PDXPremier

Last month, my wife and I put our names on the VDB list for our flight from ORD-PDX and as we were standing at the gate, anxiously awaiting whether or not our names would get called, we struck up a conversation with a lady who was traveling with a 3 year old and an infant. It turned out that her husband had recently accepted a job in the Portland area and her family was relocating to our hometown. Her husband and 6 year old son had driven out ahead of her and her mother was originally suppose to travel with her as she re-joined her husband and son in Portland. Unfortunately, she booked the tickets for March 13th, not February 13th. After a tearful phone call with United two days before she thought she was ticketed to fly, they said she and her two kids could fly on Feb. 13th, but they could not accomodate her mother (I'm kinda surprised they didn't at least charge a change fee). Anyway, she and the kids were alone and my wife got caught up in conversation with her about our hometown. During the course of their chat, I was called to the counter and they only needed one VDB so I took a flight two hours later (downgraded from F to E+) and sent my wife on her way in F. During F boarding, my wife offerred to let her and her kids board with her and also carried the lady's baby gear while she carried her kids to the very last row on the 757. During the course of the flight, my wife brought back some snacks she got from the F snackbasket and carried on a lengthy conversation....so much so that the flight attendant eventually asked her to go sit down After the flight, my wife returned to help her new friend disembark and later met her awaiting husband and son in the terminal. They exchanged phone numbers and made plans to get together for a play date for our kids and hers. One week later, my wife and kids delivered a welcome to the neighborhood package to their home and were invited to stay for lunch. Tonight, my wife and I had them over for dinner and enjoyed some great conversation...since both of our families have young children, it was fun watching the kids have fun playing together and getting to know each other. Our new found friendship with this wonderful family happened because we struck up a conversation with a passenger waiting for the same flight...this made me wonder how many life long relationships have been formed as a result of flying United? Has anyone ever struck up a conversation that resulted in a friendship with a pilot, gate agent, flight attendant, or fellow passenger? Do you know of any marriages that began this way? Did you get a job as a result of someone you met during your United travels? Care to share??

UAL4life

As for myself, I've met a lot of my good friends on United! (though flyertalk can get some of credit for that too!)

Flyertalk One Baby! Good times...

smn

My dad is the kind of guy that will talk to anyone. He used to come home from business trips and say "Guess who I met on the plane. There was this guy who did [insert job here] and is from [intert town]. Blah blah blah". We would roll our eyes and think he was just strange for talking to anyone.

Then one day, he comes home and starts the normal story. Only this time, it turns out the guy he was talking to dated my mom right before they got married! After that, we stopped making fun of him

snod08

I made one very good friend while flying NRT-SIN on SQ (ticketed by CO).

That person is still in touch. However, they live too far away for frequent visits.

danielmhd

Interesting thread.

When I was a geeky, adolescent airline geek in the early 90's I was obsessed with United, to the extent that I exchanged many letters with the management in Chicago. This culminated in 1995 with an invitation to visit the WHQ in Elk Grove Village (Chicago area) and meet various VP's, check out the F/A training facilities, and go 'behind-the-scenes' at O'Hare. The United team was incredibly generous and accommodating with me and my family... the had a top captain come to meet me at our hotel, threw me down the emergency training slide at the airport, invited us into the emergency response center, let me spray from an enclosed-cab de-icer, and loaded me up with posters, airplane models, etc, etc. It was an airline geek's nirvana.

But the experience also taught me that United is a very large company - and that it was motivated more by corporate interests than a sense of excitement about airplanes or the interests of the flying public. I'm sure this sounds pretty obvious, but it was a disheartening revelation for a 15 year-old kid. Ironically, that trip pretty much killed my interest in working in airline administration.... or the corporate world, generally.

I should dig out the old photos from my visit! Ah, the old United.

FriendlySkies

I've met some wonderful people on UA, after joining FT. I have collected a number of business cards, and am constantly in contact with many of the people I have met ^

danM

George Gershwin...

qoodoo

PHX-ORD last flight.....E+ middle seat that I wasn't lookng forward to. Ended sitting next to a cute young lady and struck up a conversation. Found out she grew up in the same area I did and even attended the same schools. But she was 4 years younger so we never met. Helped with her carry-on and eventually got her number while walking out from the gate.

