Scoot, the low-cost airlines which flies from Singapore to Sydney, Gold Coast and 6 other cities in Asia, has created a child-free zone onboard their aircrafts.
Aptly named ScootinSilence, passengers can upgrade for S$18 to seats from rows 21 to 25, where children under 12 years old are banned. As an added bonus, seats in this child-free zone boast extra legroom and a 35-inch (89cm) seat pitch – which is 4 inches (10cm) wider than the economy seats on the plane.
However, parents travelling with children under 12 will not miss out on the option of extra room onboard. A Scoot spokesperson assured theAsianparent that seats with the same 35-inch pitch are also available in other parts of the aircraft.
At the launch of ScootinSilence on 21 August 2013, Campbell Wilson, CEO of Scoot reiterated that the budget airline was all about “fun, great value and empowerment to choose only the frills you value”. The add-on frills that Scoot passengers can choose include baggage, meals, inflight entertainment, comfort kits and now, peace and quiet.
“No offence to our young guests or those travelling with them – you still have the rest of the aircraft,” he said.
Child-free zone in other carriers?
Scoot is not the first carrier to introduce a child-free area on its planes. At least 2 other Asian carriers have implemented this seating concept on board their aircrafts.
AirAsia X, the long-haul arm of budget airline AirAsia, which connects passengers from Malaysia to major Asian cities, has allocated a ‘Quiet Zone’ in the first 7 rows of its economy class section – where children under 12 are banned. Passengers can pay an extra S$15 to sit in this adults-only area.
Malaysian Airlines, a full-service airline (and a competitor of AirAsia), also bans infants and children under 12 in the first-class cabins of its Airbus A380 superjumbos and Boeing 747.
What was the reason for making this move? Says Malaysia Airlines CEO, Tengku Azmil, the decision for a child-free zone was made after receiving complaints from its first-class passengers about crying infants.
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