This archive report was first published on 27 September 2019.
Japan Airlines has made headlines with its innovative seat selection feature, which displays a child icon on seats where a child between 8 days and 2 years old will be seated.
While some passengers have praised the feature, saying it allows them to choose seats away from screaming babies, others have criticized it as insensitive and entitled.
Defensive parents and passengers have taken to social media to defend the right of families to travel with children, with some suggesting that the feature is a personal attack on parents.
However, the airline has clarified that the feature is not foolproof, as flights and seat assignments can change, and the icon may not appear if the arrangements were booked by a third party.
As one commenter pointed out, age is not always a reliable indicator of how annoying a passenger may be, and some adults can be just as problematic as children.
Published on September 27, 2019
