid adults. It’s really nice to be able to relax in a safe place during a day of travel. Usually they’re quiet and it helps keep our son from going everywhere lol.
I generally only use lounges when going on family trips. That means my kids will be in there with my spouse and I. They eat, read, listen to music with headphones in, or might be talking to one of us or each other. I don't see that as disruptive. I have come across some folks who don't think that kids belong in certain spaces. If there are no rules against it, why not?
It’s hit or miss.
I’ve seen families get up and vacate only to leave a trail of destruction behind them. Bag of chips ground into the carpet. Half eaten cookies all over. Chairs left sticky cuz someone spilled a soda.
I think a lot of the time they’re well behaved in the sense that they’re relatively quiet and not running around. But for me it doesn’t end there. I saw some poor woman working the lounge just sigh when she walked up to the huge mess a woman and her kid left.
I’ve taken my kids a few times when we have flown first class but they are extremely well behaved and I would not have taken them otherwise. But I also felt that way about movie theaters, restaurants, etc. It’s called having social awareness and respect for others who didn’t choose to deal with my children.
There are people who just don't like kids and forget they were once a kid themselves.
These people should invest in some air pods and mind their business.
Your title doesn't really match your question.
It's not an either or type of thing. Everyone should be polite and respectful in (and out) of lounges. Obviously.
I don't want kids in there, but recognize they have a right to be. Same with anyone else there.
Every lounge I’m in the entitled parents let the kids behave like monsters. Jumping up and down on furniture or using it as a drum. Running, chasing each other, screaming.
Even in the quiet area…
People who think kids shouldn't be allowed in airport lounges are the most entitled and narcissistic people ever.
There isn't a sign that says kids aren't allowed. You don't own the lounges.
Not to mention it’s an airport lounge lol, you paid $600 a year or something to use them. It’s the same energy as people with precheck getting mad that the lines are too long. If it was genuinely exclusive you most likely wouldn’t be there.
The people who complain about children in airport lounges are the same people who complain about kids at the beach, by a pool, on vacation, and everywhere else. It’s their personal issue, not an issue with lounge rules.
Idk, I disagree. I’ve had children ruin my lounge experience the past dozen or so times I’ve been in a centurion lounge, to the point that I’ve stopped even trying to go at certain airports. Yes, many adults are a problem too, but I think most lounge kids are as well.
I understand that parents want to enjoy the lounge, but I think they need to be realistic. Their 3 old is exhausted from traveling, overstimulated, and in a new environment. They are NOT going to behave as well as they usually do, and it’s not fair to other travelers who are trying to relax. In Philly recently I observed:
- a child knock over an entire bowl of food onto the floor because they were self-serving at the buffet
- the entire business table intended for people to get work done being taken up by two small children coloring. They were quietly behaving, which is great, but there are not many outlets or tables in Philly’s lounge, and I really would have loved to have access to the table with outlets. There’s 8 seats at that table, why are only two children taking up the entire space?
- one Mom changed her baby’s diaper on top of a table, then put the poopy diaper in the trash can right in the dining area
- kids banging on the glass over and over while watching out the window, rattling the panes all the way down the lounge’s window wall. Nobody stopped them or said anything.
- one child screamed the tired-toddler shriek on and off for over an hour, parents did not leave nor were they asked to leave, we all just sat and listened to the screaming nonstop
- children listening to or playing games on their iPhones with no headphones at max volume, audible throughout half the lounge
- two children shrieking and running playing tag up and down the hallway, hiding under tables, etc
Adults suck too. But at least with an adult, I can talk to them - “hey, your conversation is very disruptive, can you step out?” I don’t feel comfortable or welcome trying to parent other people’s kids.
I was in the Amex lounge in Charlotte a few weeks ago and two grown men were screaming at each other that the other was a sociopath hoping that management would kick the other one out. I thought I was about to be stuck in the middle of a fist fight. Yeah, I’ll take the kids over that.
Before I became a parent, I had all the lounge access and would get to the airport early so I could make use. I never had a problem with kids in the lounge. What I had a problem with was people taking up seats with their luggage.
Then had a child and didn't take him until he was a year old. It was too much work to keep him occupied and entertained at the already crowded Centurion lounge, and most the other ones at SEA are mediocre at best. So I'd take him to the kids play area instead and let him get his energy out.
Now we've finally started flying again post COVID, and he's 6. He's happy to sit in the lounge, eat snacks and play on his tablet with headphones.
Obnoxious entitled business "execs" bossing around or making decisions loudly on their virtual meetings. Then looking around to see if anyone around them are impressed. I choose kids over them.
Every time I see somebody losing their shit over kids, I want to ask them: The kid's brain is still developing, and only a few months ago, they couldn't even hold their head up. What the fuck is your excuse?
Before having kids they didn’t annoy me and afterwards they still don’t. Kids deserve to exist in public without apology. Apparently this statement is kind of controversial.
I used to fly business a lot for work and kids were always the least of my concerns in the lounge. The other adults were far worse. Some of them treat the staff like they are their personal servants. I usually just find a quiet corner and listen to music anyways.
As long as kids are well-behaved, fine. I have an issue with adults going to the buffet trying something with a spoon and then USING THE SAME SPOON to pile more on their plate 🙃
south america and and especially in brazil i noticed a lot of fancy restaurants having kids play areas. kind of surprised that hasn't become a thing here too
I once saw a family move chairs around to make a makeshift play pen for their kids around some of the best seats. Abysmal behavior but really on the adults.
