India's largest budget airline, IndiGo, has introduced a pioneering feature that allows female travelers to avoid sitting next to male passengers on flights. This innovative option, a first for any airline, is currently being trialed on IndiGo flights.
The feature enables women to see pink-marked seats during the seat selection process, indicating that the adjacent seat will be occupied by another female passenger. This option is available only to female travelers; male passengers do not have access to this information. The feature is designed to enhance comfort and safety for women flying with the airline.
IndiGo has incorporated this functionality by asking travelers to specify their gender when booking tickets, allowing the airline to manage seat allocation accordingly. The service, which began as a pilot program in May, is now available on all IndiGo flights. However, during a recent review by CNBC, the feature was not yet visible on the airline’s website and mobile app.
Despite this, IndiGo's CEO, Pieter Elbers, reported positive feedback from users and noted that the initiative has been well-received both domestically and internationally. "Technology is now enabling some things which were not possible in the past. We brought [the initiative] up as a test ... It has responded very well with our customers," Elbers said in an interview with CNBC's "Street Signs Asia."
As IndiGo continues to trial this feature, the airline is gathering customer feedback to determine its long-term viability.
