Airline offers women the opportunity not to sit next to men when reserving seats
Thanks to a new booking feature, women can now avoid sitting next to men on flights operated by India’s largest airline.
When women travel on IndiGo, they will see a pink icon during online check-in indicating where other women are sitting.
This allows them to adjust their seat selection to avoid sitting next to a man. The feature is only visible to female passengers.
Pieter Elbers, CEO of IndiGo, said the program was based on feedback from customers as well as new technologies that had enabled the implementation of this feature.
Elbers told CNBC Road signs Asia: “Part of our philosophy is courteous and uncomplicated service.
“We proposed it as a test… and it was actually very, very well received. I think it speaks to the innovativeness of IndiGo and the fact that we are evolving and not only have affordable and low costs but also place great emphasis on our customer experience.”
While Elbers said the company does not currently have data on how many women use the feature, he pointed to strong individual responses from customers.
IndiGo, which operates around 2,000 flights a day and carried 28 million passengers last quarter, told CNBC the changes were designed to “make the travel experience more enjoyable for our women passengers.”
IndiGo, which dominates the domestic flight market in India, added that the feature is currently in pilot mode and is in line with the company’s “#GirlPower” ethos.
IndiGo did not immediately respond to Fortune Request for comments.
Is this policy necessary?
Opinions are divided on X, Elon Musk’s platform formerly known as Twitter. While some people welcome the feature and say it has made them feel “uncomfortable” on flights, others question whether it is necessary.
According to the U.S. Department of State, women face a greater threat to their personal safety when traveling in India, stating, “Do not travel alone, especially if you are a woman.”
For further enquiries, the Foreign Ministry refers to its advice for women travellers, which includes tips such as not using a title when booking accommodation and how to find nearby police stations and hospitals in an emergency.
While women are warned to be cautious on the ground, evidence suggests they should also be aware of the risks in the air.
Data on sexual assault on flights is difficult to obtain: The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) maintains a registry of reports of “unruly” passengers, but does not provide details about these incidents.
These data peaked in 2021 after the COVID pandemic with 5,973 reports and subsequently declined to 897 for 2024.
Likewise, the data show that following the creation of the National In-Flight Sexual Misconduct Task Force (Task Force) in 2019, the number of incidents almost doubled from 2017 (63 incidents) to 2020 (119).
While less information is available about incidents over the past four years, the FBI warned in April of this year that “serious federal crime” is on the rise.
A 2022 FBI study outlined the problem.
“Sex crimes are generally committed by men, and this is also true when they occur on airplanes.
“Most of the time, an attacker will sit right next to the victim and take advantage of that proximity. Victims are likely to sit in a middle or window seat while the perpetrator sits closer to or in the aisle, effectively barricading them so that they must walk past the perpetrator to get out,” writes Special Agent Wess Brooker.
Some may wonder how it is possible for a person to commit an assault in a highly controlled environment (planes packed with other passengers and flight attendants) within a short period of time (flights last only a few hours). However, Brooker points out that this only speeds up the process of preparation and assault.
One example, Brooker said, was an attack on two female passengers by sitting next to them in unassigned seats. Both attacks took place on a flight that lasted less than two and a half hours, suggesting the person was “experienced in identifying a target and acting quickly.”