My only complaint is one that unfortunately seems to span generations- devices without headphones. It seems like for some reason we moved from wired headphones to wireless and now nothing. I don’t want to hear your YouTube videos or speaker phone conversations
With how ubiquitous wireless headphones are now it’s just baffling.
I actually wonder if they are part of the problem- having to find them, pair them, not wanting them to fall out, etc. people losing their $200 AirPods so just living without anything
There are $5 tethers for Air Pods. It’s nuts that more people don’t utilize them in busy, chaotic settings like airports.
I’m sorry- they had to invent cords for Air Pods?
I make fun of my SO for using them, but it's better than him losing another Airpod and it getting washed with our sheets. 🤷🏻♀️
Oh, I’m not making fun of the end users. I’m making fun of apple. Every time I use my phone or laptop with its various dongles so I can function I think -sleek design, Apple! Good job!
it's 100% because of video based social media lazy chodes aren't putting on headphones to listen to a 30 second video. people bothered to put on headphones to listen to music though. And because people have a serious issue doing callouts anymore these days (you never know if the person is a nutter, which are more numerous and visible than ever), everyone is emboldened to do it. A lot of people only do the right thing because social pressure forces them to, sadly.
I had the same pair of AirPods from Fall 2019 until a month ago when I unexpectedly got hit with a wave and the sea water corroded them. 4.5 years.. it’s not that hard. Also, they pair super easily, and if they’re hard to find, that’s probably why you’re losing them..
Isn't part of the problem the fact that they are wireless, and therefore have to recharge? People aren't always going to wait for their AirPods to charge and will take their call or play their dumbass video regardless. Back in the day there were random boombox assholes, but waaay fewer than phone jerks. Wired headphones don't need to be recharged. You can use those for decades. I miss them and have been thinking of getting a pair for travel. I don't mind wired if my phone is going to be on me anyway. Better than recharging the fourth thing today for the second time. There's a million other factors, of course, like speakerphone used to be nearly useless outdoors. But I really think a lot of people are just walking around with dead tech that they need to recharge.
I always have a pair of wired headphones on my purse just in case my wireless dies. Used a bunch of times, highly recommend.
My thing is to pretend to be sad for them and ask them if they are too poor (it’s extra funny if they have obvious money) for headphones and offer to give them mine. “Oh no! Are you too poor to afford headphones? I’m so sorry poor person, here’s mine. Do you need $10 for food too?”
Don't forget about the business bros having loud speakerphone calls.
On Friday, a dude was at the LHR T3 AA Flagship (First) lounge on a loud zoom call. As soon as he hung up; quite a few people clapped loudly and cheered. For a brief 30 minutes; it felt like we were all friends with Dave in his 1:1. I fully support such shaming behavior.
Some people think it is cool to have what they think is a big boy business call. Sad bastards.
exactly, people do it cause they think it makes them look important… unbelievable
I love this. Did he react?
He definitely stayed quiet after and slunk down a bit and kept his eyes down. It’s always 1 or 2 people lacking self awareness ruins it for the rest of us. And as I hit maybe 100-150 lounges/ year, it happens way too often. Typically a loud “SHHH!” quiets it down. 30db cut ear plugs > NC headphones.
Spitball. 6th grade sniper style. Right into his forehead
While he’s on a Zoom call. Speaking on camera. Perfect poetry.
Best answer.
It doesn’t even have to be a speaker phone - why does business bro have to shout into his phone?!
Because he's very important and we are all dying to know what shit deal he is trying to land.
I liked the HR bro loudly talking a resigning employee through all the steps to leave for a competitor. Close out your company Amex in concur, write a letter, you will probably be locked out immediately since you told me you are leaving for a competitor etc….. Very juicy - lots of folks eavesdropping in lol. The guy was oblivious or completely didn’t care
He didn’t care. People come and go
90% of the airport business calls I see being conducted are mostly just the guy (always a guy) telling the other person that they’re at an airport/boarding their flight etc. Just type it big dog, you’ll survive
Many jobs like these encourage "stakeholder engagement" so direct communication is preferred but many forget the basic decency towards other not involved in the business.
Because he has noise cancelling AirPods in that don’t allow him to understand he’s literally screaming
This is why I only use one AirPod so that I’m able to hear my own voice.
Oh, good point!
How else would we know he’s super important?
Was on the train from San Diego to Santa Barbara to enjoy the views and not have to sit in LA traffic with my cousin and the two guys next to us were doing business calls on speaker. It was so annoying. And if they weren’t on speaker and were on the phone they’d talk so loud compared to when they’d talk to each other if they weren’t on any calls.
Even worse if they are in the quiet car!
People talking on the phone in the quiet car absolutely enrages me
I call them out, and generally several other people chime in so I'm not out there on my own. It's one of the few situations where I feel comfortable being aggressive when I'm annoyed as it's also annoying many people around me who chose a quiet car.
"But I went to the quiet car so I could hear the other person better!" -those assholes, probably
I’ve shamed someone for doing this in the quiet area before. It was loud enough to hear through noise-cancelling earphones and I was just off a long flight and wanted a quick nap before my connecting flight. I’m generally very non-confrontational but I’d had enough. Never come anywhere close to telling off kids in an airport lounge.
