Sitting near a wailing toddler doesn’t make for a particularly enjoyable flight.
With this in mind, airline Corendon is launching a zone where children are banned.
This ‘Only Adult’ area will be available on the carrier’s A350 flights between Amsterdam and the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao, launching from November 3 this year.
The zone will be in the front section of the aircraft and consist of nine ‘XL’ seats, with extra legroom, and 93 standard seats, according to Corendon.
The carrier explained that the zone will be physically separated from the rest of the aircraft ‘by means of walls and curtains’, which will ‘create a shielded environment that contributes to a calm and relaxed flight’.
A seat reservation in the adult zone is for over-16s and costs 45 euros (£38/$48) in the standard area and 100 euros (£85/$107) in the XL zone.
The Dutch carrier added: ‘This zone in the aircraft is intended for passengers travelling without children and for business travellers who want to work in a quiet environment. At the same time, the introduction of the Only Adult zone also has a positive effect for parents with children. They don’t have to worry as much about possible reactions from fellow passengers if their child is a bit busier or cries.’
Atilay Uslu, founder of Corendon, said: ‘On board our flights, we always strive to respond to the different needs of our customers. We are also the first Dutch airline to introduce the Only Adult zone, because we cater to travellers looking for some extra peace of mind during their flight. We also believe this can have a positive effect on parents travelling with small children. They can enjoy the flight without worrying if their children make more noise.’
Corendon isn’t the first airline to help passengers keen to keep their distance from youngsters.
Scoot, a low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines that launched in 2012, offers the option for passengers to sit in a ‘ScootinSilence’ seat towards the front of the plane, where under-12s are banned.
And Japan Airlines has a feature on its booking system that indicates which seats on the plane will be occupied by infants up to the age of two.