Female perverts the world over are rejoicing.

Men all over the world are rejoicing too ;-)

No kidding. I hate sitting next to children on flights.

Never having to sit next to a minor on an airplane sounds like great news. But seriously what a screwed up idea.

They also won't sell you a ticket if your name is Peter File, or if you work as a pediatrician.

I actually don't mind kids on public transportation, as long as they're not crying. They find me entertaining for some reason.

I was just in the DFW area. There are kids everywhere, it's really kind of suprising. Those texans sure do like to reproduce.

I'd bet that most of the people worried about pedophiles don't live in high-population growth areas, and thus a child is a rare thing.

But yeah, the current trend of assuming everyone is a pedophile is totaly bizzare (in NYC you can be arrested simply for watching children play on a playground if none of them are yours)

It really is very silly.

At least Qantas employees gave us this this piece of humor...

Ha! I was just reading that article. I think it's an excellent policy. They should also make sure men don't sit next to women who are traveling alone. Except ugly ones, I guess that would be ok. But definitely not hot ones. You know what men are like!

But I just realised, what if they're gay? Better make sure they don't sit next to men either.

Better yet, what about some kind of special cage for all the men on the flight? Like in Con Air.

In which case Steve Buscemi should not be allowed to sit next to anyone.

And in all seriousness, what I thought was most especially insulting was that they waited until this bloke was seated before moving him. Surely if they have this policy, it should be applied at check-in. It just goes to show, I spose, that airlines are run by the most fucked-up cunts imaginable.

Specklet (and everyone else), why does that guy link to the page with the funny air maintenance report stories as if it was Qantas Airline's, when in fact the top of the page on the site he linked says "Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by US Air Force pilots and the replies from the maintenance crews"?

If they moved me and did NOT put me in first class, I'd raise so much hell.

I think it'd be safest to stow all the kids in the overhead bins, anyway. Esp. the loud ones.

mr_crash, I don't know. That's a mighty good question.

Well, hell, now there's nothing good about Qantas exept they're the only major airline that's never had a crash.

Heh heh, I said "crash" twice.

It's nicer to fly between Melbourne and Auckland with Qantas than with Air NZ. And they give you Magnums! (the ice cream treat, that is, not the PI (or the eponymous moustache - although that would also be pretty sweet)).

What if you're a mime, clown, member of the Wiggles, or other children's entertainer? They seriously wouldn't let Yanni or Lavar Burton sit next to a fan?

Well, maybe neither would I, but....

If by 'this sort of thing' you mean misandry, yes, it is normal. Acceptable even. Why, just weeks ago a national paper published a feature where women explained "Why men are crap". And it wasn't a tabloid.

Can't we just all get along?

What if you're a mime, clown, member of the Wiggles...

How could anyone object to these clean-cut young men...?

Even as a child, I'd prefer to sit next to ladies. But then, I was always smooth; that's why my dad used to take me with him to the grocery store.

I'd love to not have to sit next to my kids on a flight, assuming the cabin crew will look after them for me.

Nomis, AirNZ is so dated and behind the times that almost any airline beats the pants off them for comfort and extras.

Children's Commissioner Cindy Kiro said she commended the airlines for putting thought into the policy and for endeavouring to keep children safe.

Tosser.

I really think there's an underground conspiracy been welling up over the last 20 years, egging on this social fallacy that strangers, men are the most likely culprits in cases of child sexual assault. The people in my imaginings that are propagating and perpetuating this myth are likely among the majority section of the child abuser set - that is, a relative of a child that they've assaulted.

Because the largest majority of sexual abuse upon children is actually carried out by a family member.

Perhaps if the so-called Children's Commissioner was to use this opportunity to communicate both the absurdity of the airline policy in the face of statistics and also publicly express an encouragement for greater education in the schools and in community settings an in advertising, then some good might have been achieved from embarrassing that poor guy.

But the conspiracy agents have really ensured that this myth stays alive and is bolstered continuously. It reminds me of the terror alerts we hear of in the States. Ratchet up the fear once again so that the truth can be sidestepped once again. Oy.

Excellently said, peacay.

AirNZ is so dated and behind the times that almost any airline beats the pants off them for comfort and extras

But what about all those self-congratulatory TV ads? Was Kiri lying to me?

I've only actually flown Air NZ when I really had to since they're also the most expensive.

I really think there's an underground conspiracy been welling up over the last 20 years, egging on this social fallacy that strangers, men are the most likely culprits in cases of child sexual assault.

I don't think it's a conspiracy. It's just like how people are terrified of stranger rape though it's a very small portion of rapes. People focus on the strange because the thought of family members, friends, and coworkers raping you or abusing your children is too scary.

why does that guy link to the page with the funny air maintenance report stories as if it was Qantas Airline's

Because at various times that list was also circulated saying Qantas. Snopes.

I really think there's an underground conspiracy been welling up over the last 20 years, egging on this social fallacy that strangers, men are the most likely culprits in cases of child sexual assault. The people in my imaginings that are propagating and perpetuating this myth are likely among the majority section of the child abuser set - that is, a relative of a child that they've assaulted.

When I was a kid one of my little sister's friends was talking about some creepy woman she saw sitting out somewhere. She ended the anecdote by saying "I think she was a Stranger". The "don't talk to strangers" thing had been drilled into her so much that she thought it simply meant a person a child shouldn't talk to. She was like 12 or 13.

No kidding. I hate sitting next to children on flights.

I'd rather sit next to a small child then a fat guy who takes up too much room.

How about sitting next to unaccompanied six year old and eight year old brothers fighting with each other and throwing things at each other?

That's what I had to put up with last year—eventually I had to assume the stern parental role and confiscate their GameBoys until they apologised to each other, then shushed them for the rest of the way.

The flight attendant and woman behind me congratulated me at the end of the flight.