Air India has begun offering a women-only row in the economy section on flights within India.
The move, unveiled by the airline this week, sparked speculation that it was taken in response to recent allegations of sexual assault and harassment by passengers on Air India flights.
However, in a letter to an Indian newspaper that Air India posted on its Twitter page, airline chairman and managing director Ashwani Lohani wrote that the company is offering the reserved seating in response to customer requests.
"[T]hey are just for those who are single or traveling alone who may want to avail of an added benefit,” he wrote.
Women can reserve a seat on domestic flights at no extra cost.
The first of the recently alleged assaults on Air India came in December when a woman traveling from Mumbai to Newark claimed she woke up to a stranger groping her.
Then early this month, an Air India passenger was arrested after a female flight attendant said the passenger touched her inappropriately, according to the Times of India.