They don’t give Nobel Peace Prizes to companies – not yet, anyway – but Japan Airlines has just taken a great step toward advancing the peace process.
At least on plane flights.
Passengers booking flights on the airline can now see a child icon that shows which of the other flyers are travelling with kids between the age of eight days and two years old, according to CNN.
This means travellers can minimise their chances of having to deal with a crying baby or kid that keeps kicking the back of a seat. This may sound like a godsend, but
USA Today warns not to take the map as gospel, since the icon only appears when customers with children on a flight purchase seats directly from the airline’s website.
Also, the icons may not show up properly if there is a change in aircraft.
Still, even the possibility of a peaceful flight is definitely appealing to some travellers who suffered through a miserable ones because of small children.Thank you, @JAL_Official_jp for warnings me about where babies plan to scream and yell during a 13 hour trip. This really ought to be mandatory across the board.Please take note, @qatarairways: I had 3 screaming babies next to me on my JFK-DOH flight two weeks ago. pic.twitter.com/kQYQFIqqCD— Rahat Ahmed ✈️ Tokyo (@dequinix) September 24, 2019Some folks also are saying that displaying tolerance and empathy would serve passengers better than a baby map.They are babies as we all once were. We need to learn tolerance or will soon start needing a map of seat locations for mouth breathers, droolers, farters, drunks, and perhaps a lot more things in life. What ever happened to life's surprises 😉?— GS (@gsundar) September 26, 2019I’ve had far more flights with idiotic adults than screaming babies. 18+ flights are a great idea, keeps the dickheads all on the same flight.— Adam Harrison (@danascully73) September 26, 2019More importantly, could they let us know where you are sitting? I'm guessing a baby screaming is less tedious than you talking.— Seumas Grey (@Ballahooligan) September 26, 2019We’re all young once! All these people who can’t stand sitting next to young kids need to get over themselves- try and be considerate and realise that there are worse things in the world than sitting next to a crying child.— Mimi Pollard (@thestrawbster) September 26, 2019Whether other airlines adopt
Japan Airlines’ idea remains to be seen. In the meantime, here are some tips for parents taking their young ones on airplanes.