59% of Travellers Want Family-Only Section on Flights Reveals Skyscanner

A Skyscanner poll reveals that 59% of travellers would like a ‘families only’ section onboard flights, with child-free passengers far more in favor of the idea than parents.

(Vocus) August 25, 2010

Following the recent uproar over a woman who claimed a baby’s screaming made her ears bleed on a Qantas Airlines flight, a poll carried out by cheap flights comparison site, Skyscanner, has revealed that 59% of travellers would like a ‘families only’ section onboard flights. Non-parents particularly liked the idea, with 68% voting in favor, however, less than a third of parents surveyed were in agreement.

Over 2,000 people voted in the Skyscanner poll; just 8% of child-free respondents thought people should be entitled to sit where they like, while almost 70% ‘wanted to sit as far away as possible from children.’ Almost a quarter of non-parents went one step further saying that they would prefer flights that were free from children altogether.

Of those who were parents themselves, 45% said they didn’t want a families-only section because they didn’t want to sit next to ‘other people’s horrors’ while 24% disagreed with the idea because they felt that people should be able to ‘sit where they liked.’ Just 31% of parents were in favor of the allocated section.

Other suggestions put forward by Skyscanner users to solve the problem of noisy children on flights included: the provision of a baby nursery, only allowing well-behaved children to travel, and on a less sympathetic note, one user said “children should go in the cargo hold.”

Skyscanner PR Manager Mary Porter commented:

“As a relatively new mom myself I can still remember that feeling of dread when you found yourself seated next to a baby on a long flight; however, since regularly flying with my one-year-old, I am much more aware of what a stressful, and often embarrassing, situation it can be for parents.”

Mary continues, “I’m not surprised that in a previous poll we found young children were deemed to be the ‘most annoying’ factor on flights. When tempers are frayed, a screaming child can cause a major disturbance for fellow passengers.”

“If passengers are prepared to pay extra for child-free flying, perhaps the solution is a premium adults-only section, rather than a pre-allocated families section, giving airlines yet another extra they can charge for? I am sure this service would prove to be really popular on routes that attract a lot of families such as flights to Florida,” says Mary.

About Skyscanner:
Skyscanner is a leading travel search site comparing flight prices for over 670,000 routes on over 600 airlines; from long haul flights to India, to domestic flights to Las Vegas, as well as car rentals, hotel and vacation price comparison.

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