Airplane dating app is now boarding for all your in-flight flirting needs
Forget SkyMall and instead spend your flight flirting with the brunette in 32B.
That's where the Tinder-esque dating app AirDates comes in. It's like other mobile dating options, except this one is for air travelers looking for a connection, or even love, before, during or after a trip.
In a video interview with Mashable, CEO and founder Michael Richard said Friday the app is not exactly promoting joining the so-called Mile High Club, but more about "making connections in the air."
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Richard used to travel a lot during his previous gig in real estate development. He says he was on planes constantly and busy "being French and single and using a lot of dating apps." He realized the only time he couldn't use his apps was when he was in the air.
"It was a pity to lose so much time," he said.
It's about "making connections in the air."
So the concept of AirDates came together to make it easier to meet other single travelers. He said it's more about finding someone to talk to and get to know before going on a date once you've landed.
"On a lot of dating apps, you swipe, you match, but you never really meet," he said.
The app is only in beta, but already it's taken off after appearing at the Disrupt London conference earlier this week. After users sign up, they can share their flight itineraries and find other people flying, say, to Seattle via Houston. It uses FireChat technology so users don't have to use up all their data or rely on spotty in-flight Wi-Fi to chat while in air.
The London-based app is available for iOS, but will be more widely distributed and updated by February, Richard said.
Get ready for take-off.
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
