Hate crying babies on flights? Japan Airlines introduce child icon to seatmaps to help passengers identify children on planes

A crying baby or upset toddler can crank up the stress levels of both parents and other passengers faster than a seatbelt sign can switch off, but Japan Airlines may just have a fix for the perennial problem.

Buried on the national carrier's website is a simple webpage which maps out seats that are (and probably more importantly) are not close to the seats booked for passengers under 12 years old.

It's a straight forward solution but one with appeal to anyone who has endured the pitiful, but ear-piercing, cries of a small traveller with sore ears during a prolonged descent.

Bookings made via the airlines website will display a "child icon" where kids are booked to sit, giving other travellers a chance to book their seats accordingly.

"Passengers travelling with children between 8 days and 2 years old who select their seats on the JAL website will have a child icon displayed on their seats on the seat selection screen," the site states. "This lets other passengers know a child may be sitting there."

The airline does, though, caution that it's not an exhaustive guide to where small passengers are seated, stating that travellers who booked their flights anywhere but the Japan Airlines website would not trigger the child icon to appear.

Stuff.co.nz

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