Adults-Only Seating on Airplanes?

If you’ve read this space at all, you know I’ve been pretty consistent in saying that the airlines are an incestuous business.

That is, one carrier will try something and if it works it will quickly be copied by another.

Now, leisure carrier Corendon Airlines is trying something that is either going to be hit or miss—single people will love it, but those with children will have mixed feelings.

It’s adult-only seating.

You have to pay an extra fee, of course, but this will guarantee that no children will be seated in
your section. It will be in beta format, starting in November, on a flight from Amsterdam to
Curacao.

I can see both sides of this.

It’s ideal for somebody like business travelers who want to get some work done. What if that were the case, then don’t take what amounts to, or mostly, a vacation airline. There is a flip side to everything. There is a counterargument for everything.

It’s also ideal for parents who previously were worried about how much noise their children would make on a flight and disrupt other passengers, and the embarrassment that it causes.

My first gut reaction is that you take what you get when you fly. My second reaction is that, if you’re willing to pay an extra fee to fly in adults-only seating, so be it. For that reason alone, I think this is a great idea.

My two boys are in their 20s now, but I remember the days when they were young and they were fidgety and cranky on a flight. As a parent, you feel as concerned for your fellow passengers as you do for the children.

Now the big question is, will it fly with mainstream commercial airlines?

It’s definitely worth a try. Some other big carrier will probably give it a shot. And it’s not a new idea, either. It’s been floating around the aviation industry for a while. The airline needed a way to monetize it and not come off as if it was another ancillary fee.

If you could guarantee your seed in a separate, quiet cabin, would you do it?

And will another, larger airline take a crack at it?

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