Airline passenger matching available online

First-class or coach, a window seat or on the aisle. You can choose just about everything on your airplane flight, except for the person sitting next to you. That's just luck. And sometimes you

Thursday, February 2nd 2006, 10:23 am

By: News On 6

First-class or coach, a window seat or on the aisle. You can choose just about everything on your airplane flight, except for the person sitting next to you. That's just luck. And sometimes you can have bad luck.

News on 6 reporter Steve Berg says if you like to talk about sports or maybe you're a big fan of Survivor. There's a new website where you can try to find passengers with similar interests. And get a seat next to them on the plane.

Oh, sure it's funny when it happens to someone else, but art imitates life. Passenger: "For instance, there was this drunk lady one time that would not shut up, non-stop." Passenger: "I tried to give her the signal that I didnâ€™t' want to talk but y'know we just didn't have anything in common." Steve Berg: "Like everybody, you've been on a flight and." Passenger: "and you just want to slap them.â€

There are few things worse than being stuck in a metal tube for 3 hours next to someone you can't stand. That's part of the theory behind airtroductions.com, a website where travelers can seek that perfect seatmate, for business reasons or personal.

The founder of the website got the idea after sharing a flight with Miss Texas. That was probably okay with him. All you do is put in your flight information and the airport you're leaving from, create a profile with some of your interests, and the website will tell you what other airtroductions.com users are on your flight.

You can search for free, but if you want to make contact with someone, it's $5 per flight. Is it worth it? Passenger: "I don't know that I'd pay $5 for it.â€ Passenger: "I would pay the $5, because Iâ€™ve sometimes wound up on the aisle or near the window and someone's next to me in the middle and it's just not pleasant if they're not a good traveler."

So you can find a woman who wants a normal conversation, but not too chatty. Or a woman who wants who wants somebody who can make her laugh or a guy who says he wants a seatmate who doesn't have bad breath, as though there's anyone who "does" want bad breath.

That website again is www.airtroductions.com.