There is something about boarding a long-haul flight with a baby seated near you. The cabin pressure will eventually place serious strain on a child’s ears, which causes them to cry and sometimes scream it out. Unlike us adults, who can equalize, a baby has no other option than to self-soothe. Having ear troubles my entire life I know that pain all too well. My heart really does go out to those parents and of course to the baby.
Passengers on long-haul flights might desperately need to get some shut eye and an active baby could hinder this. Japan Airlines has invented a way for travellers to avoid sitting next to an infant with a baby seat map.
Japan Airlines said on their website that, ‘passengers traveling with children between 8 days and 2 years old who select their seats on the JAL website will have a child icon displayed on their seats on the seat selection screen. This lets other passengers know a child may be sitting there.’
Essentially this tool will help those travellers on long journeys to avoid the inevitable moans, crys and sometimes screams of the self-soothing baby.
Japan Airlines warned that child icons are not displayed in the following situations:
- Seats booked as part of a tour or using award tickets
- Seats selected through means other than the JAL website
It also said that the child icons may not be displayed correctly if there is a change in aircraft.
Image: Unsplash
