Airline offers 'women-only' seats on flights

When it comes to flights, there's generally a first class, business class, and economy section.

But one major airline is adding a new row, just for women.

See also: Airline offers 'shortest haul' eight-minute international flight

See also: Passenger photographs strange pole outside plane window at 4,000ft

Air India will reserve six seats in the third row of its economy class cabin for female passengers flying solo.

A senior official with the company says the new seating option will give female passengers more choice and comfort, and insist it's not in response to alleged groping incidents on their planes.

According to the official, this will make it the only airline in India, and possibly the world, to take this step.

Whatever the reason, the female-only row was announced after two in-flight incidents that happened less than two weeks apart.

In December, a woman flying from Mumbai to New York claimed she woke up after being groped by a man who moved to an empty seat next to her.

Shortly after, a female flight attendant alleged she was molested and subjected to vulgar language by a male passenger.

Both men were reported to police once the planes landed, according to Reuters.

The seats will be offered at no extra cost, and can be requested up to an hour before check-in closes.

Right now, you can only find the female-only row of seats on domestic flights.

The airline may add them to international flights after seeing how effective they are.

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In the past, if you arrived at the airport early and there was a space on an earlier flight, you could put your name on the standby list and travel at no extra cost. Today, it's still possible to fly standby but it most often comes with a fee. American Airlines and United Airlines both charge a $75 move-up fee, while Delta Air Lines has a $50 Same-Day Travel Changes charge. The worst thing about this is that once you move to another flight, the airline can then re-sell your original seat and make a further profit.