Budget Indian Airline Indigo have announced plans for a child free zone in their premium seats which seems to have angered a lot of people.
Obviously passengers travelling without children are happy with the news but some of those who are travelling as a family have been angered by the decision.
Personally I think it is a good idea and that is coming from someone who has children
My kids are age 9 and 11 and are usually well behaved especially when out in public ( less so at home but that’s just normal I am told )
However they are children and will get bored when sitting on an aircraft for any length of time. Generally a short 2-3 hour flight is ok but anything longer and the boredom kicks in. That’s when the problems can occur. We always take books, games, music etc to keep them entertained but they are still sitting in a confined area with not much to occupy their time.
They are not disruptive but they do move about a lot and my youngest is up and down to the toilet so unfortunately it can disturb people sitting around us.
The worst experience I had was when my youngest was just 9 months old. It was only a short flight to Majorca but she screamed all the way home. It was a really stressful journey because I was so worried about the other people until the flight attendant made me feel so much better. She told me not to worry and that my daughter was not at fault and grown adults should be able to deal with it for a short period of time. Whilst this is true it was a horrendous time and just as bad for me as it was for other people on the flight.
Now mine are a little older it is getting easier and I think the age limit of 12 for the premium seats is about right. That way those that want to ensure a peaceful journey can pay a little bit extra to guarantee this.
There is another answer which would be to provide more entertainment for kids. Virgin were fantastic when we flew to Florida last year and my kids sat and watched movies for the whole flight because the choice of films were great with seat back televisions. I realise you can’t offer this on all flights especially on short journeys but this does help to keep children quiet on long haul flights.
What are your thoughts do you think this is the way forward for other airlines ?
About Me
Hello my name is Ruth and I have worked in the travel industry for 28 years. Apart from a couple of years working in a retail shop the rest of my career has been specialising in cruise so as you can imagine I am an expert in this area. I…
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