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You can upgrade your seat on a plane, but can you upgrade your seatmate?
Answering the prayers of millions of frequent flyers who wish they could avoid the over-sized, smelly, fidgety chatterbox that inevitably squeezes in next to them, Peter Shankman says yes.
His matchmaking service, AirTroductions, has been building its membership since it was launched last year, and now boasts over 18,000 people hoping to meet Mr. Right_ or at least avoid Mrs. Wrong _ on a transcontinental flight.
Aerial matchmaking works like this: You buy your ticket as usual, then go to AirTroductions, log in and create a profile.
You can post a photo, as you would on any other computer dating service, then describe the kind of person you would like to sit next to.
Lukas, a 21-year-old bagpipe aficionado flying into Montreal Tuesday from Charlottetown, P.E.I., was looking for ``an intelligent young woman 19-24 who likes music, literature, chatting, and interesting stuff like that... Must not be overly obsessed with celebrities, fast food, and rap music.''
Daniel, a Scorpio from Montreal, describes himself as ``portly'' with an annual income over $100,000. His interests include sci-fi, scuba, chess, and... project management.
Val, a nurse from Toronto, pictured on the website in a bridesmaid's dress, is looking for someone over 5 foot 7, ``cuddleable'', preferably with a goatee.
If two people on the same flight like each other, they meet at the airport and change their seats to sit next to each other.
Shankman, reached in New York, where he heads a public relations firm called The Geek Factory, says AirTroductions has yet to reach the critical mass necessary to ensure a match on every flight.
But the business is taking off.
By charging $19.95 a month or $5 per round-trip _ you pay only when you try to e-mail someone through the website _ the service is about to become profitable, he said.
Air Canada, for one, now has a link to the AirTroductions site from its e-zine.
Shankman says the idea came to him after hundreds of tedious flights sitting next to people who hadn't showered, or worse, spent the entire flight trying to convert him.
``About 45 minutes into an eight-hour flight, this guy leans over and says, `So are you saved?' He kept talking until I faked a seizure.''
Then one day Shankman took a flight from Houston to New York he hoped would never end: sitting next to Miss Texas 2002.
``All of a sudden it didn't suck, and it occurred to me if you could choose who you could sit next to, the flight could be a lot more fun.''
The website can be found at www.airtroductions.com.
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