IndiGo, which is India’s largest airline, is trialing a new concept that’s intended to make female passengers feel more at ease, as flagged by Live from a Lounge.
In this post:
IndiGo’s new feature for female passengers
Thanks to a new feature that has just been rolled out, female IndiGo passengers can now know in advance if they’ll be sitting next to another female or not. The way this works, when a female passengers is on a booking, the online check-in process will show a seat map that indicates which seats are occupied by females.
This is only available during online check-in, and not at the time of booking, so you won’t see this more than 48 hours in advance (or else creepy male passengers could do searches to try and find a seat next to a female). This indicator will display as long as there’s a female on the reservation, so you could see this if you have an itinerary with both a male and female traveling together.
As the airline describes it, this is intended to make the travel experience more comfortable for female passengers, and has been introduced based on market research. The airline also states that this aligns with the company’s “girl power ethos.”
IndiGo is the largest airline to have done something like this, but not the first. India’s Vistara has used a similar concept, referred to as Vistara WomanFlyer.
Is this a thoughtful change, or silly?
India seems to have a fair number of issues that cause some female passengers to be uncomfortable onboard planes, when seated next to certain male passengers. I mean, heck, every so often we see stories in the United States as well, about passengers making unwanted advances on others. So I suppose it’s hardly unique to India.
In theory this seems like a thoughtful feature, and I think some female passengers will appreciate this. That being said, there will be situations where last minute seat or itinerary changes cause a passenger to think that they’ll be seated next to a female, only for that to not end up being a thing. Furthermore, if someone is creepy enough and willing to pay, there’s nothing stopping a male passenger from booking a ticket for a made up female, just to see the seat map.
I don’t think we’d ever see anything like this in the United States, but in India it seems generally more acceptable to make special accommodations for females, in light of how creepy some men are.
Bottom line
India’s largest airline has added a feature whereby female passengers can see at check-in which seats are reserved by fellow female travelers (and by process of elimination, which are reserved by men). IndiGo isn’t the first airline in India to do something like this, but it is the biggest.
What do you make of IndiGo’s female seat map feature?
I think this shows your travels being about reviews rather than taking in a complete experience. Other forms of transportation do already have female only areas in many countries for example trains, subways, etc....
The problem of male "creepiness" will only get worse in India due to our own culture. Decades of infanticide/abortion of baby girls has led to a staggering mismatch in female/male ratio in India. It's currently close to 0.9/1 female to male birth. This may seem unalarming, but in the most populous nation in the world of around 1.5 billion people, this will lead to millions of involuntary celibate men roaming the land.
It's only...
The problem of male "creepiness" will only get worse in India due to our own culture. Decades of infanticide/abortion of baby girls has led to a staggering mismatch in female/male ratio in India. It's currently close to 0.9/1 female to male birth. This may seem unalarming, but in the most populous nation in the world of around 1.5 billion people, this will lead to millions of involuntary celibate men roaming the land.
It's only going to get worse. Modi needs to protect the unborn girls of India in order to continue its path to global superiority.
This will definitely be abused but is a well intentioned idea.
Men - in all countries - are creepy. Indian men just happen to be totally open about it. When you have matriarchal households and beta males as fathers, this is what happens.
Creepy men is one step away from crime ridden infested cities of USA, swarmed by fatherless black men.
Men need to stand up and stop being directed by women. Take charge of your families and regain control of our planet.
Seems like a sensitive and welcome policy to me. Some men harass women they meet in public, that’s a fact. I would want my wife to avoid situations like that, especially in an environment where she could not just quickly walk away.
@Aussie
I'm surprised that you knew how to make a valid statement.
Wow you managed to be both racist and transphobic in one comment. Shameful.
I don't think it's fair or accurate to characterize that as racist or transphobic. Otherwise, it would also be sexist to point out the reality that almost all violent or sexual offenses are committed by males - but that's just a fact. It doesn't mean ALL men are creeps, just a statistically valid pattern: not all men are creeps, but almost all creeps are male.
In fact, my first thought upon reading this article was,...
I don't think it's fair or accurate to characterize that as racist or transphobic. Otherwise, it would also be sexist to point out the reality that almost all violent or sexual offenses are committed by males - but that's just a fact. It doesn't mean ALL men are creeps, just a statistically valid pattern: not all men are creeps, but almost all creeps are male.
