When traveling, sometimes you experience the occasional noise of a crying infant or have your seat kicked by a rowdy child behind you. However, those who want to have a quiet flight may have found relief. AirAsia, a low cost airline that has flights to Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia has announced a “quiet zone” on all of its AirAsia X flights. Starting in February 2013, rows 7-14 of the A330 aircraft will be reserved only for passengers aged 12 and up. AirAsia is the second airline to develop a child-free zone, similar to that of its rival, Malaysia Air, who banned children from the first-class upper deck of their A380 aircraft. According to AirAsia’s website, the quiet zone promises “Minimal noise with less disturbance,” “Ambience with soft lighting,” and all this “At no extra cost.”
The airline is being strict with this policy. According to the website, “If you have a member of your group that is under 12 years old, the system will not allow you to select a seat in the quiet zone.” However, there are exceptions to every rule. You are never 100 percent guaranteed to have a completely quiet flight. The website claims, “AirAsia X reserves the right to seat a passenger with a guest under 12 at the Quiet Zone during situations deemed necessary for operational, safety or security reasons.”
Some commenters that responded to the article on CNN’s website are highly opposed to the idea. Lynda Duke claimed, “There’s no moving crying children to any part of the plane, they are going to cry due to air pressure…crying babies are going to happen.” Aleema S. stated, “To start segregating based on dissatisfaction leads to other biases that will also be considered ban worthy. This should not be allowed. Honestly, I would boycott AirAsia.” However, in the list of comments, there were a few that agreed with AirAsia’s decision. User jimbo733 presented the fact that, “They’re not banning kids from the planes, but only from a specific section, which is fair.” Some brought about the idea that this is similar to the smoking and non-smoking sections on planes that were available until the late 90’s. Alex R. explained, “If you’re a seat away from the smokers, you can still smell the smoke. If you’re a seat away from a crying baby, you can still hear it.”
However, the quiet zone is separated from the rest of the coach class by bulkheads (partitions) and lavatories to further block out the noise. A few parents are actually applauding the situation. Tori S. on usatoday.com claimed, “That actually might make it easier on those traveling with kids too, because they won’t feel so stressed if their baby cries if they are surrounded by other families…it’s stressful because you are very aware of people’s displeasure at seeing your kids on the plane and parents really do want their kids to be well-behaved and quiet.”
This idea is brilliant. Every time I have to fly, I’m practically dreading it. Although the process of going through security is usually a common fear at airports, my fear is having children on my plane. In the many times of flying from Tampa to Albany, N.Y., I know first-hand how awful it is to hear a screaming baby or to be sitting near an obnoxious child. It’s horrible to deal with it for three hours; I can’t imagine an AirAsia flight that is over 10. Just getting on the plane is a long and stressful process. The last thing I want to hear is a baby crying or lean back in my seat to feel some kid kicking it or obnoxiously playing with the tray. The fact that this seating is no extra charge makes it even better, considering that I would pay a decent price for such a privilege.
It’s great that parents are on board with this. If I was one, I certainly wouldn’t want to be receiving dirty looks from passengers if my child was crying. Now they will at least be surrounded by other families who will understand their situation. As for myself, who has given a fair share of dirty looks to parents, if I were away from them in the quiet zone, I wouldn’t have to worry about nasty responses. AirAsia’s website indicated, “We know that sometimes all you need is some peace and quiet for a more pleasant journey with us.” Without the noise, traveling might actually become a pleasure again for some people. I know that the next time I want to take a vacation, I’ll be reserving my spot in AirAsia’s quiet zone.
Jessica Forte can be reached at jessica.forte@spartans.ut.edu