Great idea - airline having quiet areas on planes by putting families with babies together?

[Hammy02]

DM link: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2208734/Airline-introduces-quiet-zones-long-haul-flights-moving-babies-the-plane.html

Although seeing as planes are so small, the noise will still carry anyway?

I think it is a great idea.

Dons hard hat in advance!

[squeakytoy]

I think it is an excellent idea.

[BlueberryHill]

If it worked it would be a great idea but its a bit like smoking / no smoking zones when they were around. Imagine being in the first non child row with all the child rows in front of you?

[arthurfowlersallotment]

What about a special area for people who spill into your seat. Another for sniffers, smelly people, snorers and noisy eaters?

Sometimes, babies are the least of your worries on an aeroplane. :o

[CogitoErgoSometimes]

Won't such a mass concentration of babies mean they all wake each other up?

[lionheart]

Isn't a quiet area for families a contradiction in terms?

I imagine it would make other passangers less tolerant of those who choose not to use it.

[Fairylea]

I think its awful actually... as someone who has a young baby I wouldn't want to be stuck with other screaming babies all waking each other up .. would be like post natal ward hell all over again !!!!

But.... I can see it from the other point of view. Just feels a bit wrong really...

[OutragedAtThePriceOfFreddos]

Having the areas for under 12 seems a bit extreme, my children have been able to remain quiet on a flight since they passed the toddler stage. On the whole I agree with the rule though, but I think it should apply to people that don't fit in their seats more than it should apply to crying babies.

[ExitPursuedByABear]

Great - all the Tongans at the back of the plane. Would it be able to take off?

[AchingMum]

If they made a section of the plane a childrens area and had things in there particularly for children then I think its a great idea. Say more child friendly snacks in that section, smaller headsets for the children watching the TVs, that sort of thing.

TBH I didn't care where I sat, or who with before or after I was travelling with children. Still don't care really, if they want families to all sit together then thats ok.

Its more applicable on some flights that other though. On my most recent flight to New York there weren't many families, more couples and business looking people. That plane would only need a few rows up front for families. On the other hand, when we flew to Orlando there were very few passengers that weren't part of a family group. On that plane the child-free section would be very small!

[KellyElly]

What about a special area for people who spill into your seat. Another for sniffers, smelly people, snorers and noisy eaters? >> this

[FannyFifer]

Hell no, I wouldn't want to be stuck beside other people's badly behaved kids.

[forevergreek]

I think it's a good idea but should be a choice. One child here is a tax fidgety to say the least on a plane so would be a good idea, the other has always sat still in virtual silence and whispers :) so if travelling alone with the second I wouldn't want to be surrounded by noise when we can both just read kindle/ look at sticker book

[hopkinette]

Great - all the Tongans at the back of the plane. Would it be able to take off?

IDGI.

[VonHerrBurton]

I'd rather be in the baby area with my 10yo ds 'enduring' their crying, than be anywhere near smelly, fat, snoring man who rolled his eyes and tutted when he saw he was sitting in the adjacent row to my ds (10) and his friend of the same age recently.

The boys behaved beautifully as he farted and snored his way through a long flight. Nice.

[EmmelineGoulden]

Could they put all the drinkers in their own section too? And groups of more than 3 adults? While I have occasionally been a bit annoyed by babies crying on planes, I've been bothered by very loud adults a lot more. Drinking too much and/or travelling in a group seem to be the common factors that indicate a likelihood they will be noisy, so a party section for them would be welcome.

While we're at it, maybe we could segregate anyone who wears anything smelly. And the people who are a bit bigger than the rest of us. And another section for the people who bring on more hand luggage than average. And another for anyone with a cough or snivels...

In conclusion, only plastic people should fly.

[PoppadomPreach]

Could Daily Mail readers/believers be put in the hold? They seem to be cold blooded so they wouldn't feel much discomfort.

[LollipopViolet]

Can we have another section for nervous flyers? Then we could all be kind to each other and not suffer stupid looks or cliche comments :)

Only problem with grouping all young families together would be having to redesgin all the planes as there'd need to be lots of additional passenger oxygen masks in that bit, for people with a baby or toddler on their lap :)

[MrsTerrysChocolateOrange]

I was in a row with two toddlers, an unhappy child with SN one back and another child screaming for the whole flight two rows back. Heaven compared to the women sitting next to the very nervous, obviously ill, sweaty, very overweight man in another row. YABU.

[sookiesookie]

Surely its not a quite area for families.

Its a family area to make the rest of the plane quieter.

I am not sure. DD sleeps really well on planes. The two times she hasn't, she was woken by other kids. She was far less trouble without other kids around her.

[Hopandaskip]

On a event flight it wasn't the toddlers being loud and disruptive, it was a group of adults standing in the aisle chatting and laughing after the lights were turned down. They got in the way of the staff and made it impossible to sleep. I asked them to move as I was trying to rest and they got snotty. I got a smile from one of the staff members though.

[somedayma]

Best idea ever

[slowestwildebeast]

Awful idea. If I get on a plane with a child I don't want to be put in Tinky Winky seats with other peoples children! How is this fun?

[ShadowsCollideWithPeople]

Not really feasible, is it? The size of the 'family area' would have to fluctuate depending on the number of families on any given flight (and how many children each family has). Thus, the area could not be separated by a bulkhead. So the 'family area' would only be a few rows, to the forward or aft of the aircraft, with row designation being the only separation. Rendering it meaningless, unless airlines opted to only carry a certain number of families on any given flight, which I'm sure would be considered discriminatory, and would never happen. Also, as children cannot sit in an exit row, on smaller aircraft, the 'family area' would have to be tiny, or split into two sections, on both ends of the aircraft. Again, rendering it meaningless.

[Ozziegirly]

Great idea. We flew a short way from Sydney to Cairns recently and they basically did this on our flight anyway, so there were about 6 families together and we could all give sympathetic looks. As it was, DS was fine, a bit wriggly but no screaming, but I thought it was a fab idea.

On his very first flight (he was 5 weeks) from Adelaide to Sydney, they put me (was travelling on my own with him) next to a "nervous flyer" who had never flown before, but had 6 children - so she spent the flight helping me, which took her mind off it, and I had a willing and friendly helper.

On the other hand, we flew back to the UK business class with DS, so don't know how that would work.

But in general I would way rather be near other children than someone who smells or is going to wince every time my child makes a noise.

[Sirzy]

Awful idea. I don't see why people think segregating children is a good idea really.

Most parents try their hardest to keep their children happy and entertained on a flight. Putting them in a "childrens area" will only make this harder as they are surrounded by the noise and therefore increase the noise levels on the plane.

I would much rather be sat by a giddy slightly noisy child than a pissed up hen/stag party on a plane.