The airline has introduced an infant icon on the seat map while booking fares online. The icon shows up when the seat is taken by children between 8 days and 2 years old.
The feature is only available for those booking individual domestic fares through the JAL website, and excludes awards fares. However, the system may not be correct if the aircraft is swapped out at the last minute.
Heloisa Flores, a Japan-based moderator on the popular aviation Facebook group, Airborne Memes for Flight-Oriented Teens, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), “I think this new feature is trying to make the experience of commuting on flights more similar to commuting on buses, trains or the Shinkansen, which are very quiet. Usually, this is due to respect for workers who are either preparing to work long hours or are coming back from it. [The map] is in a sense very Japanese, trying to make everyday life as convenient as possible with little behavioural changes.”
Jordan Chong, News Editor at Australian Aviation Magazine told ABC that Scoot and AirAsia X have zones where children under high school age are barred from sitting, and the upper decks of Malaysian Airlines A380s are child free.
Ms Flores further told ABC, “[Japanese] people are already in a certain mindset when boarding any kind of mass transportation — they don’t want to make noise; they don’t want to be bothered by noise. Outside of Japan, I think it could work indeed, but it could also lead to the monetisation of the service.
All Nippon Airways has had the feature for some time.
SBS Australia reports JAL has also had the feature for a while, but gained traction in the media after the following tweet:
Thank you, @JAL_Official_jp for warnings me about where babies plan to scream and yell during a 13 hour trip. This really ought to be mandatory across the board.
Please take note, @qatarairways: I had 3 screaming babies next to me on my JFK-DOH flight two weeks ago. pic.twitter.com/kQYQFIqqCD
— Rahat Ahmed (@dequinix) September 24, 2019
