IndiGo has been working on new features to help female patrons feel safer on board potentially. One of these features went live a few days ago. I’d heard of it but saw it in action now.

IndiGo now highlights female passengers on seat maps.

While checking in my wife for an upcoming flight on IndiGo, I noticed pink bobbleheads on board, rather than just the standard grey ones, to indicate that these were the spots where women patrons of the airline were seated on board.

This information is only shown when the PNR has a female patron included, whether flying solo or with others included on the PNR. The Pink bobble says “Occupied by Female” when you roll over the mouse.

IndiGo eventually came around to release a statement. They said,

IndiGo is proud to announce the introduction of a new feature that aims to make the travel experience more comfortable for our female passengers. This has been introduced basis market research, and is currently in pilot mode aligning with our #GirlPower ethos. The feature offers visibility of seats booked by female passengers, only during web check-in. It is specifically tailored to PNRs with women travellers – solo as well as part of family bookings. We are committed to providing an unparalleled travel experience for all our passengers, and this new feature is just one of the many steps we are taking towards achieving that goal.

Ultimately, it is a feature that informs women where other women are seated on the plane and allows them to be seated next to them if they so wish. As the airline stated, this is in pilot mode. A lot more needs to be worked out. For instance, allocated seats are moved around for various reasons until the check-in is closed so that people might witness their neighbours change from when they check in online to when they turn up at the gate to board the flight.

Vistara is the other carrier with a specific feature for seating their female patrons, called Vistara WomanFlyer.

Bottomline

IndiGo’s new feature allows women airline patrons to know where other women passengers are seated on board, and they can then choose to get a seat next to them. If you are a male passenger, you won’t be privy to the information that the pax next to you is a woman. The feature is currently in the pilot phase, the airline has confirmed.

What do you think of the utility of this feature for IndiGo’s women travellers?

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