Now WestJet has made the news by harassing a breastfeeding customer.

“[The flight attendant] came up and said quietly, ‘You know, some men find the sight of a bare breast quite offensive. Can I offer you a blanket to cover up with?” Tarbuck said on Wednesday.

Tarbuck declined the offer of a blanket, but one was brought to her anyway. “I was pretty shocked,” said Tarbuck.

…

Tarbuck said on the WestJet flight, she was nursing discreetly, and the only other people in her row were her husband and daughter.

This mom was nursing, as many traveling moms do, while the plane was taking off to ease the pressure in her 11 month old child’s Eustachian tubes.  If she hadn’t been nursing, her child could have been screaming.  So, which would these gentlemen prefer?  To avert their eyes or hear a child crying?

You know what I find offensive?  The fact that the “visual discomfort” of fellow passengers was deemed more important than the physical discomfort of a child.

I am a very modest when nursing in public and, still, have had people ask me to go elsewhere to nurse even though absolutely no skin, let alone my breast, is exposed.  For some people, it’s simply the knowledge of “what is going on” that sends them over the edge.  Which is really sad.  Personally, I feel like having a blanket on my baby is more “attention drawing,” plus, my children would never nurse with one, so that would have never worked for me anyways.

So, the ever humorous Krista Cornish Scott wrote a letter to WestJet’s CEO:

Dear Sean Durfy, CEO,

I was so happy today to read your reply to the recent criticism of your treating breastfeeding women as second-class citizens. In an email to those questioning this behaviour your company representative stated “If a guest is engaged in an activity that makes others uncomfortable, or has the potential to make others uncomfortable, flight attendants have a responsibility to engage the guest in an effort to find a solution.” I was very relieved to hear this, as I frequently fly WestJet with my family and I have been made uncomfortable numerous times by other guests. You may want to stock up on more blankets.

You can read the rest at Elemental Mom where Krista, sarcastically, targets fat people, thin young girls, and couples holding hands.

Well, it’s been 2 1/2 weeks since I got sick and while I still have a mild cough & runny nose, both kids are still totally healthy!  Amazing!!!

One of the last remnants of our trip are the Philadelphia CityPasses I purchased.  I bought them in January to be all prepared for our week in Philly in February.  Well, me, being the queen of the list, did not include the CityPasses on our packing list and remembered as we were driving to the airport that I didn’t pack them… UGH!  Since I was sick for the last 2 full days there and we got to spend more time with the bride and groom than I anticipated, it ended up being fine.  But now I’ve spend almost $150 on these tickets and have no opportunity to use them…. so I’ve listed them on ebay.  If you plan to be in Philadelphia, and will be doing some sight-seeing, check them out!

Northwest offers early boarding for those traveling with small children which was so great as I was traveling by myself with my 2 month old baby.  It was so nice to be able to board the plane and get situated without holding up the line.

So after that experience, imagine my disappointment when I learned a month later when traveling with my husband, 3 year old, and 3 month old that United doesn’t offer early boarding for those traveling with small children, only for disabled passengers.  There is so much that goes into boarding when you have kids with you, holding up the line of the entire plane of passengers only adds to the stress. 

Your family can only move as fast as its slowest member.  And anyone who has traveled with small children knows how slowly they can move down the jetway, onto the plane, down the aisle, until they come across their seat.  My husband and I were busy trying to quickly collapse the stroller at the end of the jetway so we could gate check it and my infant’s car seat then lugging our toddler’s car seat down the aisle, installing the car seat, trapping, err buckling, her into the car seat, ensuring proper drinks, snacks, coloring books, crayons, headphones, iPods, laptops, and movies are organized within the pockets in front of us, and storing all carry-on bags and jackets in the overhead bins and beneath the seats in front of us.  Both my husband and I were sweating by the time we sat in our seats.

When I inquired with the United gate personnel scanning boarding passes, she assured me that ’studies have shown’ that early boarding of those with small children was not as efficient as having everyone board at the same time.  Only disabled passengers are granted early boarding.  Apparently, it’s more efficient for the disabled to board early, but not those with small children even though I’m fairly certain that a disabled person would have been able to board the plane quicker than us.  When I told her that Northwest offered early boarding and how disappointed I was that United didn’t extend the same courtesy, her response was, "Well, you do have a choice on who you fly."  Nothing like a warm and fuzzy response right before you hold up an entire plane’s worth of people.

When I combine the no early boarding with the fact that United will start charging $25 for a second piece of checked luggage on May 6, 2008, I realized that United just doesn’t care about traveling families.  This past trip, we were gone for a week, so we checked 6 pieces of luggage not including the stroller and car seat that we gate checked and then we each had luggage we brought on the plane – a small backpack for my daughter, a huge backpack for my husband, my large diaper bag, and a briefcase containing our laptop.  I can’t imagine paying $75 in ‘excess luggage’ charges, in addition to the cost of our tickets, just for the privilege to fly United.  How can anyone go on an extended trip with two small children and only check three bags?

I would be very interested in knowing how this affects the number of families that chose to fly United.  I know for certain that their numbers just decreased by one.