NYC best city for singles (if you own a computer)

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Looking for love lust on your next vacation? Your next trip should be to New York, which has knocked Atlanta out of the top spot as the best city in the country for singles. And, why wouldn’t it? You have more than 8 million people chasing their dreams, so the choices are endless. There’s one of everything, so in one night, you could meet every flavor of scumbag available. But, there’s an upside to all this variety, so don’t give up hope yet!

Atlanta fell to the sixth position, with Boston, Chicago, Seattle and Washington, D.C. occupying the second through fifth spots in this annual survey by Forbes.com. San Francisco, Los Angeles, Milwaukee and Philadelphia round out the top 10.

This is New York’s first time in the #1 spot, which evaluates 40 of the largest cities in the United States for “coolness, cost of living alone, culture, job growth, online dting, nightlife, and ratio of singles to the entire population.” Notably absent are: willingness of hot girls in that city to talk to you, cost of buying several drinks for someone genuinely out of your league and adult bookstores nearby to help you when you strike out yet again.

Well … I think New York would win on that one, too.

What pushed New York into the winners circle, apparently, was the number of people with online dating accounts. The city has more people hitting the web to scratch their various itches than any other city in the country.

Galley Gossip: A question about dating pilots – gay pilots.

by Heather Poole on
Dear Heather,
I flew a MIA-JFK yesterday and thought of you. These were the highlights…
  • Family of 6 in first class made the purser cry
  • Customer service agent boarded the plane to calm passengers down which caused a late push back
  • Lady got dizzy and needed oxygen in economy
  • Lady ran from economy to first class lavatory seconds before take-off
  • We missed our roll
  • No kosher meal made a Jewish lady cry
  • Had to do a “go-round” at JFK
  • Late arrival
  • Missed international connections
  • More yelling passengers

It was a total scene! By the way, can you possibly find a nice pilot for me to date? He doesn’t have to be HOT, just cute enough, and nice…oh and a pilot. LOL

Ron

Dear Ron,

Thank you for thinking of me…I think. I mean that was a crazy flight you experienced and I’m not so sure I want to be connected to that kind of drama. Now if you’d said it was a great flight and you thought of me, I’d be thrilled. But a bad flight? Not good. And that’s exactly why I avoid the NY – Miami route at all costs. It’s always a tough trip to work.

As for finding you a cute pilot to date, I’ll definitely keep an eye out and I’ll pass the word along to my mother who is also a flight attendant. Though that might not be such a great idea, considering one of the worst pilot dates I ever had was a blind date my mother arranged with a 757 first officer from New York. Not that I can pick them any better. My friend Cady, on the other hand, always had good luck with pilots and even married one. Perhaps her husband, an international Airbus Captain based in Miami, can be of assistance.

I have yet to meet a gay pilot – that I know of. Now I know they’re out there because my friend Stephen is dating one. Not to mention, I’ve heard quite a few scandalous rumors in the galley, rumors I will not share with you here, only because they are just that – rumors. That said, I have met a couple transgender pilots and mechanics throughout the years who were more than happy to discuss their experiences, like Jamy Spradlin, who recently regained her wings after the Federal Aviation Administration delayed renewing her flying license for nearly a year as they analyzed her psyche for stability after she started hormone replacement therapy.

Recently I read an interesting book, Cockpit Confessions of an Airline Pilot, by Stephen Gary Keshner. Midway through Keshner discusses what it was like to be a Jewish pilot and why he hid his religion from his coworkers. If Keshner felt he had something to hide by poking fun of his own religion to throw his colleagues off, I can only imagine how gay pilots must feel when talk turns to dating and family. Take it from me, it’s not always easy working with such a diverse group of men and women. Half the time you’re meeting someone new on each and every trip, which means you’ve got to learn quickly how to work together, meshing different personalities in a confined metal tube for hours on end. At least I have the opportunity to escape a coworker I may not be getting along with by working in a different cabin. I can’t imagine what it must be like for pilots, especially gay pilots, who may not feel comfortable sharing details of their personal lives.

