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Should airlines have segregated seating?
Posted: 04.22.2011 at 12:24 PM
Updated: 04.23.2011 at 10:10 AM
Meghan Lane

Meghan is a Live at Sunrise anchor.

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Have you tried to sleep on a plane only to have a screaming baby keep you awake? 

Or have you been the parent of an upset child or a toddler that couldn't sit still during a flight?

Did the business travelers give you bad looks? 

Segregating airline flights has received national attention lately.

And KRCG’s Meghan Lane got opinions from some local travelers on this hot button issue.

"It sounds like a good idea but I don't know how feasible it is," Debbie Karwoski said.

Debbie Karwoski has been a parent of a small child on a plane and said it's not an easy task.

"You kind of worry about whether or not your child is bothering other people," Kawoski said.

Harvey Hoffman questioned the ability to have a family seating-area on a plane.

"I think it would be way too complicated, what's the cut-off going to be,” Hoffman questioned.  “How are you going to determine?  Everybody who has kids know how difficult they can be you know, you just have to deal with it."

Chandra Oleksiewicz has flown with her two young children in tow without having any problems.

"I've had the experience where strangers have talked to them and played with them and really enjoyed themselves while they were traveling," Oleksiewicz said.

She said segregating the seating would set a bad example for children.

"I just don't think it's a good message that we want to send our children, that you're not part of our society, you need to be in a separate place," Oleksiewicz said.

While calls for segregated seating on larger flights may be doable, at regional airports it's next to impossible because most of the flights are so small.

"It would open a can of worms that would just be too complicated to regulate," Hoffman said.

In a poll by the travel search site Skyscanner, 59 % of travelers said they would like "families only" sections onboard flights.

We asked you if you would be willing to pay more for a child-free flight on our website, 67 % of you said no.

Here's what a couple of our Facebook fans said about the issue...

Christina said "I think they should have a section for family with kids. This would be easier to the family and other passengers. I also think they should have a section for larger passengers. It is not fair to the larger person or the person next to them if they take up the room. I think it would make all more comfortable to have sections."

Marsha said "having been a bigger person, yes, there should be seats special for big people...it would be so much more comfortable...and being a mother of a 3 and a 4 year old, yes, we should have a kid friendly section of the plane!"

Would you pay more for a child-free flight?
Would you pay more for a child-free flight?

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