KLM Flights with ‘Facebook Seating’ Now Underway
The international airline KLM is now allowing passengers to use Facebook and LinkedIn profiles to find compatible seatmates. Note that the phrase dating service does not appear on the carrier’s website (see our poll, below).
Listen as air travel analyst Rick Seaney and Anne McDermott have some fun with this topic:
Which Flights Have Facebook Seating
The program, which FareCompare reported on late last year, is called Meet & Seat and is now available on two KLM flights:
- Between Amsterdam and New York
- Between San Francisco and Sao Paulo
According to the airline’s website, they are working on making it available “for many more KLM flights soon.” There is no mention of a fee for this service, but as always this could change.
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How it Social Seating on KLM Works
After a flight is booked on KLM, passengers can share Facebook and/or LinkedIn information as follows from the airline’s website:
- Log-in to Manage my Booking
- Go to the Seating tab and click Meet & Seat
- Then log-in to your Facebook or LinkedIn account.
- Choose profile details you share with fellow passengers and add info about your travels if you like
You will then be shown a seat map with other passengers’ profile details and seat selections, and if you see someone you’d like to sit next to (and there’s an empty seat by them), go ahead and take it.
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However, as the airline points out, there are no guarantees that you will be able to sit next to a particular seatmate, though according to reports, many passengers are doing just that.
Two Warnings on Social Network Seating
Do not reveal any details on your airline profile that you wouldn’t want made public. Although KLM says it will not share profile details with any third party, and they disappear from the site 48 hours after your flight takes off, it’s always a good idea to be discreet.
Final note: Don’t get too excited about the fascinating seatmate you’ll have on your next flight (or the possibility of romance). As everyone should know by now, when it comes to social network profiles – sometimes people lie.
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