Should Kids Have Their Own Section of the Plane?

Contributing Editor Carl Unger believes that every trip is worth taking. He loves an extended trip to Europe as much as he enjoys exploring the towns and landscape near home. Basically, you'll find him wherever there is good food, fresh air, and plenty of stories to bring home.

Carl has been writing for SmarterTravel since 2005. His travel writing has also appeared on USA Today and the About.com Boston travel guide.

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Our sister site, Airfarewatchdog, just published the outcome of a survey completed by some 2,100 of its readers, and the results are pretty interesting:

68 percent think there should be a separate section of the plane for passengers traveling with kids.
Only 51 percent think pets should be allowed to fly in the cabin.
62 percent said they wouldn’t bring a bag onboard if they had to pay a fee to do so.
When asked their biggest fear about dealing with a potential seatmate, the number one answer was “sick or coughing” followed by “overweight.”
When asked how they’d stop a child seated behind them from kicking the seat, the vast majority said they’d politely ask the offender to stop. Complaining to the flight attendant was the number two answer. (We’re not so sure if speaking directly to a child is the way to go, though).

Some pretty controversial results here, don’t you think? 68 percent of Airfarewatchdog’s respondents saying they’d want to sequester kids to a separate section of the plane? Barely half saying pets should be allowed?

Even the carry-on fee item is controversial. After all, if you’re going to pay a fee whether you check or carry-on, my sense is most people would opt to keep their bags with them and avoid the baggage carousel.

So, readers, what do you think? Do you agree with the survey’s findings? Leave a comment below with your thoughts. Thanks!

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