Image via Christopher Parypa/Shutterstock

Virgin America founder Richard Branson thinks passengers who use his airline’s new in-flight flirting system have a 50-percent change of deplaning with a plus-one. The system allows passengers to anonymously send other fliers—perfect strangers—cocktails, snacks or even meals during the flight. Think of it as a flirtatious precursor to the mile-high club.

How does it work? Virgin’s seat-back entertainment system now features a digital seat map. Passengers can choose the seat location in which their object of affection sits, pick out a food or drink item and pay for it with a credit card. A flight attendant will then deliver the goods directly to the receiving passenger’s seat. The flirting can continue with a chat through Virgin America’s seat-to-seat messaging system.

Branson introduced the new feature in a video entitled, “Sir Richard Branson’s Guide to Getting Lucky at 35,000 Feet.”

“As founder of the Virgin group, I’ve been in my share of compromising positions,” Branson says in the beginning of the video.

Speaking of compromising positions… Although the seat-to-seat ordering system sounds like a lot of fun, it could also set passengers up for some pretty awkward moments. Think about it… What if a passenger inadvertently selects the wrong seat on the diagram and ends up sending a Cosmo to Gramps instead of little Miss Sexy? Furthermore, an airplane isn’t a bar. A passenger flying alone isn’t necessarily a signal he or she is available. Suppose a drink is sent to someone on her way to her husband’s funeral? Or to a gentleman who is married with six kids who’s traveling on business?

Virgin America wants to hear passengers’ successful and failed seat-to-seat ordering experiences. Those who describe their attempts on Virgin’s Facebook page by May 22 will be entered to win prizes to include flights and stays at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Happy flying and may the odds be ever in your favor.

As long as they’ve been taking flight, people have been trying to join the infamous Mile High Club. It’s made its way into literature, television, film and music, but the elite membership is more than fiction. According to a 2008 Time Magazine report, airline passengers have gotten creative with blankets, empty seats and airplane lavatories, among other methods, in order to find romance in the skies. But one anonymous flight attendant told Business Insider passengers should keep in mind the absolute filthiness of airline toilets before choosing the location for their rendezvous.

“Yes people try to join the mile high club,” she said. “Let me tell you something, those toilets are FILTHY. Absolute FILTH. People shit in the sinks.”

Yuck. And they’re tiny, so it’s not like you can really screw around in there and avoid the sink and the toilet. Again, yuck.

But, hey, don’t think you have to miss out on joining the ranks of the club that boasts members such as… does anybody really know? One UK charter company is determined to bridge a gap in the market, launching the nation’s first Luxury Mile High Club Experience and allowing residents to bone in the sky with style.

Customers may charter one of wish.co.uk’s eight-seater jets for £4,999–$7,500—and they will be taken in a private, executive car to the nearest airport where the jet will await them. Once on board, they will be met with champagne, chocolates, music and rose petals in their private cabins, as well as a private flight attendant. The trip lasts about an hour, so foreplay should be kept at a minimum if membership is to be achieved.

The UK firm is definitely not the first to originate the Mile High charter concept, however. An Atlanta company, Mile High Atlanta, offered a similar service for just $379, which included a bottle of champagne and a mattress in the back of the plane. The company advertised a certificate of accomplishment for new members, as well as allowing them to keep their sheets as souvenirs (thank goodness for that!), but its Web site is no longer a valid URL.

Still, the whole idea sounds a lot better than a quick screw straddled atop an airplane toilet. But where’s the excitement? Isn’t half the fun of joining the Mile High Club the thrill of avoiding exposure? Can it truly be as exciting without watching the green “occupied” marker on the bathroom door to ensure no one is able to get inside? Sure, comfort and luxury are nice, but that’s just as available at the Four Seasons.

“I think it depends,” said Rachel Kramer Bussel, editor of the new book, “The Mile High Club: Plane Sex Stories.” “Anyone who’s horny and creative enough can find a way to do it. The key to joining the mile-high club is having a sense of naughtiness and adventure, and if you have that you’ll find a way to do it.“

[Images via Wish.co.uk]

Image via SeanPavonePhoto/Shutterstock

Travel Leaders Group just released the results of its annual Travel Trends survey. Conducted Nov. 19 to Dec. 16, the results are based on responses from 930 Travel Leaders Group owners, managers and frontline travel experts from throughout the U.S. The survey asked respondents about their favorite airports for connecting flights, business travel services, amenities, dining and families with children.

“Major airports have transformed considerably in the last decade to accommodate the shift in the amount of time travelers spend there. More amenities have been added to appeal to travelers – and in many cases, to occupy their time – while they wait for their flights,” stated Travel Leaders Group CEO Barry Liben. “At some of the busiest airports around the United States, there has been an explosion in service such as mini spas and salons, along with a retooling of the retail space toward higher-end goods and electronics. The most significant change has been in the dining options. While food courts still exist, there are more and more health-conscious options and a real trend toward upscale cafés, restaurants and bars. In our survey, we wanted to see which airports seem to resonate most positively with our clients in number of categories.”

