Anyone who has traveled with children on board an airplane knows how difficult this adventure can be. Most children tend to get stressed or bored on flights, especially if they are young, so it is common for them to cry or have a tantrum during the trip. Obviously, this situation does not usually go unnoticed by passengers and it usually generates a lot of stress on parents. However, from now on this scenario could be different, at least for Japan Airlines planes.
Identify seats occupied by children to avoid discomfort to other passengers
Japan Airlines recently approved a new measure that applies to all its flights and planes: indicate the seats occupied by children before buying tickets on its website. The company has created a kind of scheme for the airplane seats, similar to those of the rest of the airlines, but with the peculiarity that they place the icon of a baby in the seats in which children between 8 days old and 2 will travel year old.
This allows other passengers to know the seats occupied by babies and decide whether they want to sit close or prefer a seat further away. It is worth noting that the system only works with tickets that are purchased through the company’s website and that the airline warns that, if for any reason the plane is changed at the last minute, it is likely that the seats occupied by babies may to vary.
The airline assures that it is a measure designed to improve comfort during flights for passengers traveling without children, while at the same time trying to ensure greater peace of mind throughout the trip. However, this passenger profile is not the only one that the company benefits, it also offers special advantages for parents traveling with their children, such as the opportunity to rent baby carriages at airports and perform priority check-in and boarding.
In addition, it has hot water for bottles and has special equipment to heat them. It also has special spaces where parents can change the diaper more comfortably, while offering special entertainment for the little ones.
The controversy that the measure has unleashed
As a result of the implementation of the new measure, many passengers have supported the decision that promises to improve their well-being during flights, but there are also critics who consider that it is a decision that encourages intolerance and marginalization.
Proponents of the measure argue that it is a simple solution to ensure the comfort of passengers traveling without children during flights. Basically, they defend their right to travel with peace of mind without being disturbed by complaints or crying from children and point out that the measure will benefit both parties, that is, both parents and other passengers. From their point of view, it is a great advantage to be able to choose a seat on the plane where you can travel with the certainty of not having children nearby.
However, at the other extreme are more critical voices, who have lashed out at the measure arguing that the decision only increases the intolerance of many passengers regarding child behavior. They allege that far from promoting a greater understanding of children’s behavior and fostering the social bond between adults and children, the measure imposes an insurmountable physical and psychological distance. Some go a step further and assure that it is a way of marginalizing parents and their children, which, from their point of view, would be a first step and then begin to marginalize other groups. What do you think?