On a side note, The NPGA, National Gay Pilots Association, is an organization promoting aviation safety and equal treatment. They provide scholarships to help earn a degree in aviation and access to legal and medical assistance, as well as a social and professional network for gay and lesbian members of the aviation industry, from pilots and students to flight attendants, mechanics, and air traffic controllers.

Another way to find the pilot of your dreams, Ron, is to check out aviation dating web sites like Crewdating.com and Love-is-in-the-air.com. Personally, I’d skip the dating sites and just do what my friend Cady was doing when she met her husband – hang out at Starbuck’s in the airport. You’re bound to run into a ton of crew members grabbing a quick jolt of caffeine before a long flight. I know that’s exactly where I’m going to be before my flight to San Francisco departs tonight.

Good luck with your search and happy travels!

Heather Poole

Have a question? Email me! Skydoll123@yahoo.com

Air New Zealand helps you find love

by Mike Barish on

First, Air New Zealand gave us bodypainted employees. Now, they’re helping us find love. The carrier has announced that it will be offering the world’s first Matchmaking Flight.

Singles will fly from Los Angeles to Auckland in October after a pre-flight party. Participants can create online profiles in advance of the trip in the hopes of meeting someone along the way. The flight will feature “themed food, drink and games” which I assume means lots of booze and many rounds of Seven Minutes in the Aft Bathroom. Upon arriving in Auckland, there will be a singles-only party.

The Matchmaking Flight costs $780, which actually isn’t half bad for a flight to New Zealand. It’s a lot more expensive than a membership to an online dating site, though. And way more expensive than going out in your local area and trying to meet someone. But, it’s clever, bold and adventurous. Maybe it will break you out of your dating rut. At the very least, it will guarantee you a great vacation.

Considering booking a ticket for the world’s first Matchmaking Flight? Don’t go to New Zealand without reading Gadling’s In the Corner of the World series.

Is a romantic getaway in your future?

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Nothing beats dashing off for a weekend of pure bliss. Your husband, wife, girlfriend, whatever plans a great trip to a romantic spot, and you’re the main event. Well, you’ve probably noticed in my Valentine’s Day posts that there’s a lot of belt-tightening going on. And, the news just keeps getting worse.

A pool by SpeedDate.com shows that first dates are costing the bare minimum. Most singles, according to the site, are spending less than $100 on their first dates. Almost a third are spending less than $50, while a bit more than a third are willing to shell out between $50 and $100. Close to 20 percent are willing to spend between $100 and $200, but only 13 percent see $200 as the low end.

The good news is that your first date probably won’t involve travel. But, could this sort of frugality suggest that a snowed-in weekend at a lodge in Vermont isn’t in your future?

It sounds like a good conversation for that first date!

Galley Gossip: Flight attendant – still a hot job to date.

by Heather Poole on

What would you do if you were a flight attendant and some young lad said to you, “I like the way you walk?”

Personally, I would have kept on walking. If possible. Because you never know if there’s going to be a 200 pound drink cart blocking your way. But hey, that’s just me.

One New Zealand flight attendant did not walk away when a passenger commented on the way she worked the aisle. Well maybe she did walk, I don’t really know, but what I do know is she took it a step farther and complained about the rugby player from the South Canterbury team when he asked for her number on a flight from Gisborne to Wellington. Again, I don’t have all the details. The article was short. I’m not even sure exactly when the comment pertaining to the walk was made, but at some point the entire rugby team was offloaded and put on another flight. I wonder if she, the flight attendant, liked the way they walked – off the airplane.

On a side note, I can tell you that John, my friend and fellow coworker, would have been very disappointed to have seen that rugby team go. But that’s another story.

The rugby team coach, Ken Wills, claimed the incident was blown out of proportion. He told the Herald Newspaper, “One of the guys was trying to use a pick-up line and exchange text numbers. The boys had a lot of fun on a flight on the way up and one got an air hostess’s number so they were all trying to match him.”