In fact, my first thought upon reading this article was, "What's to stop some guy from just claiming to identify as a woman to get access to this female seat map?" But - as I've replied elsewhere - it turns out that when booking on this airline, you have to indicate if you're a Mr., Ms., or Mrs., and it won't let you proceed with your reservation without choosing one. It also says, "Enter name as per Aadhaar card/ Passport or any Govt. ID" - so it seems they have to match.
I'm glad to see that it's not that easy to circumvent. In a perfect world, it would be based strictly on a person's sex, not their identity or "legal" gender. But there's not really a practical way of doing that today, so this is the next-best thing. (And take it from this lifelong liberal: even *we* are getting tired of seeing anyone who makes a realistic observation about race, sex, etc., be labeled as racist, transphobic, etc... we've got to do better than that.)
What the actual-F is going on with these comments ♀️
How does the airline know passengers' gender in the first place?
During booking, passengers must indicate if they're Mr., Ms., or Mrs. Trying to skip it gives you an error message in red, "This selection is required."
It also says, "Enter name as per Aadhaar card/ Passport or any Govt. ID." So presumably, whatever you enter must match what's on your official ID/passport.
I just knew there was going to be comments from offended men shouting ‘Discrimination!’
What most men haven’t considered is that a woman’s experience of the world is very different to that of a man. On a daily basis we feel like prey. Everytime we leave our homes we are considering which routes to take, who is walking behind us, tense up when we have to walk past a group of men, avoid eye...
I just knew there was going to be comments from offended men shouting ‘Discrimination!’
What most men haven’t considered is that a woman’s experience of the world is very different to that of a man. On a daily basis we feel like prey. Everytime we leave our homes we are considering which routes to take, who is walking behind us, tense up when we have to walk past a group of men, avoid eye contact, the list of protective measures goes on. This risk-assessing approach often starts when we are children - when many of us have our first unpleasant experience of being a female in a man’s world.
I’ve had a man sit next to me on a train and masturbate. I’ve had a man try to upskirt me on his phone on a train, I’ve had my bottom pinched on a bus, I’ve had several taxi drivers try to steer the conversation to sex. I’ve had a man run up against me on a bus. These are just a few that come to mind.
I applaud the airline for this service. It might just result in one less anxiety-filled trip. I’m sure all of those sensitive men would welcome the same for their daughters, mothers, wives and sisters. Until there is a time when women are not preyed on by men, there will be a place for these safety measures. Remember, a man’s experience if the world is so different that you wouldn’t even realise what how we brace ourselves to get out in it.
Translation: All Indian men are rapists and sexual predators..
So due to the actions of a few men, the entire set of men have to bear the brunt of being stereotyped and you support this..
You busy moan and whine about discrimination when females are on the receiving end but are completely okay with it being practiced when you are benefitting from it..
If the plane crashes, can I know which women opted to avoid...
Translation: All Indian men are rapists and sexual predators..
So due to the actions of a few men, the entire set of men have to bear the brunt of being stereotyped and you support this..
You busy moan and whine about discrimination when females are on the receiving end but are completely okay with it being practiced when you are benefitting from it..
If the plane crashes, can I know which women opted to avoid a seat next to a man ? It would be very unsafe for men to pull her out of the wreckage..
Why are you condoning the sexual harassment of women?
Ashish: Instead of being mad at women for being wary of men, why not be mad at the men who gave women a reason to be wary of them in the first place?
No one said "ALL men" (or even "ALL Indian men"). But it's true that men are *disproportionately* creeps and predators. Even if the real percentage is "only" 1 or 2 percent, I read a quote years ago that forever changed how I...
Ashish: Instead of being mad at women for being wary of men, why not be mad at the men who gave women a reason to be wary of them in the first place?
No one said "ALL men" (or even "ALL Indian men"). But it's true that men are *disproportionately* creeps and predators. Even if the real percentage is "only" 1 or 2 percent, I read a quote years ago that forever changed how I look at it: If someone handed you a bowl of 100 M&Ms and said, "Go ahead, grab a handful - oh, but one or two of them are poisoned and might badly harm you or even kill you," are you gonna grab a handful of them? Hell no; the risk is still unacceptably high.
