London - Most travellers will be only too aware of how annoying it can be sitting next to a screaming baby 9km up in the air.
But one passenger’s ordeal was made a little more bearable after the parents of a 12-month old baby came up with a cunning plan to placate angry flyers.
They distributed goody bags as a pre-emptive strike in anticipation of the infant causing havoc on board a flight earlier this week.
The gesture was revealed on social networking site Reddit.com by a passenger who received one ahead of take-off. The gift bag included earplugs in case the child, called Madeline, began crying.
The passenger, who calls himself Ninjashares, posted a picture of the bag online underneath the message: “A baby just handed me this on my flight. I ain’t mad.”
The note read: ‘Hi Stranger! My name is Madeline. I will be 1 on December 17 and this is my first flight. I’ll try to be on my best behaviour, but I’d like to apologise in advance if I lose my cool, get scared, or my ears hurt.
“My mom and dad packed you this goody bag with a few treats. There are also ear plugs in case my first public serenade isn’t as enjoyable to you as it is to my mom and dad. Have a great flight!”
It comes after a similar story in September 2012 when the parents of 14-week-old twins distributed sweets to passengers in anticipation of the new-born babies disturbing other flyers.
The innovative approach was again broadcast by Andrew Merritt, who received one of the goody bags from Christina Diaz and Michael Rubinstein.
“Brilliant and thoughtful parents handed these out to everyone on my flight,” the appreciative traveller wrote on Reddit at the time, posting a picture of a Ziploc bag filled with goodies and a note of explanation.
“We’re twin baby boys on our first flight and we’re only 14 weeks old!” the note read. “We’ll try to be on our best behaviour, but we’d like to apologise in advance just in case we lose our cool or our ears hurt.
“Our mom and dad (AKA our portable milk machine and our diaper changer) have ear plugs available if you need them.”
The idea sparked chatter on the social news site, garnering over 3 000 comments and 1 million views after it was posted online. Most of the reaction was positive with one user calling it the “most considerate thing I’ve ever seen… it has fully restored my faith in said consideration.”
But some thought it a bit much.
“Really? You don’t find this to be overkill?” one user chimed in.
“I don’t require an apology for a crying baby on a plane. This is to be expected. I’m okay with it. People have babies, and they need to travel too,” they added. – Daily Mail