A new Emirates policy banning kids eight years and under from collecting rewards has sparked a debate over whether younger passengers should be allowed in first-class cabins.
Middle East airline Emirates has updated its rules for its Skywards Programme, a loyalty scheme which allows passengers to earn miles when flying and spend them on upgrades, future flights and other rewards.
However, a new change will impact families flying with the airline, as kids aged eight and under will no longer be allowed to use miles to book first-class seats.
“Please note that passengers aged eight years old and below are ineligible for first class Emirates classic rewards and upgrade rewards,” Emirates Skywards rules state.
“Emirates classic rewards are not available to blue tier members or passengers aged eight years old and below in first class, and only members (aged nine-plus) whose membership tier is silver, gold or platinum at the time of booking are permitted to redeem first class Emirates classic rewards,” they add further down.
First reported by One Mile At A Time, which said that this is a new policy that was added by Emirates in August. The Independent has contacted Emirates to confirm.
While these young passengers will no longer be able to purchase or upgrade to first-class seats using miles, there is no mention in Emirates’ policies that kids aged eight and under cannot be bought a first-class ticket using cash.
While kids have not been banned from the first-class cabin, the inability to earn miles under the age of nine to spend on upgrades has caused a stir among passengers travelling as a family.
American travel website, The Points Guy, posted the news on Instagram, calling the policy “family unfriendly”. Meanwhile, comments under the post erupted into a debate over whether kids belong in first class.
Canadian model Khloë Terae weighed in on the debate, stating: “You are entitled to a child-free life but not a child-free world. See ya in first class with my one-year-old and newborn soon.”
Other commenters added that age does not necessarily define how disruptive a passenger can be.
“The teens on our flight back from Rome were extremely disruptive. As was their mother. My seven and 10-year-olds were quiet and perfect passengers. We always get complimented in biz and first class. Age doesn’t buy class,” one person said.
“Fact is, I’ve been on flights where adults are way more [of] a problem than a kid. Just sayin,” another added.
The policy change has also opened up conversation about how children are treated by other passengers in general on flights.
“As a parent, I honestly wish there were family-only flights,” one commenter said. “People can be so awful toward families, as you can see in this comment section. I promise you, the last thing I want is for my child to be crying, loud, or bothering anyone on a plane. It’s actually incredibly stressful for us, too. And I’m not even talking about business class.”
Other people welcomed the policy change and stated that they would prefer to see children banned from first class altogether.
“Honestly, I believe that kids should not be allowed in first class. The last couple times I flew internationally, we had infants in first class that cried the whole time,” a commenter wrote. “I don’t want to be around that. I don’t want to hear your kid screaming. I am paying for a relaxing [and] comfortable flight, and you bringing your infant or small child into first class ruins that for everyone.”
Others said that all airlines should be offering child-free flights, while one person called for the new policy to be bumped up to 12 years old.
Some airlines already have policies that exclude children from areas of the plane, such as Singapore Airlines’ partner Scoot, which has a ‘Scoot-in-Silence’ cabin for passengers aged 12 and above, offering a quiet zone for passengers.
Air Asia X also offers a similar experience in its “quiet zone”, available for passengers aged 10 and up.
The Independent has contacted Emirates for further comment.
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