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Travel September 26, 2019

Baby on board? This airline tells you where babies are seated on your flight

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For some travelers, plane rides are already long enough without a screaming baby sitting next to you.

That's exactly what one airline is trying to avoid with a new feature that tells you where infants will sit before you book your seat.

Japan Airlines offers a new seat map that displays a "child icon" above the seats where children between 8 days to 2 years old will sit during the flight.

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According to the airline's website, passengers or parents with these tiny travelers are prompted to put in this information in order to alert other passengers on the seat selection screen – well before takeoff.

This comes as great news for both frequent fliers and parents who don't want to become Public Enemy No. 1 for the duration of the flight.

Thank you, @JAL_Official_jp for warnings me about where babies plan to scream and yell during a 13 hour trip. This really ought to be mandatory across the board.

Please take note, @qatarairways: I had 3 screaming babies next to me on my JFK-DOH flight two weeks ago. pic.twitter.com/kQYQFIqqCD

— Rahat Ahmed ✈️ Tokyo (@dequinix) September 24, 2019

One Twitter user named Rahat Ahmed thanked Japan Airlines for "warning" him about the location of small children and encouraged other airlines to follow suit.

"This really ought to be mandatory across the board," Ahmed tweeted.

However, the child icons may not always be present to assist.

If there's a plane change, or if parents book their child's seat with award tickets or somewhere other than the JAL site, the icons might not display properly.

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For the parents and others traveling with little ones, JAL also offers a bevy of baby services.

At the airport, JAL provides strollers for rent, and the airline offers to check your stroller as baggage for free. Groups with small children receive priority boarding, and during the flight, the airline lends out free child seats for children between eight days and two-years-old with reserved seats.

JAL's website says it offers extra diapers, soft blankets just for babies, a line of original toys and restrooms with diaper-changing tables.

"Good Morning America" has reached out to Japan Airlines for comment.