Now I am the first to admit pretending to sleep to avoid the tedious questioning/conversation of the fellow traveller sitting next to me - whether it is a train, plane or automobile.
So, the ability to somehow "choose" who you sit next to on board an airliner, that is if you are not travelling with someone you want to sit with, has some attraction.
That's what the company SatisFLY is selling. It calls it the intelligent seating service. All is explained on its website.
Satisfly brought their concept to the recent Loyalty event and announced that Hawaiian Airlines is the first to give it a try.
And, the Satisfly folks are now pointing out that the Economist has picked up their story.
It's worth a read, with plenty of great comments on passenger chat avoidance, and even some promoting the idea of getting to know one another.
But, at the end of the day, sitting next to no-one (and for some that is called First Class) still remains my preferred option. But then I'm a pretty miserable sod. I wonder if Satisfly can deliver that?
on March 30, 2009 10:34 AM | Reply
The two people in the ad must have ticked the "I like to grin at my neighbour while listening to my own iPod" box.
on March 30, 2009 11:26 AM | Reply
Well spotted Dan - I'm also glad no-one is sitting in the middle! Perhaps they had moved to let these two potential lovebirds get on with it...
on April 27, 2009 8:37 AM | Reply
Dan and Mark, truth to be told, the two potential lovebirds belong to Generation Y. That is the reason why they wear earphones while talking, walking and working... and still beat generation X on productivity!
on July 1, 2009 2:32 PM | Reply
I had terrible flight anxiety too, I was busy so could not go to classes and didnt want to take pills, what ended up helping was http://www.yourflightcompanion.com/
on December 24, 2009 9:44 AM | Reply
This is such a great article. Thanks for sharing.