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.”