Many passengers get upset when they find a small seatmate during a flight. Turkish airline Corendon has decided to help those who require special comfort by offering “adults only” seats.
The airline’s management announced the introduction of a special zone “free from children” on one of its routes. The “adult’s only” portion of the aircraft will only be accessible to passengers over 16 years of age.
The “Child Free Zone” will be located at the front of the aircraft: there are 93 seats, separated from the rest of the aircraft by a partition with a curtain. Passengers will have to pay €45 more to purchase a seat in an adult-only area. The service will be available on flights between Amsterdam and the Caribbean island of Curaçao from November 2023.
According to one of the company’s founders, Atilay Uslu, this service “will meet the needs of travelers who want extra peace of mind during their flight.” Also, parents with children do not have to worry about disturbing other passengers.
“They will be able to enjoy flying without worrying about their children making noise,” he said.
In addition, Corendon already offers adults-only hotels in several destinations including Curaçao, Bodrum, and Ibiza. Note that this is not the first practice in the history of civil aviation. AirAsia X’s long-haul flights already have a “quiet zone” reserved for passengers aged 12 and over only. The Singaporean low-cost carrier Scoot has the same zone.
It is expected that the service of flights “without children” will gain more and more popularity. In a survey conducted by the research company Redfield & Wilton Strategies, among 1,500 adult passengers, almost 60% supported such an initiative, 27% answered “no”, and another 14% were undecided.