Mom and Her Crying Baby Asked to Leave First Class

Arielle Noa Charnas didn’t sleep a wink on the night of December 28. That’s because the next morning, the New York–based mom and her 9-month-old daughter, Ruby, would be boarding a six-hour flight to Los Angeles. “I’m terrified of flying to begin with, but the idea that I was bringing Ruby only heightened my anxiety,” the Something Navy fashion blogger tells Us Weekly. Still, Charnas took some solace in knowing her husband, Brandon, had booked the family three first-class tickets so that the infant could lay down flat like in her crib. Only things didn’t go according to plan.

“Once we boarded I was getting tons of eye rolls and head shakes from fellow passengers on @delta because my baby was crying (as if I could just look at Ruby and say ‘Okay it’s time to stop 😂,’” Charnas wrote in an Instagram post to her nearly 1 million followers January 1. “I tried to ignore it until 10 minutes passed, and a flight attendant came over to me and asked me and my baby to move to the back of the plane … Apparently I was upsetting and getting a lot of complaints from the first class passengers.”

That’s when the “stressed and anxious” mother reached her breaking point and burst into tears. “Instead of the stewardess being helpful and compassionate she instead made the situation worse,” the 29-year-old wrote. “I don’t know what’s right and wrong when it comes to flying with a baby but after telling a few people the story they were in shock. Thoughts?”

Her post received nearly 22,000 likes and 1,600 — mostly supportive — comments. 

In the end, Charnas and Ruby refused to vacate their comfy first-class seats. “We rocked her and we walked her up and down the aisles,” Charnas tells Us. “Finally during take-off Ruby fell asleep on my shoulder and was a dream the rest of the flight.” 

On January 3, the CEO of Delta reached out to Charnas’ husband with an apology, refunded the tickets and gave the family $300 each. “We appreciated the [gesture],” Charnas tells Us. “However, it’s still not enough to make up for the awful experience we had.”

Tell Us: Do you think crying babies should be removed from first class? 

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tr%2FMmp6aspmjsm%2BvzqZmnJ2cmq%2BztdOyZKannah8r7HWrGamp51irq%2BwjKGcq2WTp8aqusZmmZqaqWKutLfEnWStp12hsqLCxGadoqqjqXqkuMCsqmavZGqFeX6UaA%3D%3D