Japan Airlines introduces ‘child icon’ tool to help passengers avoid sitting near young children

Japan Airlines (JAL) has introduced a new feature on its booking system to tell passengers where young children will be seated during their flight.

During the seat selection process, customers will be shown a “child icon” on seats where a child up to the age of two is booked to be sitting.

“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,” the airline said on its website.

The airline also noted that the child icons may not be displayed correctly in some circumstances, such as a change of aircraft prior to the flight or if seats are not selected directly through the Japan Airlines website.

Other airlines have introduced alternative ways for passengers to avoid being seated in close proximity to younger children. AirAsia X introduced a “Quiet Zone” on all of its flights in 2017, which is comprised of eight rows that cannot be occupied by children under the age of 10.

Budget Indian carrier IndiGo introduced a similar measure in 2016, branding its premium extra leg room zones “quiet zones” and barring them from being occupied by passengers younger than 12.

Several airlines, including Air New Zealand and Qantas display bassinets on seat maps for selected flights to help parents traveling with infants select the right seats, which can also help fellow passengers see where babies might be on the plane.