There is relief for stressed-out parents traveling by air with Virgin Australia giving the green light to a range of children’s sleeping devices.
The airline is the only major Australian airline to approve the range of comfort items enabling traveling families to rest a bit easier when flying.
These items were banned by Jetstar and Qantas earlier this year on safety concerns.
However, Virgin Australia says that “after an extensive safety assessment process, Plane Pal, Fly Tot, and JetKids Bedbox will all be permitted” on the airline’s entire fleet of aircraft effect immediately.
However, it says that “any other products passengers wish to use onboard will need to comply with a list of guidelines which can be found on the Virgin Australia website.”
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Virgin Australia General Manager Inflight Experience, Tash Tobias said: “We know that traveling with kids can be a stressful experience and we want to make it as smooth as possible for the families that fly with us.
“We recognize the importance of your kids getting some extra rest on a flight as it can make a world of difference when you arrive at your destination.
“These popular comfort items have been reviewed by our team of safety experts against our high safety standards and we’re pleased to say that we’ve been able to give the seal of approval to three of the most popular models.”
In fact, these products are approved by many countries and are allowed by a range of world-class airlines such as British Airways and Cathay Pacific Airways.
However, the devices are only permitted to be used when sitting in a window seat or in the middle seat of the center block on an aircraft like the A330 or 777 and must be included as part of the 7kg carry-on baggage allocation.
So, on a single-aisle 737 with a 3-3 configuration, only the window seats can be used for the products.
They are not permitted to be used in Exit Rows.
Also, passengers must continue to follow the instruction of the cabin crew when using these devices.
Tigerair, a subsidiary of Virgin Australia, is currently conducting its own assessment of the items.
