‘Flying nannies’ offered by Etihad Airways to help pacify kids

It appears there is good money to be made off of airline customers opposing needs: Those who want to fly in peace and quite without the piercing screams of children, and those who are positively frighted at the prospect of taking their one-year-old on a 16 hour flight.

Be be clear, this dichotomy has become somewhat of a preoccupation among marketing teams in the travel industry, bent on finding ways to capitalize off customer demands.

First came "Nanny in the Clouds" -- connecting parents with nannies travelling on the same plane for a fee -- and then came the introduction of "kids-free" zones on airplanes offer by Scoot and Malaysia Airlines.

And now, Etihad Airways, a United Arab Emirates company, has announced their plans to add a team of 500 "Flying Nannies" to their staff starting in September. These cabin crew members have been trained to provide a helping hand to families and unaccompanied minors during long flights.

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Orange apron-clad nannies will serve children's meals early in the flight, replenish milk bottles, give plane tours, and be available to entertain children in creative ways -- including making origami, performing magic tricks, face painting, playing with puppets, and arts and crafts. Better than summer camp, no?

“To have this kind of extra care is . . . marketing 101,” airline analyst Robert Kokonis tells the Toronto Star. “What differentiates you from the next airline?”

But perhaps the real kicker is that these nannies are fully trained by the renowned Norland College in the United Kingdom. Their studies in child psychology and sociology will help them identify different types of behavioural and developmental stages that children go through, says a company press release.

"Flying with a young family can be a daunting task, even for the most experienced travellers," says spokesperson Aubrey Tiedt. "The Flying Nanny will liaise with parents and use their experience and knowledge to make the travel experience easier."

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Though Kokonis notes that these types of options are being offered by airlines making more money than most in North America airlines, and therefore, they can afford to experiment.

“It’s a bit above and beyond. The airline sector is incredibly difficult to make money in, even when it’s good days, when fuel costs are low and the economies are doing well,” he says.

If you had the option of paying more for a nanny service on a flight, would you use it? And for those without young children, would you pay for a "child-free" seat zone?