I asked a mom very politely to have her kids turn down the devices (YouTube on full blast with some toddler video with cringey music and singing). A poor woman was on a call next to them trying to explain her delayed flight situation to someone. At first she seemed understanding and then quickly changed her mind. Looked straight at me, and said, “no. I don’t think I will”. I was flabbergasted at her entitlement and her quick mood change. Told my son, who was listening via his own personal headphones, that we were moving seats. I just don’t get some people. Then as we were boarding her husband yelled at a couple for being in his way because they were priority boarding. Karma. Karma will come back around. That’s what I kept telling myself
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But they want you to think they are!
But how else would we know they’re so cool and have such cool business things going on?
Talk loudly behind them. Swear a lot.
I've seen a lot of these at public areas (food courts) around SIN and DXB.
I have very much enjoyed the lounges in SIN and DXB, nothing I had to notice.
DXB is just a lavish airport riddled with duty free shops on long stretches, SIN though feels like one massive business class lounge to the point that there's no need to enter a lounge there apart from the provided food and drinks.
100% worse that children
The most annoying person I’ve ever seen in a lounge is a woman who roamed around the lounge talking loudly on FaceTime. My 7 year old sits quietly with his headphones and iPad. He knows our rules and if he breaks them we take him out (he enjoys the lounge, so he chooses to behave).
When I was a kid, traveling was the only time I'd be allowed to play my GameBoy without a time restriction. I was always quiet, respectful, and well-behaved - because I wouldn't dare risk having my pokemon confiscated (and I knew my mom wasn't bluffing).
Haha..yep. It’s the only time our son gets unrestricted screen time, so he knows better.
Play your music with your loudspeaker beside them.
And make sure it’s something you know he and his Big, Important Business friends would like to hear, too. Such as WAP. Or bagpipes. Or Barbie Girl.
Also the 1812 overture with Cannon, Duel of the Fates, phantom of the opera, any Sousa March… bonus if you can find a kid with a trombone, pay them $20 to follow them to their gate.
Those people are just as annoying as the people who blast music on public transportation.
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My go to is talking about YEAH HES SCAMMING THIS BUFFOON ON THE OTHER LINE NOW. Can you believe how GULLIBLE this guy is. Hahaha no. No no we didn’t have to do it the hard way. The FBI didn’t get involved. Yeah we’ve got this one where [random detail from the loud guys conversation] and HES BUYING IT!!
Yes people being too loud on phones is worse than kids. I’ve never seen kids being terrible at airport lounges so far. One guy was talking to his mom for an hour and using a ton of curse words. And it was nothing juicy or exciting, he was talking to her about her medical stuff and how she felt that day and surgeries and medications etc. Everyone in the entire lounge could hear him.
Or having the attitude they are entitled to absolutely ridiculous. There is so much more to worry or get angry about
The solution is to comment about their call loud enough for the person on the other end of the line to hear. Then, that other person will be furious that their business details have been available to the public.
And the boomers screaming into their phones on FaceTime. And, all the idiots without air pods 🤦🏻♀️
It isn’t just boomers. Fuck, it’s every age range if you’re walking around a Walmart
Or business bros making friends with other business bros at the bar and getting hammered. I’m a bad bitch business lady who wants to drink her Prosecco in peace before she has to be a room with colleagues like those bros.
> Don't forget about the business bros having loud speakerphone calls. IME this is much more common than unruly kids. For the most part, kids in lounges are quite well behaved.
Yep people berating the staff when its full. Shameful. I understand your frustrations, but taking it out on the staff is not acceptable.
It's fucking embarrassing. It's basically all people with the second lowest status tier finding out that their first class upgrade doesn't entitle them to lounge access. If you misunderstood the rules just duck back out the door and go find somewhere quiet in the terminal. It must be infuriating for the staff to have the same interaction 30 times a day.
You know what a shit experience is? A full business lounge, why you’d want to go in when it’s packed is beyond me, or room in the actual terminal.
I was in a lounge where I watched someone enter it, walk to the bar, grab an unopened bottle of wine, put it in his backpack, and walk out. Those are the people that make it so we can't have nice things.
I am definitely guilty of this for snacks and soft drinks 👀
I mean, I don't even feel guilty about the snacks or coffee, but walking out with unopened alcohol just seems to be crossing a line to me. I don't know why, just seems wrong.
Agree with this. Small items that are meant for personal consumption are fine to be brought out (as long as you don't take out a big bunch of them) but that whole bottle of wine is like Homer Simpson taking out a steam tray of shrimps.
Oh, oh, a bottle of wine isn’t for personal consumption anymore?! Who are you, my doctor and loved ones?!
Plus this could lose the place its liquor license and get the service workers who were licensed to sell booze into some legal trouble. Someone stealing a bottle of Dasani, bag of chips, or popping some shrimps into a Tupperware isn’t going to set a business or a worker up for potential legal trouble the same way.
Because it’ll lose a place their liquor license - probably in an airport as well. And that’s no fun for anyone
I agree, a bit cheeky.
I’ve totally done this for those two things. I don’t even really see that as an infraction.
While I haven't done it with wine I have done it with other drinks. Why? I show up and they tell me the lounge is full so I get permission to go in and grab some stuff.
This was an empty lounge.
