British television host unleashes on Japan Airlines over their ‘baby map’

A UK television host has slammed an airline as operating a seating plan that could be a “disaster” and potentially expose children to “perverts”.

A television host and journalist in the UK has unleashed on Japan Airways for their seat selection system, whereby passengers can choose how close to a baby they sit for the duration of a flight.

The system, which was launched back in 2019, is essentially an online booking tool that indicates where children aged under two will be seated. It means fellow passengers can choose to sit further away from a child if they prefer.

But, appearing on breakfast TV show This Morning, TV presenter Matthew Wright said the system, while convenient for some travellers, could be abused by “perverts”.

TV presenter Matthew Wright appeared on This Morning to discuss Japan Airline’s booking policy – which he branded a ‘disaster’.

Discussing the booking system on the breakfast TV show, co-host Holly Willoughby said the carrier identified the booking system as the “perfect solution” for travellers who would rather avoid sitting near young children by highlighting which seats have been booked by them.

Mr Wright quickly fired back, “Do you see a problem? I can see a problem.”

“Let’s say you’re a pervert, and you want to spend 12 hours talking to children,’ he explained.

“You want to spend 12 hours on a long haul flight, talking to a child, you can go on Japanese airlines, find out where the child is, book a seat next to them. It’s an absolute disaster. A disaster.”

Along with Willoughby’s co-host, Phillip Schofield, many viewers were shocked by Wright’s remarks simply because their mind “had not gone there”.

“For the kids on a plane story, Matthew’s not wrong but, can’t say that’s where my mind went,” one person wrote on Twitter.

An example of the Japan Airline’s seating layout, which has a map showing where babies and toddlers will sit on a flight.

“Matthew, that was quite extreme but true,” a second added.

“When Matthew went there with the ‘pervert’ comment I was like, oh my god that’s actually true,” another agreed.

“Very concerning! Well done! Matthew to point out the airline flaws.”

The airline announced the ‘baby map’ idea in 2019, but said despite passengers being able to select seats further away from the baby icon on the map, the feature couldn’t guarantee that passengers would be out of earshot of a crying infant.

Genuinely stunned no one in airline industry or media got there before me. Seems soooo obvious....#ThisMorning

Phillip Schofield staggered as Matthew Wright points out airline flaw 'Attracts perverts' https://t.co/ftJwwFzAeM

— Matthew Wright (@Matthew_Wright) September 13, 2021

The airline also warned that the infant icon would not appear if passengers booked their flight through a third party or were part of a tour group, or if there was a last-minute change of aircraft, the airline’s website said.

At the time, the airline’s idea attracted praise from social media users.

“Thank you for warning me about where babies plan to scream and yell during a 13-hour trip,” one person tweeted.

“This really ought to be mandatory across the board.”