Virgin America now provides fliers with a “seat-to-seat” delivery service in which passengers can send drinks to one another in mid-flight. The jury is still out on whether the trendy airline is creating a harmless, flirty atmosphere or a creepy bar-like scene from which there is no escape at 30,000 feet.
The new feature is offered on a direct flight from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and suggests that at the touch of a button, you can send a fellow passenger drinks and snacks and even add a “suggestive” text to go along with it.
Sir Richard Branson, the billionaire owner of Virgin America, advertises the new service in a “guide to getting lucky” video.
According to Branson, bringing a puppy, renting a spaceship, and jetting off with your new eye candy to a private island is not the most cost-efficient way to “getting lucky at 35,000 feet.” The cheaper more practical way, Branson says, is to “seal the deal” by sending over a drink, meal, or snack.
“I’m not a betting man, but I’d say your chance of deplaning with a plus-one are at least 50 percent,” he says with a smile.
So far, reactions to the new service have been mixed:
Virgin America flights provide for “mile-high flirting”. Just brilliant marketing. bit.ly/11GwFd7
— Vagabondish.com (@vagabondish) April 25, 2013
Unbelievable, Virgin America finds a way to make air travel even worse gaw.kr/FTU7QNS
— Gawker (@Gawker) April 24, 2013
Haha I can see this getting out-of-hand: “New Virgin America system encourages mile-high flirting | Fox News fxn.ws/11lblcK“
— Jacqueline M (@ClawsandCowlick) April 25, 2013
But it did seem to work for this guy (this guy being none other than Joe Jonas):
Good times with new friends last night. Thank you Virgin America! instagram.com/p/YdqupMj8Eb/
— joe jonas (@joejonas) April 23, 2013
No word on whether all those women pictured with Jonas were actually a result of Virgin’s new flirty feature.
See the video below to get Branson’s take on the new service.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_Bes6P2isY]