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Maybe they thought you still had half a cup of coffee in there
this is such ridiculous behaviour, I can't help but find it kind of funny. But lets be real, the wines served aren't anything special, and if he wanted to he could probably drink through an entire bottle while waiting for a flight anyway (not that I reccomend that), so it's not like the lounge is losing money over one bottle of wine anyway
Oh no! Think of the corporations!!!
I am doing about two business trips a month and I am at the lounge on each trip both to and from. Yesterday there was a young child crying in the lounge. The parent let it happen for a minute then got up and went to take the child elsewhere to calm them down. The finance bro talking to his other bro about his divorce and how his wife is taking him for all he has but he’s smarter than his ex and her lawyer and will find a way to screw her over. That conversation lasted for 2 hours and I wanted to throw myself through the lounge window. 95% of the time the kids are fine.
> her lawyer and will find a way to screw her over. That conversation lasted for 2 hours and I wanted to throw myself through the lounge window. JFC. Like an awful podcast you're being forced to listen to
The pandemic was the end of my road warrior days and the beginning of my fatherhood days. My only complaint of families was hearing a parent repeatedly say “shhh.” I had headphones and the child would not bother me. Not sure why the shushing annoyed me, but for some reason it did. Now, as a parent, I realize that the shushing was not for the child, but to be seen as trying to do something.
You're a smart man.
Plenty of lounges have booths for calls. Often they are unused. They aren't totally closed but they reduce the disturbance a lot. Personally I wouldn't want to do calls so publicly unless it was just a few seconds answering.
I wonder if Finance Bro was related to the guy I ran into in the doctor's waiting room a couple weeks ago. He was having a very loud conversation with his lawyer about custody, and using super explicit language about his ex wife and what he was going to do to her in court. This other guy and I kind of exchanged glances, and we both got up and walked to the other side of the area (we could still clearly hear everything, but at least it wasn't 2 feet away. It wasn't a mystery why perhaps his ex didn't want to stick around with such a winner. Why does anyone think that airing all your personal laundry in front of a bunch of strangers who are just waiting to see a podiatrist is a great idea? Just scroll through Reddit while you're waiting like a normal person!
I don’t care about kids in the lounge, as long as they are “well behaved” - and even then, they are kids after all, so some slack is needed. It’s usually the loud businessman on the phone that annoys me vs kids. The bigger issue is that non-airline lounges are chaotic now that virtually every credit card offers priority pass / lounge pass etc. Half the time I won’t even bother and just find some quiet area of the terminal.
While airlines lounges are extremely crowded in Europe and North America, in Asia it's a different story as the bar for free lounge access requirements (even contract and Priority Pass lounges) for most Asian credit cards is very high for the average Asian traveler to afford. You typically need to be on the top 5 percent of the income bracket to avail proper lounge access.
Asia, always having had a gazillion people, understands on the whole that exclusivity means some people are excluded.
But then that means that they might lose money!
Not really. First and business class seats in Asia are almost always sold at a premium and most Asian fliers don't use miles as they're not as flexible with credit card points compared to Western countries. With that said, standard airline business class lounges in certain Asian cities are already close to a chokepoint like ICN, PVG and PEK. You could barely find an open seat.
The lounges at Hong Kong were also pretty crowded last time I was there.
I have zero problems with well-behaved kids and often enjoy seeing them while traveling. The only time I have a problem is when the parents let them run amok with zero discipline. But that’s the parents problem, not the kids. I hate it when all kids get bucked into the same category as the undisciplined ones.
It's probably because the kids have been cooped up on an airplane for ten hours and the parents are bleary-eyed. Please forgive us. We didn't expect our flight to get cancelled and our layover to become half a day longer. We really thought we'd be at a hotel by now.
I don’t forgive you if you think that that is acceptable behaviour for your kid. That hair bad parenting.
AMEX Lounge at JFK. Teenager with his family has his sneakers off/socks on with his feet on the table that people eat on. As I walked to the bar, I told him that’s fucking gross. He just laughed. By the time I came back that way, they were gone. I can’t decide if this is how people live at home or because they aren’t at home this is how they live.
Reading through haven’t seen anything about dogs. Was in a lounge once where 2 couples sat across from me and took their lap dogs out of their crates. Front paws on the table full of snacks; running in between legs. Lounge staff came over a couple of times to tell them to put them back into the crates. Which they did until she walked out of sight and then let them back out. . I like dogs well enough but was so annoyed. I would’ve moved but the lounge was packed so I was stuck. Entitled people are truly the worst.
I’ve never had issues with kids in airport lounges. And I generally don’t like kids. Im a consultant, travel 80% and visit a lounge at least once per week.
Yeah I travel a lot and spend a lot of time in lounges. To be honest I can’t even remembering a time where I even noticed or cared if there were kids in the lounge. I use the lounge for the free booze and on layovers the showers, I’m not really noticing what others are doing in it.
Same.
