Meet & Seat: Dutch Airline Uses Social Media to Connect Passengers

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines came out with an innovative campaign in 2012, which they called "Meet &  Seat."  Meet & Seat was designed as a networking tool and involves connecting passengers through social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+.  Through Meet & Seat, passengers are able to pick their own seat next to other passengers who share the same interests.  Over 50,000 people have used Meet & Seat since it launched.  However, KLM airlines has serviced over 52 million customers in the past two years.  In my opinion, Meet & Seat is a smart idea when it comes to connecting and networking with others who happen to be on the same flight as you, but there are some issues that come along with it that need to be addressed.  Some argue that flights are for taking a break from doing business with others since many passengers who fly are those who are doing so on business related trips.  Other people argue that there isn't enough time to give a full pitch to another interested businessman. Another issue is competition, Delta introduced a similar campaign called Innovation Class.  While I do think this is an interesting way for people to connect with others, I think the idea is a bit much considering after a long day from traveling and meeting with clients the last thing I would want to do is sit on a long flight and network with a possible new client.  There is an obvious trade-off here though, if your business trip wasn't as successful or as busy as you expected it to be, then this could be a great opportunity to gain a new acquaintance or a new client.  In other words, programs like "Meet & Seat" could make up for a business trip that didn't fulfill your expectations.  There are pros and cons to "Meet & Seat" as there to everything in life.  Personally, I don't think this idea has gained enough interest or traction when I compare amount of passengers that have taken advantage of this service and the amount of passengers who fly on a yearly basis.