Welcome aboard, can I buy you a drink?

[tuapekastar]

Welcome to Sleaze Air. Seems somewhat tacky and desperate to me. Oh, and a small P1 benefit is noted at the end of the article.

Welcome aboard, can I buy you a drink? | The Age

To mark the launch of the airline’s first flights to Last Vegas last month, Virgin unveiled a “first-of-its-kind seat-to-seat delivery service” on all US routes that allows flyers to order a drink, meal or snack for travellers at other seats.

 

[fanpckt1]

nice to meet you

 

[harvyk]

In an accompanying video, newspapers reported, Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson adds: “I’m not a betting man but I’d say your chances of deplaning with a plus-one are at least 50 per cent”.

Sorry, he forgot to add in the rest of that sentence, "and your chances of leaving with a black eye courtesy of your potential future plus-one's husband are at least 25 per cent".
If Mrs Harvyk and I where travelling, and a random stranger brought her a drink, I would be less than impressed unless they brought me one too.

 

[samh004]

I'm sure there's already a thread on this, but that last quote got me thinking... maybe he's got access to the numbers and they show more singles flying than couples, thus less likelihood of meeting a +1!

 

[casanovawa]

There has been a thread on this before...

And i wouldn't mind receiving such attention as long as my screen wasn't going off like a level crossing with all the incoming messages and drink/meal offers...

Probably could work even better, or at lower risk anyway, if there was an opt in feature or some way for people to identify if they were off limits or partial to it or whatever level of opt in they wanted to implement... Although there is always that risk of anywhere approaching someone and you haven't spotted their +1...

 

[harvyk]

Although there is always that risk of anywhere approaching someone and you haven't spotted their +1...

Yes, but say in a bar or nightclub, there is a larger degree of people who go to such places for the express purposes of picking up, plus +1's are usually easier to spot in bars and nightclubs. A plane on the other hand, I'd say it's a pretty safe bet that 99% of the people there are not there to pick up and have little interest beyond getting from A to B. There is also the added risk on a plane that the +1 is not travelling with the person but is waiting for the person at the arrival airport.

There is also the fact that purchasing a drink for someone who have not yet met is IMHO very creepy. Personally I see the purchasing of a drink to be the third step after introducing yourself and actually talking with the person in question before the purchasing of drinks comes into play.

 

[SeatBackForward]

As long as the two seats up the front aren't on the list you can order drinks for..

 

[casanovawa]

I guess at least you won't have to worry about your drink being spiked if prepped by the FA's...

And i guess some people like to move a bit quicker to alcohol than others, i think some girls in pubs almost expect to have a drink bought for them for sharing their precious time...

And although yes i guess most people hop on a plane to get from A + B, its probably never been considered a place to meet people or had a mechanism for it till now.. I guess those that utterly detest the idea will probably not look to use Virgin to Las Vegas from now on... If it falls flat, or results in lots of mid air punch ups or law suits i imagine the trial will be rescinded pretty quickly...

 

[Fruitcake]

Probably could work even better, or at lower risk anyway, if there was an opt in feature or some way for people to identify if they were off limits or partial to it or whatever level of opt in they wanted to implement...

Most articles I've seen about the system say it's tied to the seat-to-seat chat system. Which, on every carrier I've ever flown with that has such a system fitted (OK... that's only three, but still...), is opt-in.

I humbly suggest to harvyk that if Mrs harvyk is opting into the system and accepting drinks from strangers whilst sitting next to him that he puts down the IFE remote and uses the next few hours in the metal tube to talk some things over .

 

[HappyTraveler]

What is next? Advanced seat selection with the pictures of all passengers who already selected the seats - for a small fee?

 

[harvyk]

What is next? Advanced seat selection with the pictures of all passengers who already selected the seats - for a small fee?

I would want to go one step further, advance seat selection as an auction, with the person who came in second given the option to pay to have a photo of them glaring out at the winning pax from the seat back TV...

 

[HappyTraveler]

I would want to go one step further, advance seat selection as an auction, with the person who came in second given the option to pay to have a photo of them glaring out at the winning pax from the seat back TV...

Good one! If they decide to do it, we will share the royalties

 

[Fruitcake]

Good one! If they decide to do it, we will share the royalties

You might need to backdate your idea .
https://www.klm.com/travel/au_en/prepare_for_travel/on_board/Your_seat_on_board/meet_and_seat.htm