A traveler shamed parents for flying kids in first class — and the internet destroyed him

When Threads user @andrew.today shared his hot take about spotting kids in first class, he probably wasn’t expecting the internet to clap back with such force. Alongside a photo that apparently showed his own legs reclining in a United Polaris business class airplane seat, the poster wrote that on his flight from New York to San Francisco, “50% of the seats are filled with children, ages 8–12, belonging to two families. I don’t get it. Even if I had hundreds of millions of dollars, I would NEVER let my future kids fly 1st class. Not until they’ve built something themselves. Why do parents do this?”

The post quickly struck a nerve — and the replies came in fast, furious, passionate, biting, and sometimes hilarious.

Plenty of parents made it clear they’ll keep flying their kids in first class — no apologies — and shared photos of their littles enjoying the service in the front of the plane. “Because we can,” wrote one user. Another echoed, “My son in first class living his best life.”

Some pointed out the obvious: Parents aren’t about to split up when they’re flying. “Where am I supposed to put my three year old, in coach by himself? I fly first class, we all fly first class,” one person commented.

Others skewered the original poster’s logic with a little Home Alone-style humor. One quipped, “The last person I knew who flew first class with her kids in coach — she accidentally left one at home. And then he was forced to defend his home alone against the Wet Bandits.”

Another mocked the original poster’s argument by comparing his scenario to similar ones people face in restaurants all the time: “I was at a restaurant today and half the tables were filled with children eating food paid for by their parents. Why do parents do this? I would never let my future kids eat food paid for with my money. Not until they’ve grown some food themselves.”

Many commenters pointed out that the poster’s frustration said more about him than about children in premium cabins. “I think you’re just upset you didn’t grow up flying the way our children do,” one person shot back.

And some suggested the poster simply relax. As one user summed it up: “Parents do this for the same reason you bought 1st class tickets … because they wanted to and could. Hope that helps.”