Yeah, being profiled/stereotyped sucks. So be mad at the people making the stereotypes valid, not at women for noticing the patterns and reacting accordingly.
I like your candy analogy. Now do it for immigration. Only one or two are bad, but which one or two?
IndiGo flies to the EU and this could plausibly be a violation of some of their gender equality laws (e.g. 2004/113/EC) if access to this special seatmap is considered a "service".
I imagine this change is well-meaning, but it seems like it's gonna be more trouble than it's worth.
If you replace women/men in this article with black/white, I don't think anybody in the western world would think it an acceptable way to handle how some people behave to others. The attitudes and behaviour need to change rather than separating people to avoid bad behaviour.
Why not just have the left side of the isle for men and right side for women and children?
What does it matter in India anyway? Last time I flew just a short trip from BOM to GOI, back in 2017, as soon as the pax had entered the plane, it was a constant wandering back and forth to sit with their family, friends, or whoever. Seat assignments, forget about it! Incredible India, LOL.
I think this is a great idea.
I am originally from the Indian Subcontinent (not India, a neighboring country), and my country has similar issues to this like India. The thing is that our family and culture is much more family oriented (and controlled), and there is also a lot of fear around females traveling alone. As a result, a lot of females (I'd say most) do not travel alone (or aren't allowed to)...
I think this is a great idea.
I am originally from the Indian Subcontinent (not India, a neighboring country), and my country has similar issues to this like India. The thing is that our family and culture is much more family oriented (and controlled), and there is also a lot of fear around females traveling alone. As a result, a lot of females (I'd say most) do not travel alone (or aren't allowed to) especially on planes due to the possibility/fear of being seated next to a creepy male. By introducing this, IndiGo is appealing to that huge community and allowing them control over their seat selection. I believe this will cause many people to book IndiGo vs another airline who does not have this feature. I also believe this feature would be extremely valuable and desired with other South Asian and Middle Eastern carriers. This feature addresses a need for the population IndiGo serves, and it allows them to differentiate themselves from other airlines. I applaud the creativity with this concept, because it is something I know many (including close loved ones of mine) will value.
Some people not from these countries may not understand that value of this tool. But that is merely because they are (understandably) unaware of the culture in our countries and the prevalence of fear of females traveling alone.
I appreciate your input on this. I have been to India, and I noticed that the vast majority of the air travellers are males, by a lot! For example, the security screening was separated by gender. I remember there were 5 lines for males (and have long lines) and only one for females (only a few in line), just to give you some idea. I also noticed that the females are usually travelling with a...
I appreciate your input on this. I have been to India, and I noticed that the vast majority of the air travellers are males, by a lot! For example, the security screening was separated by gender. I remember there were 5 lines for males (and have long lines) and only one for females (only a few in line), just to give you some idea. I also noticed that the females are usually travelling with a group, and I don't recall seeing any female travelling alone. Indian males, at least some, are relatively more aggressive, even toward other males. I certainly had my experience with that, so I fully understand the concept that Indigo is offering could be a plus for female passengers.
The reality is that a small percentage of men are creeps. A small percentage of women probably are too. However, when have you EVER heard of a woman making an unwanted advance on an airplane? Find me a case, I'm listening. Meanwhile, we hear about several men doing that a year. I've never been accosted physically, but I've been seated next to a good number of obnoxious, drunk men. I've never been seated next to...
The reality is that a small percentage of men are creeps. A small percentage of women probably are too. However, when have you EVER heard of a woman making an unwanted advance on an airplane? Find me a case, I'm listening. Meanwhile, we hear about several men doing that a year. I've never been accosted physically, but I've been seated next to a good number of obnoxious, drunk men. I've never been seated next to an obnoxious drunk women. I have been seated next to a few women and men who were rude, usually to the FAs, occasionally to others.
But, really, I agree with the poster who said they'd do it because women tend to be smaller. Ignoring the fact that last night the largest person I've ever seen boarded a plane and it was a woman, I'd select a seat next to a woman because odds are that she'd be smaller than the average male. Airline seats are small, especially in economy. Every bit of space helps.
And let's be real, no one will know why the woman selected the seat she selected. But Indian men may find themselves sitting together more. No harm, no foul. If some men weren't pigs, women wouldn't have to go to such lengths to protect themselves.
