This is typical of the sort of comment from an unfortunately large and ignorant section of the population that thinks that the only people who travel are tourists and vacationers and that all travel is a discretionary pleasure! In any case why should family visits for those living abroad be discouraged?
And your response is typical of the, "It's my right and everyone else can go to hell in a handcart", attitude that is so prevalent in today's society.
My wife and I should have the same right and convenience to visit our parents in the UK and South Africa as someone living in London has to visit his parents living in Basingstoke. We have both had to make overseas visits for serious illnesses and deaths and to consider making suitable care arrangements for elderly relatives. These were not vacations! We should be able to take the same personal possessions with us as the UK resident would take in his car from London to Basingstoke. Indeed we should be permitted to take more as we have to have enough possessions for a stay of several days to several weeks as against a few hours. Our family visits cost us considerably more in both money and time from our limited annual vacation (typically two weeks in Canada and the USA) than someone taking a one hour Saturday afternoon drive to visit his family. We should not have further restrictions and abuse heaped on top of that.
Why should you have the same rights as someone visiting relatives within the same country as them? Regardless of the reasons, I assume no one forced you to live in a different country from both sets of parents. You chose it, presumably, to give yourself and your family a better life. Fair enough. But don't then expect the industry and everyone in it, to pay for your choice. Have you seen the state of things at the moment? Running costs have gone through the roof, whilst ticket prices have dropped through the floor. The loco's have pushed us all into never ending downward spiral, in a vain attempt to try to compete and, in this country at least, the government are taxing aviation to hilt, on the pretence of saving the planet. Yet people are getting on board, still expecting all those little niceties. I'd like to be able to serve them those little niceties, but until people are willing to pay a reasonable sum of money for their flight, that's not gonna happen. Didn't a US airline recently take seats out of an aircraft, to give more leg room, and then quietly put them back again when no one would pay the higher prices?
Unfortunately, the world has got used to the low prices and perspectives have changed. What was once a bargain, is now an expectation.