Been on both sides of that one-worst flight I ever took was when my son was ~8mo old- CLE to PHX, with a nice 45 minute hold on the way home. When I used to travel for business, inevitably there was a kicker and screamer somewhere on the plane, usually directly behind me.
Not to start a parenting skills argument, but I've had a lot of moments in the past 7 years where it was kind of like deja vu, only this time, the crappy parent with the devil kid is ME. AAAGGHHH. Fortunately most of those moments are at home, and the outside world thinks we have angelic, 'role-model' type kids. Age 3 was possibly the worst time with my son, like 'terrible twos' only bigger, stronger, faster.
Kids are not their normal selves when traveling, and sometimes what we see at the airport is far from normal (ask me how I know). Sometimes the best thing is just the good old time out, which is just what Airtran gave her. I'm pretty hesitant to spank my kids in public, even when they need one- you never know when some whacko will call the cops on you for 'abuse'.
Obviously Airtran did the right thing giving fifteen minutes (!) to get their •! in order before giving them the boot, plus giving very generous compensation. Refund + free tickets= heck yes we'll fly you again! Dump the kid at grandma's, we're going on VACATION!!
Reasons GA flying is better:
-No security to tempt smarty pants 7 year olds to ask loudly "hey dad, did you remember your bomb?!" after seeing the signs saying not to joke about weapons, bombs, etc.
-Lots of noise & vibration muffles complaining, and usually knocks 'em out quickly. For best results, do not connect mic jacks on headsets or select 'crew' on intercom.
-Adjustable descent rates reduce ears popping-depends who you're talking to or where you're going though.
-If it gets really bad, climb