When US fashion blogger Arielle Noa Charnas decided to take her nine-month-old baby Ruby on a six-hour flight from their New York base to Los Angeles, she pre-empted the potential difficulties that could arise.
A stressed mum, crying baby and flight full of strangers was never going to be the makings of an enjoyable six hours. So she thought ahead, and paid to spend the flight in first class, where more space would mean a happier baby and less stressed parents.
Posting on Instagram before the flight, Charnas wrote that it was her first time taking Ruby on a flight and that she was “nervous” about the experience.
“I’m terrified of flying and the thought of bringing her on a plane with me doubles my anxiety,” she wrote before flying.
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And it appears her fears weren’t without reason. She claimed she was kicked out of first class and told to reside at the back of the plane the minute the nine-month-old began crying.
“On our way to LA a few days ago it was my first time flying with Ruby, I had a screaming crying sleepy baby who was so overwhelmed that she couldn’t fall asleep,” she wrote on Instagram after the flight.
“My husband and I paid for first class so that we’d have the extra space and could lay down with her – once we were boarded I was getting tons of eye rolls and head shakes from fellow passengers … because my baby was crying (as if I could just look at Ruby and say okay now it’s time to stop.)”
Charnas said it took less than 10 minutes for her family to be asked to move out of their seats.
“I tried to ignore it until 10 minutes passed and a flight attendant came over to me and asked me and my baby to move to the back of the plane (as if the people in the back didn’t matter). Give up our seats that we paid for and move. Apparently I was upsetting and getting a lot of complaints from the first class passengers.”