An adult-only seating area will be available on Corendon Airlines’ flights to the Caribbean but is it just a money-making tactic? And will families be the real winners? Olivia Palamountain reports
Corendon Airlines will be implementing a child-free zone for passengers on its Amsterdam to Curacao route from November 2023.
The Dutch airline’s ten-hour flight will have a designated section at the front of the plane where travellers must be at least 16 years old to book seats.
The no kids zone will comprise nine extra legroom seats and 93 standard economy seats (21 rows, Globetrender estimates), separated from the family area at the rear by curtains and bulkheads “creating a shielded environment that contributes to a quiet and peaceful flight”.
The larger seats in the child-free zone will cost €100 each way, while standard economy seats in the section will cost an extra €45 each way. What isn’t explained is where you will be sat if you don’t pay the extra…
With little to seperate the child-free zone from the family zone, will that really be enough to stop the sound of a crying baby? Corendon believes that passengers will pay the extra fee but a pair of noise-cancelling headphones could be a cheaper solution.
Corendon founder Atilay Uslu also noted in a statement that families will feel more comfortable in their own part of the plane (maybe they are the real winners?) “This can have a positive effect on parents traveling with small children. They can enjoy the flight without worrying if their children make more noise.”
Corendon isn’t actually the first airline to test out a child-free seating arrangement, reports Travel+Leisure. Singapore-based low-cost carrier ScootinSilence has a section for passengers 12 years and older on its Boeing 787 aircraft, while Malaysia-based low-cost airline AirAsia X offers the same age cutoff in a section on its Airbus A330 aircraft when it’s flying long-haul routes.