Best Airports for Connecting Flights:
1. Atlanta
2. Charlotte
3. Dallas/Fort Worth
4. Houston Intercontinental
5. Detroit
6. Minneapolis/St. Paul
7. Chicago O’Hare
8. Phoenix
9. Denver
10. (tie) New York – JFK
10. (tie) Salt Lake City

Best Airports for Business Travel Services
1. Atlanta
2. Chicago O’Hare
3. Dallas/Fort Worth
4. Minneapolis/St. Paul
5. New York – JFK
6. Detroit
7. Houston Intercontinental
8. Los Angeles
9. New York – LaGuardia
10. (tie) Newark
10. (tie) San Francisco
10. (tie) Washington D.C. – Dulles

Best Airports for Amenities
1. Atlanta
2. Minneapolis/St. Paul
3. Chicago O’Hare
4. Dallas/Fort Worth
5. Las Vegas

Best Airports for Dining
1. Atlanta
2. Minneapolis/St. Paul
3. Chicago O’Hare
4. Dallas/Fort Worth
5. San Francisco

Best Airports for Families with Kids
1. Orlando
2. Minneapolis/St. Paul
3. Atlanta
4. Chicago O’Hare
5. Dallas/Fort Worth

Image via BlackJet

In the early days of commercial aviation, flying was considered the lap of luxury. Today, with the endless stream of security checks, passenger rules and heavy waits, it’s a downright hassle. Those who can afford a private jet can still taste the exclusive skies of yesteryear, however. They can pull their cars right up to the plane minutes before takeoff, keep their shoes, avoid pat-downs and even bring their own bottle of wine onboard without causing pandemonium. But not even the so-called 1 percent can afford a private plane, right?

The folks who brought private car service to the masses with Uber have launched—with many well-known investors—a private jet-sharing service called BlackJet. The web-based service is designed to connect passengers with empty seats on private jets.

“BlackJet is fairly friction-free,” founder Garrett Camp told Venture Beat. “You pull up to the airplane with your car and take off three minutes later. It takes a lot of stress out of travel.”
BlackJet doesn’t own any of the jets it books. It works with a variety of charter jet services and helps travelers fill seats on flights between particular cities. Passengers are asked to provide BlackJet at least two days’ notice of when they wish to fly, and the company charters a plane for groups of passengers interested in the same trip.

The charter flights will still be rather exclusive. A flight from Los Angeles to New York will set a passenger back about $3,500—on top of the annual fee of about $2,500 that must be paid to belong to BlackJet. And not just anyone can join—a personalized invitation code is required to access the company’s online services.

Camp told TechCrunch he believes the service will revolutionize charter air travel by making it more efficient. According to Camp, most of the 4,000 or so private and charter jets in the country spend most of their time either unused or partially filled. About a third of private jets end up flying empty return legs after taking a trip to one destination. Plus, private jets are only in the sky about an hour a day, compared to about 11 flight hours a day for commercial airlcraft. BlackJet will partner with charter jet services to help them fill empty seats and create demand for more flights. In doing so, BlackJet will receive a commission.

The flights may seem uber-expensive, but are actually fairly comparable to first-class commercial tickets. A BlackJet-booked cross-country flight for $3,500 compares to a first-class ticket from LAX to JFK for about $3,600. By comparison, booking an entire charter flight would set a customer back about $25,000 for the same trip. A shorter flight with BlackJet—Las Vegas to Los Angeles, for example—will cost $950.

Ken Starnes of PrivateJet.com told Wired that BlackJet’s biggest obstacle will be convincing those wealthy enough to afford the service to actually use it. “So many people who have tried to create models to share seats have failed because it’s very hard to get people wealthy enough to hire a private jet to share a flight,” he said. “Their egos are as big as office buildings.”

By the list of BlackJet’s backers, Starnes may be mistaken. Actors Will Smith and Ashton Kutcher, author Tim Ferris and rapper Jay-Z have all financially supported the startup. Some of the other all-star investors include Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Guy Oseary, Michael Birch, Naval Ravikant, Rick Marini, Noah Goodhart, Thomas Ryan, Josh Spear, Jay Levy, Dan Rosenweig, Stephen Russell, Matt Mullenweg, Ryan Sarver, Steve Jang, Shakil Khan and David Ulevitch. Corporate investors include Overbook Entertainment, Roc Nation, First Round Capital, SV Angel and Science Inc.’s Peter Pham and Mike Jones.

BlackJet sold more than 3,000 seats on 800 flights during its pre-launch, and plans to fully launch Nov. 15, allowing travelers to book seats online and through a smartphone app. It will start with two primary routes: New York to Los Angeles and New York to south Florida. It soon plans to add San Francisco to Los Angeles, New York and Las Vegas, however, and additional routes based on user demand.