If you’re a parent, or if you’re not, you’ve probably heard some of the controversial banter going back and forth about child-free flights and kid-free zones on airplanes. The premise is that by giving families with young children specific seating on certain flights (and no seating at all on others), airlines can cater to those who would rather not be subject to typical kid-on-an-airplane behaviors, such as crying, whining and singing The Wheels on the Bus at an incrementally increasing volume. It also caters to families by allowing parents to not worry too much if their little ones are a bit restless or talk loudly; the other passengers in that area, after all, were aware that they would most likely be surrounded by children! Whether you’re for or against airlines offering child-free seating, here is some information on the trend:
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Air Asia X started offering kid-free zones last February. What they do is designate certain rows on certain flights as child-free, meaning that kids under the age of 12 cannot sit in these seats. The itineraries fly to Australia, China, Japan, Nepal, Korea and Taiwan.
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Scoot Airlines, a budget subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also offers this amenity to its child-free passengers. For a fee of about $14, you can fly on Scoot and not have children under 12 sitting within several rows of you. This is an option if you are traveling in parts of Asia or Australia.
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At this time, no airlines based in the United States have talked about any plans to have child-free seating. While some consumers would enjoy this perk, with so many families traveling on the planes, many of them don’t want to take the chance that those against the policy will effectively boycott the airlines, whether or not they are traveling with children.
- Another option that some parents would prefer is to instead offer kid-friendly seating, where families could be guaranteed the experience of sitting together, and where there might be more legroom to thwart antsy little seat-kickers. This way, instead of forcing families to stay out of certain areas of the plane, there will be a section where they are welcomed. Those wishing to avoid sitting near small children could simply not book seats in that section.
Whatever your thoughts on these policies, there are a few things that might help keep your little ones happy if you are traveling with them. They include packing snacks, bringing along an empty sippy cup to fill after you get through security, taking along small toys and scheduling a red-eye flight when possible in the hopes that they will simply sleep through it.
What do you think? Would you pay extra to either avoid sitting near children or to sit in family-friendly seating? Share your thoughts with our readers in the comments section below.
