When you say:

>I don't know many good parents who could so easily 
>put the needs and comfort of strangers ahead 
>of the needs and comfort of their own infants.

I think you are confusing the needs of the infant
with the needs of the parent

It is unlikely that the infant needs to actually
fly anywhere.  Where does the infant need to 
be?  It is the parent that needs to fly.  It 
is the parent that is going vacationing or to
some business meeting or to visit grandparents.  In most
cases, the infant would be much happier staying
at home with his parents and being visited instead
of doing the visiting.

So, the parent subjects the infant to hours of
discomfort & billions of germs.  This makes the 
baby miserable, the parent miserable, and probably
several other people on the plane miserable.  

And all of this discomfort and misery is because the 
parent can't simply forego vacationing for a 
few years.  

So, please don't talk about the infant's needs.  This
really isn't about the infant.  It is about the parent,
who by the very act of travelling is showing very
little concern for the infant.

....

If you don't think this guideline can be done, you are 
wrong.  I, myself, had never been on an airplane
until I was 18 years old.  Likewise, I had never
been away from my parents for anything other than
a slumber party until I was 17.

This upbringing did nothing to quench my thirst
for travel.  At this point, I have flown many
times to places all over the world.