That was nearly two months ago and we've been dating ever since.

kmfdm91

Does it count if I met my wife because we both flew United into a place?

My wife and I met in Costa Rica and we both took United (when they were flying the route) from Dulles a few days apart.

We met in Costa Rica (both on vacation), I headed home, and she went back a few days later with a connection in IAD (I was based in WAS) going to ALB. I wanted her plane delayed or cancelled (I'm horrible, I know) but she made it back fine through IAD.

Needless to say, after a few-year long distance relationship, we are now both WAS based and elites together (1K last year, 2P this year ).

The interesting thing about the UA flights was that her ticket (ALB-IAD-SJO/return) was $330 and my IAD-SJO/return was over $600 - it showed me how crazy certain city pairs are and how to start getting into cheap flights

I always have United to thank for meeting my wife, albeit not on the same flight...

-jeremy

laxarrival

Met a guy at the gate once in SFO, kept in touch, went on a date - it did not go well.

Met another guy on grindr at SFO but didn't turn into anything.

Met someone at lax last week who worked at the same (small) company as a good friend of mine and they knew each other

Met another guy on grindr at LAX and we keep in touch on FB and hope to hang out next time we're in the same city

1KPath

There are a number of current and former UA employees who are like family to me (the same with a number of Hilton employees) There are a couple of former CTO agents who I get together with to go fishing every year and there are any number of FAs who have invited me to their homes (sorry, they are all married...I know their husbands and wives as well!!)...I have had one London based FA take me to Buckingham palace where her husband is some kind of protocol expert...that was a great tour!!

I have made a number of very important business contacts over the years on airplanes. I once sat next to Sen. Orrin Hatch on a flight to NRT who actually introduced a item in a sub-committee hearing because of the six hour conversation we had...and was able to break down some doors for our organization in D.C. I actually hired someone who was sitting next to me on a flight to SIN some 15 years ago...he still works for me!!...and before I was married (28 years now), I went out with a number of UA FAs when I was flying twice a week to IAD...those were the days!! ...sorry honey

The most interesting person I met on a flight has to be Peter O' Toole, who was flying from LHR to LAX for the Academy Awards. He talked my ear off...and drank me under the table (tray table)...after exchanging business cards, he sent me an autographed copy of his own personal cut of Lawerence of Arabia and a very nice note telling me to keep in touch...which I did, but he did not! Oh well, it was great while it lasted.

Considering the amount of travel I do...and have done for the last 35 years...sometime on the road 200 days per year...it is no wonder that so many of the UA family have become my family!!...and that includes a number of FTers!

mroban

I have met some really interesting people some of whom I have maintained relationships with. I have been going through a rough personal time (since I am living across the country from my children which is why I travel every weekend) and I met a very special woman who just recently had gone through a divorce and we have stayed friends since. Travel is my hobby (and now part of my routine) and I usually meet great people all over the world. Since I fly UA mostly, well, I meet alot of them as a result of UA.

and you thank Bugs Bunny for bringing Wagner into your life??

Ocn Vw 1K

UA brought FT into my life. In 2001, when UA still had 1K Rooms at major stations, a 1K concierge who recognized my frequent visits asked if I was on FT.

"FlyerTalk?? What's that?" I asked. She replied that "so many of my 1Ks are on it. You should really check it out." I did.

hoopics

My father met my stepmother sitting next to her in F on United. It was either DEN-IAD or ORD-IAD. They started up a conversation about their businesses, then exchanged numbers, then went on a date, and were married six months later. So by extension UA brought her into my life, and also brought her son (my step-brother) into my life. He and I are now as close as any blood siblings, so I do owe a huge debt of gratitude to UA for that.

(I believe I also owe the lots and lots and lots of beer over which he and I bonded in the ensuring years.)

iluv2fly

Met my current dentist in F many years ago.

He's still putting his fingers in my mouth.