Here’s something that might potential float your boat or sink it depending upon your inclination.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has launched a new “meet and seat” service which allows people to select “seatmates” by looking through the social profiles of other passengers who have selected the same flight. Your individual social profile is created and enriched by logging in with your Facebook or LinkedIn account. Passengers are able to select how much or how little information they would like to share including languages spoken (which is probably an important thing if you’re going to strike up a conversation). Otherwise, if the whole idea turns you off you can skip the opt-in and choose a seat anonymously.
The only “gotcha” it seems is that you can’t prevent a particular person from sitting next to you. So, if you found someone you thought was an absolute nightmare you couldn’t absolutely prevent the possibility of ending up sitting with them (unless you chose another flight or gamed your profile to make yourself look as unappealing as possible).
Personally, I couldn’t think of anything worse as an introvert. Being stuck in a cylinder hurtling through the air with nowhere to escape I am more than happy amusing myself for the duration of the flight. That said, I’m sure there are many people who would love this idea. Being able to meet and talk to people that you might not have otherwise come across in your part of the world might be a good way to learn about other cultures or subject matter.
You can read more about it here.
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