Royal Dutch airline KLM is allowing people to choose who they might sit next to on a flight by viewing other travelers’ social media profiles via a program called “Meet and Seat.”
The opt-in system will allow interested parties to link their Facebook and LinkedIn profiles to their checkin information. The profiles are then displayed for other travelers on the same flight who have also opted in and submitted their information, and seat selections can be made accordingly.
There seems to be a few possible pros and cons:
Pros:
- opt-in — this allows those whom wish not to participate to not be affected in any way
- those who do wish to participate, can, opening the doors to potential business connections
- it’s great for those who may be traveling alone and simply would like someone to socialize with
Cons:
- sometimes things relay differently online than in person, and if the people matched aren’t actually that compatible, it could prove for an awkward flight experience
- potential breaches in privacy — information inadvertently being exposed in ways unintended
- what happens when person A wants to sit with person B, who wants to sit with person C? or what if a woman only wants to sit with other women, etc.
What do you think of the new system? Would you pick your seatmate if given the option?