It still shocks me to hear people make comments like: "I have a hard time as to why two full flight of 137 each total of 275 people are inconvenienced by ONE person". I have 2 children, both of whom have peanut allergies (one has in the past always just gotten hives; the other - we don't know what his reaction will be...we didn't know he had the allergy when we flew Southwest and fortunately he didn't have a reaction). Here's the deal. We flew Southwest once because we were told the flight would be peanut-free, even though previous flights might have served peanuts. The problem is that we didn't realize that the people who ate those peanuts on previous flights would totally trash the plane, and the plane is not cleaned at all between flights. There were peanuts everywhere! There's no way of being completely away from peanuts...being anywhere is risky. We are just trying to minimize the risk. We don't understand why people can't have their peanuts in a place that has "normal" air circulation...why must they eat them on a plane?! When one person in a family has a peanut allergy, the entire family must avoid Southwest Airlines because of their peanut policy. Southwest is one of only a few airlines that fly out of the closest airport to me. So, all family members (not just the peanut allergy sufferers) now have to fly a different airline which often has higher fares. How would you like to pay an extra $200 - $400 on airfare for the family because you have to choose an airline that has a peanut-free policy? Smoking is now banned on all domestic flights, but suppose it weren't? Imagine that you are a non-smoker who cannot bear to be in a plane full of cigarette smokers. Imagine that the only affordable and convenient airline to your home has no cigarette restrictions, and the seats stink of cigarette smoke from the current flight and/or all previous flights that day. Think about it...pretty unpleasant, huh? And it's not even life-threatening! Just imagine what your life would be like if they discovered that your child or grandchild had a peanut allergy! Airline issues is only one hassle we have to deal with...there are plenty more! I don't wish allergies on anyone, but it would open your eyes if you had to deal with this in your own family!
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