Why Flying With Crying Babies Never Sounded So Sweet
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Flying with a baby can be among a parent's most stressful experiences.
Perhaps that's why JetBlue tried to turn those tears into cheers on a flight from New York to Long Beach in honor of Mother's Day.
With a camera rolling on the flight, JetBlue followed four moms traveling alone with their babies.
Some got a few looks, Then, came the announcement:
"This will be the very first flight where crying babies is a good thing," said a JetBlue employee.
Each time a baby cried, the airline gave passengers 25 percent off their next flight, with four cries being the equivalent of a free ticket.
Parents traveling with little ones like Kelly Alexander of Torrance loved the #FlyBabies campaign.
"It's difficult sometimes and there is only so much you can do," she said. "I'm on a plane. My mom is sick so I don't have a choice."
JetBlue said 40 percent of passengers admitted to being annoyed.
"I understanding the first like ten minutes," said Alex Cuenca, a passenger. "But after that, I'm just like 'c'mon.' "
The airline said: "People smile at babies everywhere, except on planes! For Mother's Day, we wanted to acknowledge how moms (indeed all parents and caregivers) often feel stressed while traveling with children."
As for this flight, passengers became cheerleaders. They each got a free flight and decided flying with babies never sounded so sweet.
The bad news? The flight marked the one and only free flight but the airline says it'll have some other giveaways in the future.
