CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Is it convenience? Or a warning?
The seat map on Japan Airlines will include an icon of a smiling baby, which will let passengers know the seating location of children under the age of two, giving them the opportunity to sit elsewhere.
"Passengers traveling with children between 8 days and 2 years old who select their seats on the JAL website will have a child icon displayed on their seats on the seat selection screen," the airline explained on their website.
Flyers on social media praised Japan Airlines for the move, but a local transportation expert said it may send the wrong message to families.
"If there is certainly a little pushback here, it creates the image that you are a second class citizen if you're traveling with a kid," said DePaul University professor Joe Schwieterman on the WBBM Noon Business Hour. "This is certainly a little bit of an eyebro-raiser to warm people that a kid might be next to you," Schwieterman said.
He said it's another sign of the changing economics of airline travel. Some passengers are paying for the opportunity to select their seat, and they might be upset if they find themselves next to a crying baby.
Most planes are taking off fully loaded, and so-called "baby button" could prevent tense moments between passengers in flight.
Japan Airlines says it offers a number of services to traveling families, such as priority boarding and the ability to check strollers free of charge.