Most people who travel by themselves have mastered the art of invisibility. Whether it's a train or a plane, you get on, find your seat and go into a zone where you try not to be seen. Some use headphones or a book as a cloaking device, enabling them to retreat into their own little universe, hoping all around will ignore them. Alternatively, some sleep or just feign it to block out any unwanted intrusions. In almost any other venue it might be considered antisocial at best, or rude at worst. But when you are sitting shoulder to shoulder for long periods with another person you've never met before and have no intention of ever seeing again, it's the only way of cohabiting adjoining seats without being married or getting sued.
That's not to say that your fellow travelers on common carriers aren't civil. Normal pleasantries might be exchanged on first contact. And those on the outside of the row are generally accommodating to those further in, allowing them the ability to exit for rest room breaks and the like. But those are subclauses A and B to Item #1: "Thou shalt sit quietly, not fidget, not make eye contact and not engage."
Occasionally the wall gets broken, and you get a chatty seatmate. It's not that's there's anything inherently wrong with talking to another person jammed in next to you for an extended period of time. At times it can be diverting or entertaining, helping to pass the otherwise slow march of time as you journey from one place to another. But unlike a party when you feel some obligation to circulate and chat, if it happens organically at 30,000 feet, it happens. If it doesn't it doesn't. And no judgement is passed.
But Coke and Delta Airlines couldn't leave that alone. In a move that is somewhat akin to a priest encouraging you to sin AND giving you the keys to a motel room down the street, they took marketing beyond edgy and into, well, pushy. The situation started innocently enough, with the flight attendants rolling their drink carts down the aisle and handing out miniature bags of snacks. As usual they inquired as to each passenger's drink preference, and started to assemble the requests. Then they handed those drinks to the passengers. Remember these are the same people engaged in that delicate balance of sitting hip to hip while trying super hard not to violate the personal space of their forced seatmates. But all that goes out the window when the refreshment comes along with a napkin that sports a Diet Coke logo and the inscription "Because you're on a plane full of interesting people and hey, you never know."
Huh? What? Now, rather than trying to keep in your lane and avoid any unneeded involvement with the person sitting next to you, it seems that the airline is encouraging you to not only interact with them, but actually go out of your way to connect. On the one hand it could be seen as an attempt at social engineering to break down the walls we all too often put up around ourselves. On the other hand, it's encouraging us to be creepy.
OK, you might say, that's overreacting. It's just trying to encourage us all to be friendlier and more open, and what could be wrong with that? OK, as far as it goes. OK, that is, until you flip the napkin over. On the back, it says "Be a little old school. Write down your number & give it to your plane crush. You never know." And there are lines to fill in your phone and phone number. Lest there be any doubt what they're suggesting, we're not talking casual friends here. We're talking Airplane Tinder. Don't swipe left. Fly right.
The airline is now backtracking. In a statement Delta said they "missed the mark with this one." Seeing as how they try and squeeze dollars out of everything on board these days, one wonders if they are remarking about their lack of sensitivity, or annoyed they aren't charging for being a dating service. A new pre-boarding bundle: first bag checked for free, Wi-Fi for the flight and an upgrade from Coach to Affair. What happens in Business Class stays in Business Class.
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Marc Wollin of Bedford spends a lot of time on airplanes. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
That's not to say that your fellow travelers on common carriers aren't civil. Normal pleasantries might be exchanged on first contact. And those on the outside of the row are generally accommodating to those further in, allowing them the ability to exit for rest room breaks and the like. But those are subclauses A and B to Item #1: "Thou shalt sit quietly, not fidget, not make eye contact and not engage."
Occasionally the wall gets broken, and you get a chatty seatmate. It's not that's there's anything inherently wrong with talking to another person jammed in next to you for an extended period of time. At times it can be diverting or entertaining, helping to pass the otherwise slow march of time as you journey from one place to another. But unlike a party when you feel some obligation to circulate and chat, if it happens organically at 30,000 feet, it happens. If it doesn't it doesn't. And no judgement is passed.
But Coke and Delta Airlines couldn't leave that alone. In a move that is somewhat akin to a priest encouraging you to sin AND giving you the keys to a motel room down the street, they took marketing beyond edgy and into, well, pushy. The situation started innocently enough, with the flight attendants rolling their drink carts down the aisle and handing out miniature bags of snacks. As usual they inquired as to each passenger's drink preference, and started to assemble the requests. Then they handed those drinks to the passengers. Remember these are the same people engaged in that delicate balance of sitting hip to hip while trying super hard not to violate the personal space of their forced seatmates. But all that goes out the window when the refreshment comes along with a napkin that sports a Diet Coke logo and the inscription "Because you're on a plane full of interesting people and hey, you never know."
Huh? What? Now, rather than trying to keep in your lane and avoid any unneeded involvement with the person sitting next to you, it seems that the airline is encouraging you to not only interact with them, but actually go out of your way to connect. On the one hand it could be seen as an attempt at social engineering to break down the walls we all too often put up around ourselves. On the other hand, it's encouraging us to be creepy.
OK, you might say, that's overreacting. It's just trying to encourage us all to be friendlier and more open, and what could be wrong with that? OK, as far as it goes. OK, that is, until you flip the napkin over. On the back, it says "Be a little old school. Write down your number & give it to your plane crush. You never know." And there are lines to fill in your phone and phone number. Lest there be any doubt what they're suggesting, we're not talking casual friends here. We're talking Airplane Tinder. Don't swipe left. Fly right.
The airline is now backtracking. In a statement Delta said they "missed the mark with this one." Seeing as how they try and squeeze dollars out of everything on board these days, one wonders if they are remarking about their lack of sensitivity, or annoyed they aren't charging for being a dating service. A new pre-boarding bundle: first bag checked for free, Wi-Fi for the flight and an upgrade from Coach to Affair. What happens in Business Class stays in Business Class.
-END-
Marc Wollin of Bedford spends a lot of time on airplanes. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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