European carrier Corendon Airlines is trialling a new ticket that guarantees passengers aged sixteen and older be sat in a separate section of their planes from passengers with young children.
While tales of all-too-adult behaviour are becoming increasingly commonplace on commercial airlines — think of the doctor who got caught joining the ‘one-man mile-high club‘ or the OnlyFans model that got to work mid-flight last week — children are still somehow the most-hated group of flyers out there.
At least, that’s what this latest announcement from Corendon Airlines would have you believe. The Turkish-Dutch carrier is introducing “Adult Only” zones on specific flights. Catering to passengers aged sixteen and above who prefer a child-free environment during their journey, this feature is set to launch on November 3rd, as reported by Simple Flying.
WATCH: If making kids disappear isn’t enough, watch how these men made a whole plane vanish.
The ‘Only Adult’ Zone Takes Flight
Corendon Airlines is set to debut an exclusive adult-only section on its inaugural non-stop flights from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to Curaçao International Airport, operating thrice-weekly flights on Airbus A350-900s.
The planes used for this unique service will boast a special configuration, reserving the front section of the jet for the exclusive adult-only zone, which will be comprised of 102 seats out of the total 432 available on the aircraft. To further enhance the child-free experience, these seats are not only isolated from the rest of the cabin by distance but also physically partitioned using walls and curtains.
While primarily aimed at childless passengers seeking peace and quiet, the launch also caters to business travellers trying to work without disruption and parents looking ti take a break from the non-stop demands of child-rearing life.
A New Beginning
While this concept isn’t entirely new to the aviation industry, it does mark a renewed interest in this kind of plane segmentation and certainly marks a departure from the norm amongst Dutch airlines, with other carriers like KLM, Transavia, and TUI not yet venturing into this territory.
Co-founder of Corendon, Atilay Uslu, emphasizes the positive impact he believes this zone can have:
“We are proud to be the first Dutch airline to introduce the Only Adult zone, as it caters to travelers seeking some extra tranquility during their journey. We also believe that this offering will have a positive impact on parents traveling with young children, allowing them to enjoy their flight without apprehensions when their little ones make a bit more noise.”
Atilay Uslu
The introduction of the adult-only zone is currently limited to the Amsterdam-Curaçao route. However, Corendon Airlines hopes to expand this layout to other routes depending on passenger feedback. If successful, this innovative approach could set a new precedent in the way airlines tailor their offerings to meet the preferences of different passenger groups.
Which Way, Travellers?
Unsurprisingly, this announcement has divided people across the internet. Barstool Sports made a typically provocative post about the announcement on their social media and received a slew of polarising comments.
Some commenters loved the new idea, with one supporter saying that they “don’t why this wasn’t done sooner. No one wants to hear your crying-ass baby”. Others, however, weren’t as keen, pointing out that “some adults act worse than kids” and that it’s “wild some people hate babies so much”.
Personally, I take the view that flying should be viewed much like public transport as experienced on terra firma: In short, when you buy a plane ticket you’re buying a communal experience, and to segregate these spaces in any way marks the start of a slippery slope that ends in high levels of resentment between passengers that fall into all sorts of different demographics.
The issue with this theory is that as ticket prices continue to soar, both in Australia and around the world, people feel as if they should be getting a more tailor-made experience for their money. While I understand this urge, I would point these passengers to business and first-class as already existing means of getting an enhanced flight experience at the front of the plane that’s basically kids-free.
It’s also worth noting that aviation isn’t the only sector within the travel industry looking to cater to an adult-only audience. Virgin Voyages are set to launch cruises in Australia later this year and theirs will be an exclusively 18+ experience.
In this case, however, I think the adult-only experience is far more valid. Wanting to stay in child-free accommodation or enjoy a child-free holiday over a number of days or weeks can legitimately be a central tenet of any holiday plan.
In contrast, these flights only last a few hours and are simply a means of travelling to a holiday destination, rather than representing a holiday in of themselves, which makes the desire to be segregated feel a little more self-indulgent. Whatever your feelings, this could mark the beginning of a sea-change in the travel industry, and one that’s sure to send tempers flying.