An airline in India is letting women book seats next to other women passengers. — AFP
First there was extra legroom, then came sleeping pods for long flights, developed by Air New Zealand for economy passengers, not to mention bookable armrest access to preserve your personal space on Frontier Airlines. Now, an airline is allowing women passengers to choose whether or not they want to sit next to other women.
The trial has just started on Indigo Airlines, India’s largest low-cost carrier. It all happens at the time of booking, when choosing your seat. Women passengers who have already reserved a seat are indicated by a typically clichéd colour code, namely pink. Women booking seats can then choose to sit next to other women. Note that men making reservations won’t have access to this kind of information, and so they can’t take advantage of this new feature to make new acquaintances...
Spotted by the American television network CNN, this option “aims to make the travel experience more comfortable for our female passengers”, according to IndiGo. The initiative is presented as an integral part of the #GirlPower campaign, launched by the low-cost carrier to give greater prominence to women.
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, March 8, the airline announced that it employed one of the highest numbers of female pilots in the world.
While this is only a test for the time being, the initiative is perhaps not so surprising in a country that already offers women passengers dedicated carriages or compartments on trains and buses.
This type of arrangement to preserve women’s comfort and tranquillity during their journey is not only practised in certain Asian countries. Recently, Slovakia’s railway company announced the introduction of women-only compartments on some of its trains. – AFP