"The reality is that a small percentage of men are creeps. "
"According to a 2018 NPR survey, 81% of women have experienced sexual harassment. A 2018 Pew Research Center survey found that 59% of women have experienced unwanted sexual advances or sexual harassment at work, compared to 27% of men. A UN Women UK study found that 80% of women have experienced sexual harassment in public spaces" In what world does 80% constitute a small percentage?
Those statistics are based on who is a victim of an act, not who is a perpetrator. If 10 houses on a street get broken into, one wouldn’t expect that there are 10 distinct thieves, right?
The percentage of men is likely much higher however a vast majority don’t report it.
I'd rather some drunk dude next to me than a Karen who thinks they own the airline. That's what I see most of on airlines. Middle to late age white women acting as entitled as a person possibly could. The men are silent usually, even if they're the husband.
Sounds like this will also be helpful for "creepy" men to get seats next to other men, right Ben?
Yes, I'm waiting for someone to raise this issue. While people demand equality and cancel stereotyping, most still generalized the relationship between different genders.
Catholic Church in partnership with Boy Scouts have a new preferred airline. Their travel agent P.Diddy.
Is it only female passengers who can see the sex of potential seat neighbors? If so, then this measure will be seen as discriminatory, and subject to lawsuits (seeking, for example, to have prices for tickets of female passengers to be higher.
The intention may be good, but this wasn't thought through. Better would be to ruthlessly hold men accountable for untoward behaviour AND to hold women who behave like Karens accountable for causing...
Is it only female passengers who can see the sex of potential seat neighbors? If so, then this measure will be seen as discriminatory, and subject to lawsuits (seeking, for example, to have prices for tickets of female passengers to be higher.
The intention may be good, but this wasn't thought through. Better would be to ruthlessly hold men accountable for untoward behaviour AND to hold women who behave like Karens accountable for causing false alarms. Personal accountability is everything.
You put too much faith in the legal system.
Valid points all around but worth keeping in mind that laws regarding ‘discrimination’ are country-specific. In India, for instance, there are already women-only public trains and buses in several cities which have been found by the legal system there to be within the law.
Lucky, I hope you keep in mind that a terrible discussion section reflects badly on you and your website. Either nip it in the bud with some proactive moderation or block comments. Or leave it be and accept that the normies will get the ick.
India just can't accept this problem starts at home. Both parents are raising predators. Pass some laws. Enforce them. Ban the creeps.
Men bad. Women good. White bad. Colored good. Caveman hungry. Ugga ugga.
That's about the level of intellect of the American mainstream nowadays.
F*** this sh**. Seriously. The sooner this divisive and wildly hurtful (not hurtful? Think of how it feels to be instantly judged anywhere I go just for being a white male...I thought this was exactly what we were trying to get away from??) ideology goes away, the better.
Stop dividing. Start UNITING.
Wholeheartedly agree.
@Ben this is what I was talking about in another thread. @Robin, did you catch that this was an Indian airline? Who's accusing Americans of being divisive now? As for the Indigo change, it's a little disturbing that they feel this is necessary, along with female-only cars in some Japanese and Egyptian trains (at least back in the day). I'm sure it was done for marketing reasons, but some argue that India has a problem with men assaulting women.
I wish the worst I had to worry about was being 'judged'. Take that feeling and replace 'judged' with 'raped', 'assaulted', 'catcalled', etc etc etc and then maybe you'll understand what it's like being a woman.
Oooooh, I think this is a great idea! Now a guy can see the best places to sit! Giggidy giggidy....
"The way this works, when a female passenger is on a booking, the online check-in process will show a seat map that indicates which seats are occupied by females. This is only available during online check-in, and not at the time of booking, so you won’t see this more than 48 hours in advance..."
So nope, a guy traveling by himself (or only with other guys) won't be able to see it.
This seems driven by good intentions, but it's ultimately not as good an idea as having FAs actually accountable for assuring passengers behave
Discrimination and a slap to DEI everywhere.
We need at least 10 gender category (and counting)
M F L G B T Q I A +
Any gender can be creepy.
Yet most likely to be creepy are going to be men... Troll some more, maybe you will catch something other than disdain.
