child-free travel

Recently in Aftenposten's consumer section for travfel, there have been articles about how some charter tour companies are setting up various forms of child-free travel.

In the first article, one company is setting up a special class on their plane to Thailand - the customer pays extra for it, and children between the ages of 0 and 12 are not allowed to travel in this class.

The second article is about a hotel that another tour company uses; this hotel has a minimum age limit of 18 years but if you shell out a ton of money, you can bring your children.

And, of course, there have been complaints about this. I really don't understand why. There are plenty of things out there for families with children that are not suitable for people without children. Why are they so upset that options are also being made for the child-free, a growing (and relatively wealthy) demographic group? Is it because of that? Are they jealous of the lifestyle that the once had but can never have again?

From some of the reader comments, it also seems like some individuals are taking child-free travel arrangements personally. A critique of their parenting skills... or should I say lack of? It's no wonder people don't want to sit next to kids on planes when the kid screams the whole flight and kicks the back of your seat and the parents don't do a damn thing about it. And before you get your knickers in a knot, I'm not talking about babies who cry during take-off and landing. Especially considering most shut up and go to sleep in between...

Oh, and I can't even imagine why any responsible parent would take their children to an adults-only hotel where the guests want to do, well, adult things...