Best airport for "connections": Philly

Posted by: Dean Foust on January 03, 2008

AXE, the makers of that body spray for young men, recently commissioned a survey by Sperling’s BestPlaces of which airports were the best — and which were worst — for enabling travelers to make “connections.” Meaning which are the most conducive to meeting a single member of the opposite sex. The formula for determining the “best” and “worst” is actually fairly simple: Rank the airports by those with the most frequent and longest delays, factor in the quality of the bars and restaurants at each airport — and there you go. Hopefully.

Best? Philadelphia International, where according to Sperling, 32% of all flights are delayed by an average of 60 minutes…

…getting stuck in “The Airport of Brotherly Love” gives you a chance to hang your hat in one of 16 bars and seven lounges or grab a cheese steak at one of 57 restaurants. If you’ve got an extra-long layover, impress the object of your desire with smooth moves at the airport’s magic shop…

Newark and JFK are second and third. Worst? Oakland and San Jose. Full results of the survey can be found here.

I have my doubts about the whole premise. Sperling claims that 10% of all Americans either have — or know someone who has — gone on a date with someone they either met at an airport or on a plane. I never had such luck. Many years ago as a single guy, I struck up a conversation with a cute Emory coed on a return trip to Atlanta from San Francisco. I had just bought two tickets to see Sting perform in a small venue (this was the late 1980s, when Sting was still the rage), and after a three-hour conversation on the return flight, asked if she’d like to go. She enthusiastically said yes, and we had a date.

A week later, Sting cancels — as in cancels, not reschedules — the concert. I call to relay the news and ask if she’d still like to go to dinner. Her tepid response lets me know that Sting was really the attraction and I take my cue. Sorry, but there were other women at the time that were just as interested in me as in Sting, and two years later, I married one.

But maybe it was just me. Anyone have any better luck at making an introduction on an airport or on a plane?