A childless, frequent-flying Facebook friend of mine just posted "Awesome" and linked to this video from the Canadian airline WestJet introducing it's Kargo Kids program -- "an exciting new program allowing guests to travel on select child-free flights, creating a quieter and more relaxing inflight experience, while children travel in a 'special VIP' area of the aircraft."
I don't know if said friend actually watched the video but, alas, APRIL FOOLS! The program -- the answer to many parents and non-parents wildest traveling dreams -- is a sham. As HuffPost Canada says, "Call it the April Fools joke some of us secretly wish were true." Ha!
A few tip-offs that the video is a joke are the "travel toboggan" kids are whisked off on (on a conveyer belt!) to the "VIP area" (cargo underbelly!) of the plane where they'll eat from a "feed trough" while adults cruise quietly above in the main cabin. :-)
Those things obviously wouldn't fly, but WestJet's April Fools joke has gone viral (half a million hits on YouTube and counting)!
What do you think? Is the video funny? (I loved it! It's pretty cute, and as some people are commenting, Ikea actually has a monitored play area for kids, which makes the shopping experience much more serene than usual -- for parents and other adults.
Would you want separate child-free and child-friendly sections on a plane? Surely most parents don't want to be separated from their kids during a flight, but having a designated "family" section could be a good thing for frazzled parents dealing with dirty looks at 35,000 feet. As a 2010 NYTimes article pointed out, a survey of 800 people showed that airlines received an average family-friendliness grade of "C" from those who had recently traveled with kids. Happy travels! Yeah right.
Until a separate family-friendly section is no longer just a fantasy, enjoy these family travel helpers on your spring break trip or next journey with kids: