Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

I was a little disturbed by JetBlue’s recent ad, FlyBabies.  It was marketed as a “heartwarming” ad, where on a specific JetBlue flight, every time a baby cried, passengers on the flight would get 25% off a future flight, up to a total of 100% off

Yes, I get it.  When a baby cries, it is really annoying.  And on a plane, when you can’t get away from it, it’s super frustrating.  But…. it’s just part of life.  Sometimes babies cry when you’re on a plane, and sometimes you sit next to the group of twentysomethings who are starting their Vegas weekend bachelor party early.  Part of being an adult is accepting the fact that sometimes things happen that you don’t like, and instead of thinking the worst of someone, we show compassion to our fellow humans.

And we’re not even talking about if kids should be allowed in business class (which is a whole NOTHER story, right?)

I’ve written about similar topics before – Why parents of children flying should NOT give “goodie bags” to fellow passengers.  Trust me, 99% of parents with crying babies / toddlers are stressed and doing everything they can to keep their baby from disturbing you and the rest of the people on the plane.

I thought this Huffington Post article captured my thoughts well – “JetBlue’s FlyBabies misses the mark” – a quote from the article

It was not ‘caring, even a simple smile’ that improved the situation for everyone. What improved the situation on that flight was you offering monetary compensation to people, which in turn caused them to ‘show a little caring, even a simple smile.’ JetBlue, you showed me that we need to be paid to be compassionate in moments of inconvenience

So who’s with me here?  Can we just show compassion to our fellow humans without having to get paid?

I'm sick of having to bribe grumpy people to act human while flying on an airplane with kids


Points With a Crew has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Points With a Crew and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers and that compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners and I do not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers and other offers and benefits listed on this page. Other links on this page may also pay me a commission - as always, thanks for your support if you use them

User Generated Content Disclosure: Points With a Crew 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.

BoardingArea