Do you have the data on this? Also, if it’s dependent on the demographic of the “creeper”, should we go past gender and look at race also?
I'm not sure which is worse - Tim Dunn comments or comments from the incel contingent like this one.
Is a female the same as a woman? Even our most recent Supreme Court justice was not able to figure this out—how am I, with my inferior intellect, supposed to be able to. Don’t tell me it is obvious or to use common sense.
they are using what the passenger indicates on the reservation
I don’t think anyone would advise you to use common sense. You don’t have to worry about that.
Excellent idea. What could possibly go wrong?
I can't see any possible way that this becomes a problem.
Oof lots to unpack here. A "creepy" woman could also use the map to sit next to women, let's not be sexist. Woman on woman SA is real and shouldn't be ignored. Perhaps it needs it's own visibility month so hurtful articles like this aren't written in the future.
Also, I as a man, would actually use this feature to sit next to a woman. And no, not to "creep" on them. I would be...
Oof lots to unpack here. A "creepy" woman could also use the map to sit next to women, let's not be sexist. Woman on woman SA is real and shouldn't be ignored. Perhaps it needs it's own visibility month so hurtful articles like this aren't written in the future.
Also, I as a man, would actually use this feature to sit next to a woman. And no, not to "creep" on them. I would be headphones-in prior to boarding and wouldn't try to make conversation or even look at them. But.....women tend to be smaller than men, which makes for a better seatmate.
I think we can chalk this up as well-intended, but ultimately quite silly. As would be expected for a company that uses a gendered sexist marketing term like "girl power ethos." An actual useful feature would be to tag bloggers and "influencers" so I would feel more comfortable knowing I'm not in someone's dumb youtube video (shout out to for this blog not showing others in pics).
You’re really giving off incel vibes mate. Can I suggest you try to hide the creepy act? There is such a thing of keeping your mouth shut (or in this case, just not typing your thoughts out on a public forum).
Hi Scott, my apologies if you can’t understand. When I type it’s a mix of critique, truths, and satire. Unweaving that web is tough for the simple minded. But I’ll help a little: I don’t actually think this article is hurtful or that a woman on woman SA visibility month is needed.
What some folks seem to be missing is that *only female passengers* (and their travel companions) can see this, from how the article's written:
"The way this works, when a female passenger is on a booking, the online check-in process will show a seat map that indicates which seats are occupied by females. This is only available during online check-in, and not at the time of booking, so you won’t see this more than 48...
What some folks seem to be missing is that *only female passengers* (and their travel companions) can see this, from how the article's written:
"The way this works, when a female passenger is on a booking, the online check-in process will show a seat map that indicates which seats are occupied by females. This is only available during online check-in, and not at the time of booking, so you won’t see this more than 48 hours in advance..."
So the female seat map won't be available to solo males or male-only groups checking in, only (groups with) females. Hopefully if a male is traveling *with* female passengers, he'd behave himself...
I guess technically, a male could book two tickets (for himself and a made-up female passenger) in order to see the seat map when it's time to check in, and then cancel the female ticket after picking a seat. However, the seat map is only shown 48 hours before departure, and IndiGo's cancellation policy states: "0-3 days left for departure: INR 3500 or Airfare charges (Whichever is lower)." INR 3500 converts to $42 USD. So I guess if a man's willing to pay an extra $42 for his ticket, he could do that, but it's certainly a nontrivial amount of effort to go through.
Pathetic discrimination. What if I book a want to identify as Mx to p them off ?
With airlines, the sex/gender on your reservation generally has to match that on your legal, government-issued ID, right?
So I guess it depends how hard it is to change your legal sex/gender in your state/country, and how far you're willing to go to make a statement, lol.
In Europe you don’t have to identify your gender at the time of booking hence the option of for example mx. Confirming the gender of the person via a seat map is highly discriminatory. What next ? The ethnicity ?
Indians are often the first to complain about discrimination yet I find them amongst the most xenophobic people I ever deal with.
Interesting to know. Just tried to go through the motions of booking on IndiGo without choosing a title (Mr., Ms., or Mrs.), and it says "This selection is required" in red; won't let you proceed without choosing one. (No "Mx" option present.) It also tells me "Enter name as per Aadhaar card/ Passport or any Govt. ID." So I'm guessing at least for this specific airline, it has to match.