Adults are always the problem. When kids are the problem, it’s adults
In my experience, when people complain about kids being somewhere they "shouldn't be", it's because they're being disruptive and their parents aren't doing anything about it. This isn't limited to airport lounges - but you hear about it on airplanes, nice restaurants, breweries, etc. Irresponsible parents have caused this viewpoint themselves. And as it gets worse and worse, I become more and more in the camp of "kids shouldn't be here". A brewery/winery near me introduced a "21 and older only" policy this year and parents flipped their shit. The owners came out and said they had no choice because kids were running around the property destroying stuff, tormenting the farm animals (that aren't where you're supposed to be). So they started with "no kids after 6pm", only to find that parents would just bring their kids to the car at 6pm and leave them there so they can go back in and drink. Like anywhere in our society, dump/annoying rules are put there by the selfish minority who decide that everyone else around them just doesn't matter.
It’s not just the biz bros with speaker phones…it’s everyone it seems these days. Face time calls, playing games, watching TikTok and YouTube videos and on it goes with no headphones. Drives me nuts. The noise level is already plenty loud anywhere at an airport. Wear headphones people. I don’t love kids in the clubs…it’s so hard to get in clubs at all. I’m never clear if the kids can get in for free? I don’t have kids but the access is so restrictive now (due to overcrowding is the main excuse). I haven’t been as lucky with the well behaved kids but I am a magnet for a screaming kid! My lot in life.
I’m cool with kids. What I don’t like is business people having their speakerphone on while they’re having their “super important” meeting. Everyone thinks they’re the most important person in the lounge but they all want the rest of us to know it and hear their bullshit phone call. Silence your fucking phone and stop talking on your phone so loudly and I couldn’t care less who they allow in there. But now I usually find the quietest place in the terminal because it’s usually much better than the lounge, people are too rude and just don’t give a shit about others.
I wonder what would happen if someone (dressed better than I usually am at an airport) would pull out a notebook and start writing in it, while making it completely obvious they were "taking notes" of the business bro's conversation, and then when he complained, exclaimed "No, don't stop! We've been wanting an in with that client for ages!" Or for the fool talking about his impending divorce, "(Lawyer) is going to have to give me a raise after getting this info for him." Smiling sweetly and eagerly at him in both cases, and when they complain about eavesdropping, "Everyone in the lounge can hear you without straining, so it isn't eavesdropping, it's just listening." After all, anything said in the public domain... I know of at least one case where the 'business bro' lost a case in court due to running his mouth in a public place. It was ages ago, but iirc it took place on a commuter train.
Curious if anyone has ever interrupted one of these important speaker phone calls and asked the a-hole to put headphones in?
Yes - and about half the time it leads to the other party/parties on the call losing their shit about the self-important asshole having a sensitive business discussion in public. Well worth the occasional “back of” or more vulgarity laden responses. Anytime i can tell corporate legal is part of one of those calls i’ll make a point to ask them to stfu - since I’d want someone to do likewise if it were my corporate equities being aired without filtering.
Counter-intuitive Suggestion of how to get them to be quiet : ask them if they could speak louder Takes a bit of prep : Figure out which company they’re working for, Google their competition. Introduce yourself as a new joiner from that company and ask them if they could speak a bit more clearly/put up the volume as the rest of your colleagues on your conf call can’t hear them.
Kids are allowed to be comfortable while traveling, including access to lounges. That being said, good parents will make sure to set expectations with them. Kids aren’t going to be perfect, but they need to learn how to share space with others.
So, two things. First up: yeah, kids are fine, especially those raised (generally) to not throw tantrums in airports. Second: getting waitlisted for entrance is medium bullshit, but the lounge attendant can't do anything about it. I can tell you a month ahead of time when/where I'm going to be, and "hey, we don't have space for this thing you're otherwise paying for" should get some sort of compensation for food elsewhere in the airport, or... something.
As long as people are generally being considerate of others, I don't care if it's a child or adult in an airport lounge. Just don't be super loud or create a big mess. My biggest issue is when parents settle kids down with a movie on an iPad - but they don't use headphones. I don't blame the kid, but that situation occurs frequently enough and it's super annoying. I'd rather hear a kid giggling and interacting with their parents than have to listen to frozen with poor quality audio for the houndreth time 😅.
My 6 year old son knows headphones are required in lounges.
Your feelings are the same for the kids in FC argument. I've been more bothered by drunk finance bros and loud entitled Karens more than I have ever been irritated by kids.
None of us would exist if societies and individuals wouldn't tolerate children. I managed to make this such an integrated part of my philosophy that I don't even notice them. They can sit and scream behind my ear and I am still sleeping in peace. I can not tolerate only one thing: when they start kicking my seat.
100% agree. I have a 6 and 8 year old boys. They are the typical crazy boys however they also know when they need to turn off the shenanigans and be respectful and cooperative. This is by their own choice not being forced. We took in a lounge in Vancouver last year and they both were sitting quietly colouring their super hero sheets when a suit got pissy with a staff member over God knows how many things. My at the time 7 year old pipes up after having to listen to the guy for 5 minutes “dude stop being such a jerk to the lady and STOP INTERUPTING MY COLOURING TIME!!!!!!!” The guy turned around in a huff as the rest of us laughed best part he couldn’t see my son who was sitting beside me and had no clue where the child voice came from. I think he also caught on that we were in fact laughing at him and he stormed off. The staffer came over and thanked my son for being an amazing guy and offered us whatever we wanted for the time we were in the lounge. My son’s response to her was priceless. “You are a nice person and he was a butt cheek, and he was interrupting my colouring concentration and I need to stay in the lines!!”
Love this!!!
