AirAsia, a low cost carrier, has launched a new Quiet Zone for all AirAsia flights. No kids under 12 years old are allowed, making AirAsia the second airline to effectively ban children from certain seats; last year Malaysia Air started banning infants in first class. First the details of the new Quiet Zone, before I sound off a bit about it:
Quiet Zone Seats
- Rows 7-14, right behind Premium FlatBed Seats
- “Minimal noise with less distubance” per AirAsia description
- “Ambience with soft lighting” per AirAsia description
Who Can Sit There
- Anyone age 12 and up
When It Launches
- Travel from February 2013
- Not available on travel from now through January 2013
Quiet Zone Cost
- 35 RM = ~$11 per seat to choose seats in rows 8-14
- 110 RM = ~$35 per seat to choose “Hot Seats” in row 7, the bulkhead
The Fine Print
- “Air Asia reserves the right to seat a passenger with a guest under 12 in the Quiet Zone during situations deemed necessary for operational, safety or security reasons”
Ok, with the details out there, now let's look at this. I get it if this is mainly a marketing ploy, for publicity, or revenue enhancement, but there are so many problems with this I don't know where to begin.
Sound Carries
Hate to burst anyone's bubble, but as with smoke (yep, I can still remembers flights that had smoking and no-smoking zones) sound carries on an airplane. And passengers in the “Quiet Zone” will be just as subject to the sounds from rows farther back, since it's not as if there's a soundproof wall separating them from rows 15 and higher. And as anyone who has experienced a toddler meltdown knows, those shrieks can be piercing.
So…Babies Are Still Allowed in Premium Seats But Not in the Quiet Zone?
Now, I think a “kid-free” zone on an aircraft is pretty meaningless in practical benefits as well as being needlessly discriminatory, but if you're going to have one, why wouldn't you put it in for premium cabin passengers that are paying a lot more for their seats? Check out the seating map–as you can see, there's a bassinet in front of 1G in AirAsia's Premium Cabin, and I don't see any ban on kids under 12 for any of the Premium seats in rows 1-2. So passengers in the so-called kid-free “Quiet Zone”–have fun if you're on a flight with kids in both the premium seats and in the rows behind the “Quiet Zone.”
Older Kids and Adults Can Be the Worst Offenders
Sure, babies and young kids can be noisy, but so can older kids and adults. I've been on flights where there have been annoying adult passengers either loudly talking with their companion, arguing incessantly with the flight attendants, talking on their cell phones during flight delays, etc. that make it hard to concentrate or get any rest.
Enforcement Among Those Who Sit in The Quiet Zone
AirAsia is clear that kids under 12 can't sit in the Quiet Zone, but noticeably quiet (pun intended) when it comes to specifics about how the Quiet Zone is supposed to remain quiet. Will loudly talking adult passengers be reprimanded or asked to move? What about passengers who fall asleep and start snoring loudly? Or who are loudly tapping away on their keyboard during a late night flight?
What This Really Is
Let's call this what it really is: marketing + additional revenue. Remember that on AirAsia you can't select your seat for free; to pick a specific seat you have to pay. In fact, AirAsia is notorious for assigning bad seats or even splitting up passengers together traveling on the same reservation, in order to get them to pay to pick seats. So this is just another way to get some more passengers to pay that seat selection fee.
Have a different opinion? Post it in our comments!
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