I've been reading this thread with great interest & I have to agree with garp's no nonsense method. Just do it - a 2 year old cannot reason & nor should it be allowed to, particularly when safety issues are paramount. I'm sure there were a few parents within the crew that day. Well done BA!
I have an 11mnth old baby girl in my possession & she's flown from day one - she got her nappy off the ground for the first time when she was 7 weeks old in Torquil Norman's Dragon Fly. We have since flown numerous times, most recently to Boston on our own (without Daddy) & have never had any trouble. My airline of choice so far, when travelling with a young baby has been BA & I've continuously found the crew to have been amazingly helpful & as a parent pax would trust their judgement 100%. The tantrumming toddler's mother is some fashion editor - maybe thats why the incident made the press.
I spoke with a fellow mummy yesterday who had some very alarming news & in view of this thread, wholly ironic. She flew DELTA (note this one everyone) LGW to Tampa in Feb with her 11 mnth old son & wasn't even offered a child seat belt! She asked the hostie for one before push back & was told they didn't have any on board & nor did she need one. The same happened on the return flight. Qu'elle horreur! Needless to say she won't be flying Delta again. Could she I wonder, have refused to allow the aircraft to take off?
I'd love to hear from any Delta crew re this policy!