A booking feature on Japan Airlines’ website has come to the fore after a tweet went viral in the aviation community.
A tweet by a venture capitalist Rahat Ahmed shows a feature in the airline’s booking process that shows where young children are seated on flights.
Referring to the ‘baby mapping feature’, he wrote on Twitter: “This really ought to be mandatory across the board. I had three screaming babies next to me on my flight two weeks ago.”
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 (@dequinix) 24 September 2019
The tweet was met with mixed reactions of support and criticism from other air passengers.
The feature displays a small icon of a child on particular seats during the seat selection part of the booking process.
Japan Airlines’ feature is not completely unique and other airlines have similar features and child-free zones. IndiGo launched its own quiet zones in 2016.
On its website, Japan Airlines notes that the icon “lets other passengers know a child may be sitting there”.
Etihad, Emirates and Gulf Air are some of the most family-friendly airlines according to website flyingwithababy.com, which scores companies.