Meeting people is a minefield…so why not take it off the ground? Forget about loud, smoky bars, dodgy blind dates, and chance meetings, in-flight dating is where it’s at.
The way we see it:
♥ You’re already breathing the same air
♥ You’ve got a captive audience
♥ Physical contact is unavoidable anyway
♥ If it all goes pear-shaped, there’s a higher chance you’ll never see them again.
Love at first flight
“I remember a passenger who locked eyes across the plane with a gorgeous Spanish dancer who was touring Australia, he could barely speak English but they ended up getting married TWO WEEKS LATER.” – Sarah, cabin crew.
Serendipity has its place, but sometimes you need a few tools to help you get ahead of the game.
Savvy airlines are already using social media to help passengers maximise their in-flight time. Opt in for KLM’s Meet & Seat and you can choose your seat partner based on their Facebook and LinkedIn profile. South African Airways has followed suit with its Social check-in.
If you’re the type of traveller who can barely organise their flight check-in, let alone social check-in, there’s still hope. Send a chat request, drink, or entire meal, to anyone who takes your fancy with Virgin America’s seat-to-seat delivery and messaging system.
With WiFi becoming more common on flights, your favourite dating apps are just as useful in the air as they are on the ground. So your Tinder radius might be smaller than usual, but it’s a densely packed tin of sardines possibilities! A tip though: be subtle with your rejections, you never know who you’re sitting beside…for the next 12 hours. No WiFi? No worries. The upcoming Wingman app, touted as ‘Tinder at 20,000 feet’, functions on Bluetooth as well.
Of course, Lady Luck sometimes smiles on fortunate travellers:
“I was heading home to Ireland for Christmas visit and found my seat was next to this guy with gorgeous blue eyes. I managed to fumble with his seat belt instead of mine and we got chatting. Turns out we’d been at the same uni, had mutual friends, and even lived around the corner from each other, yet somehow had never met until this flight. John spontaneously told the flight attendant we were celebrating our wedding anniversary and she reappeared with champagne. At 15 hours, it was the longest first date ever! On parting ways at Abu Dhabi I said “slan go foill” or “goodbye for now” in Irish and he just replied “definitely go foill” (definitely for now). Seven months later, when I returned home for good, John picked me up at Dublin airport, and the rest, as they say, is history! Four years on, we are still together and we still argue over who kissed who first.” Noelle
But if Lady Luck fails you, resort to these old tricks of the trade:
♥ Wait until they go to the bathroom and line up behind them
♥ Wait until they go to the bathroom and then sit in their seat ‘by mistake’
♥ Do some strategic lunges in the aisle next to them
♥ Sneakily google the book they’re reading or movie they’re watching and start a conversation about it
♥ Fall asleep on their shoulder (be careful not to drool)
♥ ‘Accidentally’ switch bags when you leave the plane, or even better, help them with their bag
♥ Slip your number in their bag/laptop case/whatever you can get your hands on
Or, the most tried and tested of all, simply start up a conversation and see if the sparks fly.
Whatever you do, don’t leave it up in the air!
Have you found love at first flight? What tactics worked for you?
