When flying alone, one of the worst situations is winding up sitting with an annoying fellow passenger. If the flight is a long one, your pleasant trip can turn into a nightmare. Sometimes you luck out and sit next to an attractive single person or someone who may be able to hook you up with a job.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is trying to make that a choice rather than an act of fate. Their new social tool, Meet & Seat allows you to pick your seatmate before your flight. With this program, passengers are able to pick who they sit next to after looking at their Facebook or LinkedIn profiles, essentially taking Facebook stalking to a sky-high level.
When entering check-in information, passengers have the option of linking their social media accounts as part of this new service. Then passengers can pick their seat assignments based on common interests, business connections or even the looks of their fellow passengers. No one is required to provide this information, as the service is optional.
Users can choose what information they wish to share from 90 days until 48 hours before departure under the Manage My Booking option on KLM's website. Users will be sent an email when other users on the same flight provide their information.
"(It's beneficial) if you prefer to choose the person sitting next to you instead of a total stranger and to have fun or to share some ideas with someone with a similar background, job or language," said KLM spokeswoman Lisette Ebeling-Koning.
The pilot project was launched in a few destinations in February, but it is now included for all KLM International destinations to and from Amsterdam. So far 3,000 people have shared their profiles on Meet & Seat.
Similar services have also been made available. AirTroductions airline offered a similar service in 2006, but it was stopped after it made controversial headlines. Air Baltic recently introduced their own social seating program, in which users are seated with like-minded passengers based on their mood.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
