Air Asia X to introduce a “Quiet Zone” onboard their A330’s

Following on the heels of fellow carrier Malaysia Airlines, Air Asia X is to introduce quiet zones on their planes.

For introduction in February 2013, you’ll be able to book a quiet seat in Row 7 to 14 onboard an Air Asia X A33o.

Criteria for seating

• Must be over 13 years or older
• Not travelling with infants or children under 12.

The “Quiet Zone” is behind the Premium  segment of the plane, and right at the font of the Economy section. It will also feature “special ambience lighting”.

The hope is that noise and disturbances will be minimal in this area compared to the rest of the plane.

Of course, Air Asia X aren’t doing this for love. They’ll be inviting you to open your wallet too.

• Hotseats (Row 7) will be RM110 (US$35)
• Standard Seats (Row 8-14) will be RM35 (US$11)

Now there are a couple of catches.  One of them is that

AirAsia X reserves the right to seat a passenger with a Child or Infant at the Quiet Zone during situations deemed necessary for operational, safety or security reasons.

So be prepared still for noise – which brings me to my next point – that noise does travel through a plane, so whilst creating this nice little zone is good in theory, it’s going to be no good if a couple of rows back there’s a child crying.

Similarly, there could well be noise in the quiet rows if you have some travellers that are more than exuberant or chatty. How this will be controlled has not been mentioned.

Still, it’s an interesting initiative…  and that leads me to a quick poll…

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