Seniors in flash mob

Seniors in flash mob

Seniors in flash mob, with the certainty that you’re going to be sandwiched between two complete strangers.

But one airline is trying to change that, by putting travellers in control of finding seatmates who share common interests.

Next time you’re flying from Houston to Amsterdam, KLM will have an extra incentive for you. Starting next year, the airline will give passengers the option to use Facebook and LinkedIn to choose seatmates.

Combined with complimentary wine at each meal and digestifs after each meal, this could be an easy ticket into that exclusive mile high club. Obvious perks such as choosing a seat next to that Ryan Gosling or Adriana Lima lookalike aside, we can think of other ways this can work advantageously.

If you’d rather knock yourself out with melatonin than chat with your particularly loquacious neighbor, simply request to sit next to someone whose entire Facebook profile is in a language you don’t speak.

If you’re into debating, find someone with opposite political and/or religious beliefs. Holding a Westboro Baptist Church member captive in the middle seat could provide hours of endless entertainment.

If you’re looking to talk shop or find a job, find an executive-type. Their profiles are typically characterized by professional headshots for profile pictures and a smattering of completely non-ironic motivational quotes with frequent use of terms like “leverage” or “aggrandize.”

Or you frequent flyers could perform social experimentations. Temporarily change your profile pictures to the most flattering or unflattering pictures and see what happens. Similar to having that perfect OkCupid profile, you could attract numerous interesting creepers and weirdos. Conversely, appearing boring or crazy could land a coveted empty seat next to you for that 10+ hour flight.

Dutch airline, KLM plans to pilot a “meet and seat” service next year that allows fliers to choose their seats based on the Facebook and Linkedin profiles of fellow travellers.

It aims to work by linking people’s profiles to their check-in information when they check-in online.

There will be an opt-out option for flyers who do not wish to share their profile information.

KLM says it is still working on the final details and has not revealed if it might charge for the service, which has been hailed by some as mile-high “match-making”.

Many travellers have taken to Twitter to share their views on the new travel buddy service, with some embracing the idea and others calling it “creepy.”

@declanjbarry tweeted: “this is just a terrible idea” and @morgonzola said: “the new Facebook ‘meet and seat’ booking option could be fun or a disaster”, while @oconnorcolleen called it “a new level of social stalking.”

KLM is not the only airline to engage with social media to help passengers find seatmates.

Malaysian Airlines’ Facebook service “MHBuddy” lets passengers see if they have friends on their flight or who are headed to the same destination.

Travellers can complete a full travel booking through Facebook – from purchasing flights, checking-in and seat selection, to sharing flight itineraries with friends.