While people “share” just about everything and anything online, travelers are not especially social in person, according to a recent survey we conducted. We asked our passengers how often, if ever, they engage in conversation with their seatmates. Of the 736 respondents, just five percent said they always speak to their seatmates and 25 percent responded “frequently.” The most common answer, at 44 percent, was “it depends on who I am sitting next to.” Seven percent said they never speak to people on planes and almost 20 percent said they do so only if their seatmate initiates the conversation. Women were slightly chattier than men, with six percent responding “always,” compared with men at four percent. However, when survey participants were asked if they have ever formed an ongoing relationship with someone they met on a plane, 12 percent of men replied yes, compared with 8 percent of women. “With in-flight programs, high-tech gadgets and WiFi being offered on planes, people are less inclined to entertain themselves with one-on-one conversations while flying,” says John McCarthy, president of The GO Group.
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