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Malaysia Airlines continues 'baby ban' in first class

Relaxnews
Tuesday 28 June 2011 19:00 EDT
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(PHB.cz (Richard Semik) /shutterstock.com)

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Malaysia Airlines has become the first major airline to ban babies from the first-class cabins on its aircraft, and will extend the ban on the A380 super jumbo.

The airline's CEO Tengku Azmil confirmed the decision in a Twitter exchange with Australian Business Traveler magazine, in which he said the airline's forthcoming A380 would not have bassinets, the in-flight cribs required for babies to fly in, installed.

Parents who wish to fly with Malaysia Airlines' current fleet are restricted to the business and economy cabins, which do have bassinets available.

In a discussion with followers on Twitter earlier this month, Azmil said that the decision was a tough call, but "Also hv many complaints from 1st class pax dat dey spend money on 1st class & can't sleep due to crying infants."

When asked by the magazine about the arrangement on board the Airbus A380 which Malaysia Airlines will launch next year, Azmil said "We r planning to stick to our policy for now."

As airlines make a significant proportion of their income from premium passengers (who tend to be business people traveling alone), it's perhaps unsurprising that the demands of first class passengers are prioritized above those of parents.

Last month, British travel agency Thomson Holidays launched "Thomson Couples," a vacation experience which guaranteed holidaymakers that there would be no children at their destination.

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