Aussie business leaders favor banning children from travelling in business class

Some of Australia's highest-profile business leaders say they'd like major airlines to ban children from traveling in business class, due to their often disruptive behavior ruining the expensive "up-market" experience.

The chairman of Australian flight booking company Web Jet, David Clarke, said he would prefer "screaming kids" to be barred from the premium end of the aircraft, but acknowledged it could be a hard sell.

"I would like it to be the case, but I don't think it's reasonable," Clarke said in comments published by News Corp on Friday.

"Most people who pay for business class don't want a screaming kid in their ear, but that's life."

Multi-millionaire Mark Carnegie, an investment banker, echoed Clarke's sentiment, but again questioned whether it was a realistic goal.

"I have sympathy for a ban even though it is impractical," Carnegie said.

The boss of vitamin-maker Blackmores, Marcus Blackmore, said other industry leaders have personally expressed their grievances on the issue in the past.

"I met someone on a flight to Perth. She tried to grab an hour's sleep, but said she was exhausted because of a screaming kid," Blackmore said.

Airlines frequently receive complaints from high-ranking business fliers due to noisy passengers, News Corp reported.

Singapore Airlines has already vowed to investigate the possibility of introducing child-free zones.

In 2012, Malaysia Airlines restricted areas of both business and domestic seating on its A380 aircraft, banning babies in first class and those under 12 from its "upper deck" economy section. Endit