Tag - social seating

Everyone’s been through it, that awkward moment; you’re stuck on a flight next to a chatterbox, when all you want to do is have a snooze. You do that not-so subtle thing of sticking in your headphones and hope for the best. Well now, a couple of airlines are introducing ‘social seating’ so you can use your Facebook to pick who you’ll sit beside.

We hear airlines like Air France, Malaysia Airline and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines are planning on the move. ‘Social seating’ will enable you to browse the Facebook or LinkedIn profiles of people on your flight and see what you’ve got in common. We think they want you to check out their pictures; see what their interests are and then you can decide if you want to sit next to them.

It will probably be geared a little more to the business audience, people who want to talk management or strategy, but it’s easy to see how it could catch on. So, we’ve been having a little chat about it here and we think it’s definitely got a lot of positives, but what happens if someone you know requests a seat next to you and you’re not exactly thrilled about it?

Maybe you’d be a little more interested in ‘antisocial seating’? An airline called AirAsia is giving customers the option to take up all the seats beside them. For a price you’ll be able to stretch out across three seats or simple ensure the one right beside you is free. You’ll be notified a few hours before – and if there are no spare seats you’ll get a refund.

We’d love to know what you think. Are you a social or antisocial sitter!? Tell us what you reckon in the comments section.