Every year there’s a popular men’s magazine that rates the top ten hot jobs to date, and each year flight attendant makes that list. It’s true. I’ve seen it. If flight attendant is not THE number one hot job, it is definitely one of the top five. When you’re single and dating, this kind of list not only helps to attract Mister Wrong, but also Mister Never-In-A-Million-Years. Trust me, I know from first hand experience. Believe it or not, there are also websites dedicated to the madness, websites like Crewdating.com. Swear to god. Go look it up if you don’t believe me.

Check out this ad from a lonely guy on Craigslist – Craigslist of all places!

I am the principal of a US based boutique investment bank. I have offices in Shanghai, NYC and Washington DC. I have homes in the US and Shanghai. I am 191 cm, 86 kgs, full head of hair, hazel eyes, and am considered handsome by some. I am absolutely smitten with the elegance of the flight attendants on Singapore Airlines. I spent a great deal of time there, and find myself drawn back time and time again, if not just to fly Sing Air. I would appreciate any introduction… I will share more details of myself and pictures with a reply.

Honestly, I do not see anything wrong with Lonely Guy’s ad. In fact, I’m a little impressed that he knows what he wants and he’s not afraid to ask for it – in an ad. On craigslist. That’s what successful people do. That’s why they’re successful in the first place. I have a very strong feeling that Lonely Guy is going to find his elegant Singapore Girl – in an ad, on craigslist – and I do hope when he does he emails Gadling to tell me all about it! What can I say, I’m a romantic at heart.

While I do have a fondness for Lonely Guy, I’m not so sure what to think of the guy on Ask.com who wrote…

I am an Arabian male and I have always wanted to find a flight attendant ( Air Hostess ) to go out with. I don’t know if it is a fantasy or the interest in finding a person who toured the world but I want to find one that often flies to the Gulf Area (Saudi, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, Kuwait) and hook up. Of course I won’t just date any hostess but we got to be interested in each other. .. I just don’t know where to look!? …. Anyone there who is interested or knows where can I look?

Arabian Male, Whadaya mean you have to actually be interested in one another? And you won’t take just ANY hostess, you say? But why not? Yeah, can someone say booty call? What I find even more amusing than the ad above, are the answers to Arabian Male’s question…

Tara wrote, “The obvious place to look would be an airport or better yet fly first class. It seems the first class passengers always get the most attention–then just work your magic. My real advice: Give it up, babe.”

JB wrote, “Go to the airport. Be there 24/7. Whenever a flight attendant pass by you .. say hi .. or pretend to be a passenger and ask a question … simple as that .”
I’d say Tara and JB both gave pretty sound advice. Advice I suggest not to take came from The Player at Askmen.com, who wrote a post entitled How to pick up a flight attendant. I do not know one flight attendant who would fall for his nonsense. And then there was Doc Love’s “interesting” post, Are flight attendants dateable, full of advice on, you guessed it, flight attendants and the game of dating. You did notice the words the game are in italics? Good. Because I’m not even sure what to make of that – game. Believe it or not, the best advice came from the website ehow.com…
  • Make a great first impression by dressing neatly, instead of going for comfort with sweat pants and flip-flops like many fliers do. Smile, be friendly and try to join in light conversation. Because most fliers tend to ignore flight attendants until they need something, your outgoing personality will quickly catch her eye.Take any opportunity to help her out. For example, if she is struggling to fit someone’s oversize carry-on into the overhead compartment, jump up from your seat and offer to help.

  • Flirt a little, but not so much that she finds you annoying or even threatening. Make eye contact now and then, be polite saying please and thank you. While you want your interest to be obvious, you don’t want to come off as desperate.

  • Remember that flight attendants risk losing their jobs by accepting a date with a client while working. So, instead of directly trying to pick her up while she is surrounded by co-workers and clients, simply slip her a business card on your way off the plane. If desired, you might add a short note to the back of the card. Avoid the temptation to verbally pick her up, as you are sure to get a solid no.

Meeting a flight attendant is one thing, but being able to really date, as in having the confidence and patience to deal with a job that takes your love interest out of town for days at a time, even on the holidays, is quite another. Just ask my husband, a man I met on a flight.