Think about the last flight that you took. What was your reaction when you were settled in, good book in hand, and looked up to see a smiling-somewhat exhausted mom tucking her toddler into the middle seat next to you while the busy-bee nine-month-old held onto her neck, dropping goldfish in its wake? What was your reaction? Did you secretly wish, as you prepare yourself to grin and bear it, that there was a place to fly child-free? Well, your wish may soon be more of a reality than not as some airlines are implementing child-free zones on flights.
Indian budget carrier IndiGo recently announced that it will offer “Quiet Zones” on its planes where children under the age of 12 are forbidden to sit. “Keeping in mind the comfort and convenience of all passengers, row numbers 1 to 4 and 11 to 14 are generally kept as a Quiet Zone on IndiGo flights,” the company in a released statement. “These zones have been created for business travelers who prefer to use the quiet time to do their work.” Additionally, children are not allowed to sit in seats that have that oh so coveted extra leg room or in the emergency exit rows.
IndiGo isn’t the first airline to attempt this policy addition. Malaysia Airlines, AirAsiaX and Singapore’s Scoot Airline have all recently introduced similar in-flight changes. As of now, there are no U.S. carriers on-board with this new trend, but are they next?
“It’d be a logistical nightmare for airlines to sell child-free zones, and I think this is more of a gimmick than anything,” Airfarewatchdog.com’s George Hobica told TODAY. Though that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen in the future. Other transportation companies like Amtrak offer quiet cars to their customers, and some studies show that more and more people are asking for child-free zones.
Obviously, there’s mixed feelings about the latest announcement from IndiGo. Some feel that the policy is discriminatory while others have voiced support for the change. “I am a mom, and I would 100 percent buy a ticket in the child-free zone,” commented one Twitter user.
Of course people would love to fly noise-free but that isn’t very practical. Even if you are two or three rows ahead of or behind the “quiet zone,” when little Johnny with the lungs of steal begins to exercise his pipes, you will quickly remember that sound does indeed travel too.
