After 30 years of being loyal to AA and having them ignore that loyalty, I gave B6 a try.
Myself, wife and 18 month old son. Booked 2 seats in EvenMoreLegroom, both ways, JFK-FLL
First, JB 47, departing JFK at 1905, was delayed to 1940, due to a late connecting plane out of BOS. When "Bluebird" finally arrived, we got onboard quick. Gate checked the car seat and stroller. One of our TV's did not work, but no worries, an 18 month old is entertainment. he had no seat this flight but between the larger seat was good.
Pulled from gate and now had to sit behind 17 jets for takeoff. Took off at 2030 and just about when we were to takeoff, the baby's diaper was, well, starting to ooze..... No mess yet but there was a swamp thing creeping out form the edges of his diaper...but we had to get up in the air and change this guy ASAP.
As soon as we tookoff, we ask the FA if we can go change him, she says she doesnt recommend it until the seat belt sign is off. Meanwhile, Joe Blow in row 1 and the pilot have both already used the loo. Then the pilot was in the galley schmoozing with an FA. Great.....
Finally, I execute a decision and take my son from my wife and change his diaper. (Another few minutes and his diaper issue would have changed from being our problem to that of those sitting around us. And we try to be considerate of others.) Pilot finally turns off that seltbelt sign 30 minutes into flight. Not a bump in the sky and well over 1oooo ft, what took so long?
We were due to arrive at FLL at 2225, instead got there at 2335. Part of the stroller broke when we received it at the gate. It was missing. Why can't better care be taken of luggage at gate checks, especially when it is a utilitarian piece of equipment needed for travel?
So a one hour delay due to wx and atc. Only real issue was the broken TV set and the broken stroller. Breaking the stroller ticked me off. Shows the lack of consideration given to families traveling with infants.
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Coming home FLL-JFK last night on JB 84. As soon as we arrive at FLL, the sign showed "DELAYED". Asked the GA why and she says ATC in JFK. Original departure time was 1835, now moved to 1940. 1 hour delay so far.
Now, I know with AA, you can get flight info sent to your phone so you get a heads up of delays. AFAIK, B6 does not. Had I known ahead of time that I didnt have to wait at the airport an extra hour, I would have spent the hour with my family.
Finally our plane and also JB 50 (last flight of the night), which was scheduled to leave at 1935, both arrive. JB 50 starts to board first, then 5 minutes later, they call us.
I have to give it to JB, I think they are family friendly to a degree. They called pax with kids first but every idiot known to man flanked the gate.
We gate check the stroller and car seat again. Get to row 5. Plane is full of girls gone wild (not complaining), some french families and several large families.
Pilot welcomes us, apologizes for the delay. Says it was due to a medical issues on this plane on its morning flight from San Juan.
....GA's story does not align with pilots.....why not?....
OK, the exciting stuff now....
Close doors, taxi out, engines spool up and we are zooming down the runway then WHAM, the plane slams on its brakes just short of the intersecting runway. My first thought was if we'd come close to hitting another plane. Our baby's first reaction was "Encore, Encore," as in "More! More!" as in, do it again. I love this kid. :)
After some silence and a cacophony of "What the #$@#'s" and "sacre bleu's" round the cabin, the pilot informs us that a litany of bells and whistles took off in cockpit and an alarm re: pressurization and ventilation caused the computer to abort takeoff.
He says we reached 60 knots before the plane started to abort. Nothing like a bit of whiplash.
Capt taxis off the runway and is sitting on the taxiway. I smell a nasty diaper now. Diaper leak alert. I call the FA and say, "look, I'm relatively understanding regarding FAA/airline procedures. But here's the situation: This lovely little man has got a diaper change that needs be done ASAP. Using your parlance, there is a possible leak from his lavatory tanks. Right now, he is our problem. But the longer we are not at a gate or in the air, the faster he will become the problem of the surrounding passengers." She understood, got the capt on the horn and we hurried to the gate.
Now at the gate, seatbelt sign is off:
Wife gets up to change him. A group of white trash gals rush up in line to the bathroom. They see the mother with child and could care less. May they all get yeast infections.
Captain now says there is a complete computer failure, which is rare. Techs are on the scene. (Why did B6 decide to run Vista on the plane? :););)"
Captain gives updates every 5-10 minutes or so. There was a group of pax who had a connection at JFK to Burlington and Portland. They were kept abreast. They held the Burl flight but the Portland ME customers were told to see customer service.
Finally, problem resolved, we took off at 2105. Originally due into JFK at 2055, we landed in JFK at 2338. Busted stroller again. Another french lady's stroller was missing a front wheel. And she had an infant, a toddler and a preadolescent with her. Felt awful for them.
The baby was great on both flights. Only cried once for 5 minutes, on descent into FLL, where, from a deep sleep, his ears were bugging him. We felt back asleep at 9000 feet. It was clockwork.
We do everything we can to try and make our child comfortable, but more importantly, to be considerate of our surrounding passengers. But these delays negate any potentially beneficial steps that we try to take when traveling with a child. Thankfully, he flies well.
Will I try B6 again? Perhaps. I will SPEAK UP though and tell them my thoughts.
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Originally Posted by GothamSpotter
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