Online Survey Indicates Majority Of Passengers Favor Family-Only Sections On Airliners

It's an online survey, which means the results should probably be taken with about a tablespoon of salt. But a poll carried out by Skyscanner, an airfare comparison site, indicates that 59% of travellers would like a ‘families only’ section onboard flights. Non-parents particularly liked the idea, with 68% voting in favor, however less than a third of parents surveyed were in agreement.

Of the over 2,000 people who voted in the Skyscanner poll, just 8% of child-free respondents thought people should be entitled to sit where they like, while almost 70% "wanted to sit as far away as possible from children." Almost a quarter of non-parents went one step further saying that they would prefer flights that were free from children altogether.

Of those who were parents themselves, 45% said they didn’t want a families-only section because they didn’t want to sit next to "other people’s horrors" while 24% disagreed with the idea because they felt that people should be able to "sit where they liked." Just 31% of parents were in favor of the allocated section.

Other suggestions put forward by Skyscanner users to solve the problem of noisy children on flights included providing a baby nursery(where?), and only allowing well-behaved children to travel (who gets to decide?).

“As a relatively new mum myself I can still remember that feeling of dread when you found yourself seated next to a baby on a long flight," commented Skyscanner PR Manager Mary Porter, "however since regularly flying with my one year old, I am much more aware of what a stressful, and often embarrassing, situation it can be for parents."

Porter said she's not surprised that in a previous poll, the site found young children were deemed to be the “most annoying” factor on flights. Respondents said that, when tempers are frayed, a screaming child can cause a major disturbance for fellow passengers.

Given the airline's new-found love for "premium" seat fees, is it possible that carriers might give passengers a "children or non" option on flights ... for a price? “If passengers are prepared to pay extra for child-free flying, perhaps the solution is a premium adults-only section, rather than a pre-allocated families section, giving airlines yet another extra they can charge for," Porter said. "I am sure this service would prove really popular on routes that attract a lot of families such as flights to Orlando.”

FMI: www.skyscanner.com