I like being seated first on a plane for one reason: the anticipation of who will sit next to me as I settle in and begin to watch the procession of passengers march down the isle. I don’t ever analyze the people that aren’t already looking at their tickets to double-check their seat numbers. Like everyone else these people already know exactly where their seats are, and usually have a ways to march before they nervously take out their boarding pass to delay eye contact with their pre-selected neighbor until the last minute. On a flight with unassigned seating, people check their boarding passes anyways; as if a seat number will magically appear, saving them the dreaded decision. Typically people are more prone to favor predestination on airplanes, in which case if they end up becoming acquaintances, friends, or even lovers with their seatmate, it can be blamed on the airline. Personally, I’d rather the person that I’m going to be sitting with for the next 4-6 hours have a choice in the matter, although there is a lot more guesswork involved if you do happen to have an attractive person pre-assigned to you. Read More »