Adult Plus Infant

It's always hit or miss with American Airlines. This time, I traveled back to the USA and stayed for nearly one month. A good thing when traveling with an infant. I had some time to recover before getting back on a plane.

Actually, it wasn't that bad. Ailin is only 5-6 months old, so kind of immobile. She is happiest as long as her mama and milk supply are within reach, so she barely cried on the plane or at the airport! I had been so nervous before the trip, but after a few hours on the plane, I realized that she couldn't have been happier.

On the way to USA, the flight attendants were so nice and sweet. No, no one offered to hold her while I go to the bathroom or eat my meal, but they were accommodating just the same. During the first meal service, I had put Ailin in her bassinette (provided by the airline) and received my meal, but it soon became apparent that she would not be patient until I finished eating. So I returned the meal and they offered to save it until later. After the meal service was over and I was able to settle her down to sleep, they brought me a brand new meal!

The way back to Japan was another story though. I was initially assigned a seat in the middle of a middle row. I didn't realize this until I was about to get on the plane. The machine wouldn't process my boarding pass. They realized it was because my pass said "Plus Infant." So, they issued a new boarding pass. Meanwhile, the flight attendant who had taken my passports had set them down behind her. She gave me the new boarding pass, but not the passports. Luckily, I realized this just after I walked away and I went back to retrieve them. I found them sitting on the ledge behind her and I tapped her on the shoulder to let her know I was taking (my own) passports, and her attitude was like, "Yeah, I put them there for you." Well, lady, aren't these documents pretty important? A little too important for you to flippantly set them on a ledge behind you and not give them back to me? Anyone could have reached them and taken them. I wanted to say this, but didn't.

Inside the airplane, the flight attendants in my section were quite the pair. An older woman who seemed to be trying very hard to be kind. Oh, she was nice, all right. I have no complaints about her. But, her partner was the clumsiest guy I had ever seen. He would ram his cart up and down the aisles (I was so afraid that Ailin's head would be bashed in were she to be nursing on my right side with her head slightly jutting out into the aisle. I always made sure to lean way left and protect her head when I heard him coming, with or without his cart.) He ran over his poor partner's foot with the cart once and she nearly died from the pain of it. I could see it on her face as she said, "Ow....oh...it's okay." as she gave him the look of death. Then, it so happened that their extra stash of beverages, hot water and coffee were in a little cubicle in front of my seat. So, Ailin was in her bassinette next to this cubicle, which makes a lot of noise when you slam the door. Klutzy Guy made sure to slam it each time. I was so afraid that he would spill hot tea or coffee on my Ailin's head as she lay sleeping.

And, the worst incident of scariness due to Klutzy Guy. We hit turbulance during the food service and the seat belt sign went on. The pilot announced that all flight attendants pause food service, take their seats and buckle up. So, what does Klutzy Guy do? He parks his cart in the space in front of my seat with the trays facing me and he runs off! My mouth dropped open and I looked at the couple sitting across the aisle from me and the woman said, "Wow, that seems incredibly dangerous." Luckily, KG came back to properly retrieve his cart.

Note to self: Bulkhead seats are great when you travel with a child but only if they are not near the bathrooms.

Okay, more about my trip in the next post. Photos to come.