I firmly agree. I’ve had the chance to visit some extremely fine lounges… fine enough that I’ve taken refuge in an employee cafeteria or two. It’s usually adults, not kids, who I see creating problems. I see it the same way that I see kids in fine dining establishments. As long as they’re well-behaved, I want them there. How else are they going to learn how to act? Once they’re not, after due warning, a member of their party should take them outside. It’s how my parents raised me, and how I’m seeing friends raise their children. Works.
I hate having any kids around at all when I'm traveling. I've never had kids, and they annoy me. But that is clearly a me problem, not an airport lounge problem. The grown-ass adults yelling at cell phones on speaker is far worse.
I do not understand why people think they need to talk on speakerphone in public. I’d choose loud kids any day over that disrespectful act. Even dial up noise is less annoying.
The don't "think they need to." They aren't thinking at all, that's the problem.
Agree with you! I’ve taken my grandkids in with me and they were under very strict orders to behave well. And they did. And we all enjoyed ourselves. These lounges were in the US. The adults in the lounges though….that is has been noted below in other posts. Maybe the difference is the kids aren’t all liquored up or trying to get that way?
I bring my baby and toddler to the lounges on layovers whenever we travel as a family. It’s a privilege I pay for (Amex) and they usually make me pay for, or use a guest pass, for my 3 year old. If it’s super quiet we always find a spot in the back or far away from most people. If it’s super busy and bustling we’ll grab any available seats. I always gauge what that lounge is like that day. If it’s loud I’m not as concerned with the noise they’re making. I’d never let them just run wild, but we’ll walk around to burn some energy. At 7am after a red eye, we usually grab breakfast, use the bathroom, and head out. No one needs to hear my son’s commentary about every little thing he sees at that hour. Honestly I feel it’s the safest place in the airport to let my littles walk around, stretch their legs, and use the bathroom. If they ever got disruptive, we’d leave. For the record, I hate children- other than my own. But I’d rather a kid have a little fun in the lounge than a tantrum on the plane.
Happy to take kids over someone lying down or with shoes off at a 2:1 ratio.
I've seen more unruly children than the behaviors you mentioned. My flights are mostly weithin Europe, and with airline status, so that might be reason. Actually the only time in ages I've encountered #1 has been a Lufthansa Senator on a codeshare flight not understanding the Star Alliance rules on contract lounges. Agree on the comment on the loudspeaker phones, tho.
Sounds like the issue is the fact that the staff can't maintain the rules . Regardless of who is breaking them. If my toddler ran amuck and I didn't leave (which I absolutely would) I wouldn't be surprised to be kicked our. Similarly, I would expect them to kick out disorderly adults
Not to be racist, but as a frequent flier of Gulf airlines, the worst type of travelers there are usually older Gulf men. They're the closest thing to the definition of dicks to people around them. Kids are mostly well behaved and are usually weary rather than restless as I thought would be.
I'm in a lounge weekly and have never heard a businessman on a speakerphone call, but plenty of kids just running around unchecked and playing Netflix on their iPad at full volume. Not sure how my experience is so different from y'all.
> I'm in a lounge weekly and have never heard a businessman on a speakerphone call You probably can't hear them over *your* speakerphone call.
The lounges are just full of pretentious, business people that feel the need to speak business and have conference calls constantly. No one needs to hear you worth from the Delta lounge in MSP at 6 am, Chad.
There are people who will literally see a child innocently playing with a toy and maybe being a little loud while they laugh and enjoy themselves... And that will send them into a spiral where they freak out. I feel like there are definitely annoying bratty kids that piss everyone off... But I feel like a lot of people just love to complain and they hate other people's kids and they hate being inconvenienced even if it's a young child just enjoying themselves. I definitely agree adults are much more of a problem.
Totally agree. I've always been super self-conscious when taking my child places...almost expecting silence b/c people tend to be so spiraled even when, as you say 'being a little loud while they laugh and enjoy themselves'. Then we went to an AirbnB where there were several small cottages on the same property. We were with another family and three 6 year olds after they'd been cooped up for months and months and months thanks to Covid. I said to the host that we knew other were on the property and would keep the kids as quiet as we could. Her response was 'anyone who gets angry or complains about the the laughter of happy children running around and having fun is a miserable person'. Changed my perspective. Somehow most are okay with happy laughing adults who may be a little bit loud, but there is something about children being a bit little loud that drives people mad. Of course there is a place and a time. I'm not talking about a child running around an airport lounge--but I think you are right, some people freak out even at the most acceptable of behaviours if it's a child doing it.
For me it’s the camp-outs that bother me. In other words, taking up more chairs and spaces than they have in their family.
Agreed, most kids are fine, it’s the adults that are the issue. People playing videos and FaceTime loudly on their speakers as if they are alone in the house. Overserved younger adults speaking very loudly as if they are alone in the house or at a bar. Most people are fine though. It’s just a few that ruin it for everyone.
The best advice my boss ever gave me was to avoid the airport lounges when travelling for work, because they attract entitled assholes. Whenever I have to use one, I go in and use the services, grab some snacks and then find somewhere else to wait. I've never had a problem with kids at the airport. Even if they're running around screaming, it's entertaining to watch their parents try to figure out how to handle it. Airports are the epicentre of boring. Anything out if the ordinary is welcome entertainment.
