6% have no qualms in admitting they're a member of the Mile High Club with Limpopo topping the stats - nearly 10% are members.
25% of female respondents over the age of 75 said they are members of this exclusive albeit controversial club, while no men in the same age group are members. However, this becomes less startling when you consider the earliest reports of the Mile High Club can be tracked back to 1916.
A further 40% of male passengers admit that they have tried and failed as opposed to 23% of women.
The survey also found that 24% of South African passengers have never heard of the Mile High Club, while 42% of women responded that the club was not for them, as opposed to 32% of men.
Travelstart has suggested a number of factors as being responsible for sexual activity in the air. One contributing factor is that the flight route between Johannesburg and Cape Town is now one of the ten busiest in the world. This could mean an increase in the number of 'flings' experienced by single passengers travelling for business.
Data analysts at Travelstart concede the survey results might be skewed a little but they put this down to men 'fibbing' about their sexual conquests at 30,000 feet, and on the other hand, women not being as forthcoming as their male counterparts about their amorousness in the sky.
The research also revealed the South African provinces home to the passengers least likely to strike up a romance while travelling. Those from KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape are least likely to indulge in midair eroticism (43% and 44% respectively), while many respondents from the Northern Cape and North West Province have not even heard of the Mile High Club (47% and 36% respectively). However, adults from Gauteng aged 35 to 44 are the most likely candidates for in flight shenanigans with 48% of the survey participants stating they are proud members of the MHC.
The Travelstart.co.za survey comes at a time when some airlines are actively encouraging passengers to strike up an aerial romance. Virgin America's latest Get Lucky at 50,000 Feet campaign is a stark example of airlines actively promoting onboard rendezvous (Sir Richard Branson's carrier has gone as far as to introduce a seat-to-seat message delivery feature to get passengers chatting and flirting), while another company in the US called Flamingo Air Inc. offers keen Casanova's the chance to book a Mile High Club flight in a "private curtained aircraft" complete with champagne, chocolate and one very discreet pilot. Whether or not we see a campaign of this nature from the likes of Mango and Kulula in the near future is still 'up in the air'.
Source: www.travelstart.co.za
