'Viswash effect': Demand up for emergency exit seats after Ahmedabad plane crash; 'some passengers want seat 11A'

KOLKATA: Call it the 'Viswash effect'. Demand and inquiries for seats near emergency exits on flights have increased across carriers. These seats, with extra legroom, cost more, and are in demand following the miraculous escape of Viswashkumar Ramesh.

The UK citizen was seated on 11A - a seat next to the emergency exit - and was the lone survivor of AI-171, the flight that crashed on Thursday.Seat numbers next to emergency exits vary according to types of aircraft and class configuration. Aviation experts said seats next to emergency exits may not afford any additional safety in case of a plane crash. All they offer is ample legroom. But for many, these seats now offer mental peace as well.

'Some passengers want seat 11A even if it is not next to emergency' Until Thursday, many flyers declined seats near emergency exits because some of them did not recline much. Moreover, some did not want to be briefed on how to open these exit doors in case of an emergency. Travel agents in Kolkata said while seasoned travellers and tall flyers often opted for these seats and did not mind paying a premium for legroom, others, too, have now started asking about those seats.

Jitender Singh Bagga, who runs a distribution and logistics operations business, said he asked his travel agent to only book seats next to emergency exits when he travelled to the US via Delhi next week.

"It has to be a seat next to the emergency exit. I am willing to fork out any extra amount for it. If seat 11A is next to the emergency door of the British Airways flight I intend to take on June 17, I want to be in it," said the Park Street resident.Lee Road resident Rajesh Bhagnani, a frequent flyer, also told his travel agent to book a seat next to the emergency exit for his travel to Mumbai on June 16. "After watching Viswashkumar's great escape, I want to be seated next to the emergency exit as the possibility of survival will be higher than anywhere else.

I know that life and death is a matter of destiny, but I still want to have my best shot. Nothing like seat no. 11A if there is an emergency exit next to it," he said.

Anil Punjabi, national committee member of Travel Agents Federation of India, confirmed the rise in queries on seats next to the emergency exit. "Some even want 11A even if it is not next to the exit," he said. Anjani Dhanuka, chairman of the eastern region chapter of Travel Agents Association of India, said he got queries from flyers looking for seats next to the emergency exit as well as 11A. "It has got to do with mindset and belief in luck. The flyers say it is for their peace of mind," he said.