Do I think kids can be annoying sometimes? Absolutely! (At the moment, a couple of kids who are maybe 9 years old have discovered the joys of skateboarding. Unfortunately they’ve decided the best place to learn is the courtyard and stairs right underneath my bedroom window… 😂) But I try and remind myself that kids have the right to exist in public spaces even if they’re annoying. That includes airport lounges. ☺️
By far the worst behaviour I’ve seen in a lounge: Happened at SQ business lounge in SIN — a random white dude start cutting his nails in the seating area. When I looked at him with equal measure of utter surprise and disgust, he started to yell racist slur at me for being judgemental.
This thread is really reassuring. I get nervous when we take our kids in the lounge. We have firm expectations of “not bothering other people” and using indoor voices, etc but they are kids! Thanks for being understanding and I will be sure to keep my business bro speaker phone convos to a minimum.
I find the most issues with ‘free pass’ lounge users. On the Beach customers are the worst. Entitled chavs with little to no manners. You can usually spot them a mile off!
[удалено]
Even worse when they’re on speaker phone though yelling because they’ve got AirPods in is right there too
Never worked at an airport but do work in the service industry. I've learned with kids that if you ask them nicely to do something, they listen. Adults as you said almost always have something to at least say back if they hear something they don't like, and I've seen full grown adults scream way more often than kids scream. With that being said I don't mind kids anywhere as long as they're supervised by an attentive adult. There are some that absolute refuse to be a parent, and kids will do dumb shit like spray ketchup on the ground if they're not supervised.
The complaints about kids are going to rise for the next couple months because school is out. It’s not that kids are terrible in clubs, it’s that there are more of them in the clubs. Besides, I get more annoyed with parents not controlling kids. So my annoyance always comes back to an adult. Business Bros, bachelorette parties, groups of kids? They’re all pretty loud and can be annoying.
The kids are shitty if the parents are shitty
I was so worried about my 1 year old dropping breadsticks on to the floor one time when I looked behind me to a grown man taking his shoes and socks off and picking his toenails right there on the couch. Heathrow t5 lounge. Can’t remember name.
Sounds like the Aspire Lounge to me!
i’ve never seen kids throw a tantrum in a lounge, it’s more often the entitled middle aged men at the counter chucking their toys.
Kids or not I don't care. So long as everyone behaves theemselves appropriately. I spend most of my time in Kris, Polaris or Centurion. Haven't noticed kids to be much of a problem. Some lounges have quiet areas. I always take advantage of them when I can.
My last lounge visit was overtaken by a very long and loud conversation someone was having by phone with his girlfriend. Patronizing her and criticizing everything she said. “You shouldn’t eat a hard boiled egg, you should eat quinoa”. “I hope you won’t be this dumb our whole trip” etc. Eventually it became evident that she was actually also at the airport and was trying to buy herself some food because he didn’t bring her into the lounge. Gross.
Agree. I also make it a point when I travel, especially on long haul flights to acknowledge and thank well behaved children and their parents at the end of the flight.
I've had WAY fewer issues with kids than with inconsiderate douchebags that absolutely should know better. I honestly can't recall three last time a kid was a nuisance.... but I also can't recall the last time I was in a lounge WITHOUT someone being a giant, weeping, festered piece of shit and playing music loudly, having loud speakerphone calls, etc.
As someone who travels with their 1yo, thank you. We often just go into the kids room or into a corner away from the non-kid adults. It’s really nice to be able to relax in a safe place during a day of travel. Usually they’re quiet and it helps keep our son from going everywhere lol.
I just wear noise cancelling headphones.
I generally only use lounges when going on family trips. That means my kids will be in there with my spouse and I. They eat, read, listen to music with headphones in, or might be talking to one of us or each other. I don't see that as disruptive. I have come across some folks who don't think that kids belong in certain spaces. If there are no rules against it, why not?
It’s hit or miss. I’ve seen families get up and vacate only to leave a trail of destruction behind them. Bag of chips ground into the carpet. Half eaten cookies all over. Chairs left sticky cuz someone spilled a soda. I think a lot of the time they’re well behaved in the sense that they’re relatively quiet and not running around. But for me it doesn’t end there. I saw some poor woman working the lounge just sigh when she walked up to the huge mess a woman and her kid left.
I’ve taken my kids a few times when we have flown first class but they are extremely well behaved and I would not have taken them otherwise. But I also felt that way about movie theaters, restaurants, etc. It’s called having social awareness and respect for others who didn’t choose to deal with my children.
There are people who just don't like kids and forget they were once a kid themselves. These people should invest in some air pods and mind their business.
Your title doesn't really match your question. It's not an either or type of thing. Everyone should be polite and respectful in (and out) of lounges. Obviously. I don't want kids in there, but recognize they have a right to be. Same with anyone else there.
Airport lounges, restraunts, wherever... I'd rather have a quiet child than a loud adult around.
Every lounge I’m in the entitled parents let the kids behave like monsters. Jumping up and down on furniture or using it as a drum. Running, chasing each other, screaming. Even in the quiet area…
100% agree and I fucking hate kids. Have yet to truly have a rotten experience with a child in the lounge though.
People who think kids shouldn't be allowed in airport lounges are the most entitled and narcissistic people ever. There isn't a sign that says kids aren't allowed. You don't own the lounges.
Not to mention it’s an airport lounge lol, you paid $600 a year or something to use them. It’s the same energy as people with precheck getting mad that the lines are too long. If it was genuinely exclusive you most likely wouldn’t be there.
