DREAD being seated near a crying, screaming child on a long-haul flight?
Well never fear, Air Asia X has launched its "quiet zone" offering on its A330-300 fleet across Australia, Nepal, China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea.
It allows passengers to pick a seat in the section, which encompasses economy class rows 7-14, for no extra cost. The "quiet zone" cabin also features a new ambiance with soft lighting, to help passengers relax.
Children under the age of 12 who are travelling in economy will be banished to the back of the plane.
AirAsia X's Chief Executive Officer Azran Osman-Rani said the offering, which officially took off on Friday, will add value to its long-haul, low fare services.
"This product enhancement allows our guests to have a more pleasant and peaceful journey with minimal noise and less disturbance," Mr Osman-Rani said.
"The airline is not banning kids from travelling, but instead, is enhancing the array of product offerings on board to suit its guests individual needs and preferences. We also offer three infant bassinets in the other two larger economy cabin sections to cater for families with young children. Hence, offering a fair choice for our guests.”
The cost of choosing a seat in the quiet zone will be the same as the 35 ringgit ($11.35) charged for picking specific seats or the 110 ringgit it costs to select a seat with extra legroom.
Rival Malaysia Airlines sparked debate over its decision in June last year to bar infants from first class cabins in its Airbus A380 superjumbos, which it began taking delivery of this year.
The full-service flag carrier said the move would result in some loss of revenue but it had received many complaints from well-heeled passengers about noisy infants.
AirAsia, which has hubs in Malaysia, Thailand, Japan and Indonesia, is Asia's largest budget carrier and launched its long-haul arm in 2007 to serve routes beyond the airline's core Southeast Asian market.