Do you chat with strangers when you fly? At this time of
year, the chances increase that you’ll either want to, or be forced, to interact with someone while taking a flight
during the holidays. And what about a love connection at 35,000 feet? Here are some interesting results from the
2005 Chase United Mileage Plus Visa Card Holiday Travel Survey:
At least 70 percent of fliers say they are happy to chat with their seatmates, most often discussing travel and
holiday plans (51 percent), jobs (34 percent), hobbies (24 percent) and pets (13 percent). There are of course the
Silent Bobs among us, the 30 percent who avoid conversation at all cost.
As far as in-flight romance, only 1 percent of passengers have flirted with their seatmate, while 21 percent have
exchanged phone numbers with a fellow passenger. At least 30 percent have exchanged business cards and 40 percent have
shared a meal or drink at the airport with someone they met on the plane. But it doesn’t often mean that life-long
friendships develop. Only 15 percent of travelers say they’ve kept up an in-flight friendship, 7 percent formed a
business relationship, and a mere 5 percent actually went out on a date.
[Via Mobissimo]