It really doesn't matter who you're traveling with, or why - business or pleasure. Flying sucks. We're being crammed onto ever shrinking econo-buses, filled with dry, or even sick air; having plans shredded by schedule and equipment delays - all while outfitting our own food, water, pillows, and distractions, and praying that we don't get stuck on the runway for hours.  It feels as if the airlines want us to buy our tickets and then decide five minutes before the flight that it would be better to walk.  Better yet, they might ask us to pay more to actually get on the flight.

And that's before you become a parent who needs to get somewhere with a toddler who might or might not fall to pieces in public.

In the charged atmosphere of the airport terminal, parents with young children remain travel-pariahs - and it seems to be getting worse. It doesn't help that we stand out like  nomadic herders lost in the terminal because of all that gear we're legally required to bring with us, like car seats. Traveling families are deemed 'needy,' 'greedy,'  'selfish,' and 'rude'.  Travel sites are filling with comments about how quickly a "no kids" flight would sell out.  Perhaps in reaction, blogs are piling up airy, unapologetic entries like "my kid threw up on you and kicked your seat for 5 hours - look, I took pictures!" 

There's a fine line between love and hate, folks - and face it (even you guys on the LATimes comments board), we were all kids once.  At the same time, most if not all traveling parents agree that being respectful, good citizens - even in an airport, where there may be few others around - is our goal.  Raq's post "The Kindness of Strangers" hit the nail on the head in innumerable ways. 

With so many travelers trying to fit into such a small space, perhaps it is time to take a fresh look at what we can do to keep things calm, and help to improve the situation.  It's also time to look at which airlines, through a variety of ingenious procedures and some plain common sense, are making inroads where others are carving out prejudices and stereotypes, or reducing what some perceive as parental perks, and touting it as a way to keep business travelers happy. 

This is the first in a series on the topic of air travel.  All will be marked with a TWCto keep them in line.
That said - a few links to whet your whistle:

• A list of family-friendly international airlines (I can vouch for Singapore air - they were fantastic).
  
  
• DailyCandy has 4 airlines' kid-friendly strategies.
  
  
• Another list (2007) - the best Kid-Friendly Airlines, from Cookie Mag
  
  
• Frommers' 13 Lessons Learned on the Flight From Hell

Coming soon… What Your Flight Attendant Knows About Family Flying that You Should Too