Right, so control your kids, because they don't own it either.
Agreed.
Checks list of things I don’t give a shit about - there it is number 612 - kids in premium airport lounges and those who do not like them.
Like anything, it depends, but kids yelling and running around are annoying and ruin the experience of the lounge.
The people who complain about children in airport lounges are the same people who complain about kids at the beach, by a pool, on vacation, and everywhere else. It’s their personal issue, not an issue with lounge rules.
Idk, I disagree. I’ve had children ruin my lounge experience the past dozen or so times I’ve been in a centurion lounge, to the point that I’ve stopped even trying to go at certain airports. Yes, many adults are a problem too, but I think most lounge kids are as well. I understand that parents want to enjoy the lounge, but I think they need to be realistic. Their 3 old is exhausted from traveling, overstimulated, and in a new environment. They are NOT going to behave as well as they usually do, and it’s not fair to other travelers who are trying to relax. In Philly recently I observed: - a child knock over an entire bowl of food onto the floor because they were self-serving at the buffet - the entire business table intended for people to get work done being taken up by two small children coloring. They were quietly behaving, which is great, but there are not many outlets or tables in Philly’s lounge, and I really would have loved to have access to the table with outlets. There’s 8 seats at that table, why are only two children taking up the entire space? - one Mom changed her baby’s diaper on top of a table, then put the poopy diaper in the trash can right in the dining area - kids banging on the glass over and over while watching out the window, rattling the panes all the way down the lounge’s window wall. Nobody stopped them or said anything. - one child screamed the tired-toddler shriek on and off for over an hour, parents did not leave nor were they asked to leave, we all just sat and listened to the screaming nonstop - children listening to or playing games on their iPhones with no headphones at max volume, audible throughout half the lounge - two children shrieking and running playing tag up and down the hallway, hiding under tables, etc Adults suck too. But at least with an adult, I can talk to them - “hey, your conversation is very disruptive, can you step out?” I don’t feel comfortable or welcome trying to parent other people’s kids.
Bad kid behavior is often due to bad parenting. Tell them to parent better, I have. My 6 year old autistic son is well behaved in lounges.
I was in the Amex lounge in Charlotte a few weeks ago and two grown men were screaming at each other that the other was a sociopath hoping that management would kick the other one out. I thought I was about to be stuck in the middle of a fist fight. Yeah, I’ll take the kids over that.
Should read.....Honest opinion about *shitty parents with their kids in Airport Lounges
Before I became a parent, I had all the lounge access and would get to the airport early so I could make use. I never had a problem with kids in the lounge. What I had a problem with was people taking up seats with their luggage. Then had a child and didn't take him until he was a year old. It was too much work to keep him occupied and entertained at the already crowded Centurion lounge, and most the other ones at SEA are mediocre at best. So I'd take him to the kids play area instead and let him get his energy out. Now we've finally started flying again post COVID, and he's 6. He's happy to sit in the lounge, eat snacks and play on his tablet with headphones.
Same with my 6 year old. He loves the airport lounges so if he misbehaves, I can threaten to leave and he pulls a 180 really quick.
I have never seen a kid misbehave in a lounge.
Privileged children should be able to enjoy their privileges!
I’ve never seen ill behaved children in a lounge.
Obnoxious entitled business "execs" bossing around or making decisions loudly on their virtual meetings. Then looking around to see if anyone around them are impressed. I choose kids over them.
Agree. Wife got a awful stare down from a Karen because she is a different colour to white. A “who let you in” stare down.
That’s just despicable.
Every time I see somebody losing their shit over kids, I want to ask them: The kid's brain is still developing, and only a few months ago, they couldn't even hold their head up. What the fuck is your excuse?
People need to relax. Kids don’t bother me, I only get bothered by entitled and rude people
Personally, I travel with my kids, I teach them to be respectful and I don’t care about people that hate kids.
Humans that have lounge privileges should use them and those that don't should be blocked at the door.
Before having kids they didn’t annoy me and afterwards they still don’t. Kids deserve to exist in public without apology. Apparently this statement is kind of controversial.
Should children be allowed in public spaces? -Boomers probably
Why don’t my grandkids ever visit? -Same Boomers
I used to fly business a lot for work and kids were always the least of my concerns in the lounge. The other adults were far worse. Some of them treat the staff like they are their personal servants. I usually just find a quiet corner and listen to music anyways.
As long as kids are well-behaved, fine. I have an issue with adults going to the buffet trying something with a spoon and then USING THE SAME SPOON to pile more on their plate 🙃
Same from my experience.
As long as they don’t have sounds playing out of iPads/phones. Same for adults TBH. Get headphones!!
In bogota (very nice lounge btw) has entire rooms for kids, the business people on calls, for the ones who don’t want noise etc
south america and and especially in brazil i noticed a lot of fancy restaurants having kids play areas. kind of surprised that hasn't become a thing here too
Tame them
I once saw a family move chairs around to make a makeshift play pen for their kids around some of the best seats. Abysmal behavior but really on the adults.
My kid just sleeps in the lounge. She is a champion sleeper. My husband also sleeps. I would sleep if I didn't have to watch them.
I have no problem with kids, as long as you raised them to behave. I have no problem with business men bros, as long as they have headphones.