Pair to meet after flight lights spark

It turns out love might just be in the air after the mystery hunk on a plane in seat 17C has been found and a date lined up with the woman from 17B.

This week the man took a seat on an Air NZ Auckland to Wellington flight next to a woman, who was quickly taken by the handsome stranger.

Kind, chatty and dapperly dressed, he left her wanting to know more about him.

That led the woman’s sister — who was on the same flight with her 8-month-old baby — to contact the Herald asking for help finding the man. “Everyone loves a love story, and we were hoping this could be the start of a Christmas romance,” the woman’s sister said.

Now, thanks to Air New Zealand, the man has been found. And although he did not want to give his name, passenger 17C wants to go on a date with passenger 17B.

“I really enjoyed meeting the two lovely sisters,” he told the Herald. “They seemed sweet and caring.”

As well, the woman in 17B had a great personality and was pretty, blonde and fun to chat to, he said.

She lives in Ponsonby where the man had recently moved from Wellington.

The woman in 17B was excited about the date but also embarrassed by the fuss, her sister said. She was notoriously picky, and so it was a big deal for her to be interested in a man.

Her family were keen for her to meet someone nice, but were also realistic that, although the pair shared a great conversation at 30,000ft, there were no guarantees any romance would take off on terra firma.

The man in 17C’s family-minded character was initially what piqued her interest during flight NZ0441.

Seeing the two women travelling with a baby, he had offered them his aisle seat in case it would be easier to care for the young one.

He also told the sisters he was going to see his mum for Christmas because most of his brothers and sisters were in Australia.

And it was his mum who first spotted the story featuring her son.

“She was the one who first saw the article and called me up laughing,” he said. “The eight brothers and sisters was a dead giveaway.”