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Wingman, a Tinder esque hook up app for air travellers

Wingman, a Tinder-esque hook-up app for air travellers

By Rohan Swamy | Updated: 12 February 2014 15:26 IST

In recent times, the words, 'Wingman', and 'Bro Code' have found their way through to the vocabulary of the general public, thanks to Neil Patrick Harris' memorable character of Barney Stinson on the sitcom, 'How I Met Your Mother'. However, that is not what the discussion here is about. In tech world parlance, it is 24-year-old Gabe Whaley, who is developing an app called the Wingman. If reports about the development of the app are to be believed, then it could be the next Tinder (a popular dating app), for the skies.

Whaley's app is just another example of how the digital dating landscape is evolving very fast. Remember the dating site OKCupid, and how it enabled single people to hook up with other singles in their area, or even the ridiculous SaladMatch app that let people find dates based on their salad preferences (seriously?). Wingman is going a step further, and if it does manage to skeet under Apple's strict guidance radar, the plausibility that a user is ready for a quickie in mid-air is a highly debatable topic.

Without delving too much into the nooks and crannies of the outcome of using Wingman, here is a barebones lay down on how it works: A user will be able to create a profile complete with the works: pictures, personal details and flight number. Of course, since it's a dating app, users can also mention whether they are travelling for business or pleasure (pun intended). The app will then provide the user a list of other users who use the Wingman app, and are on the same flight. It then boils down to a Tinder-esque swipe of the screen to the left or right, where you can browse through the list of fellow passengers, zero in on the potential match and even strike up a conversation via Bluetooth or the in-flight Wi-Fi. All it takes in addition to having the app (of course) is a James Bond-like persona (perhaps).

Whaley is unfazed with the attention the app is getting even before the launch. It might even be a joke and Wingman might never take off on its maiden flight either. But Whaley in an interview last week to Animal New York website says, "I'm pretty sure that at some point, anyone who's flown has had a thought, like, 'I wonder what it would be like to talk to that person', Too bad it's never going to happen, because the seating arrangement didn't provide for that." Whaley, a copywriter for Buzzfeed, began working on the app in December along with his friends. He hopes to release a beta version by April, with the full blown version coming out later this year. In the event that Apple doesn't allow the app on its iTunes App Store, he will release it as a mobile webpage.

Whether it works or not is a debate that can actually begin once the app is out in the market. Even though a lot of tech magazines and sites are highly critical of it, there is a curiosity quotient attached to it. In the interview Whaley further says, "I think it will make people curious, and you never know: someone might use it, and it might start a conversation that they might not have otherwise had. It could turn out to be really good, or really bad. Either way, I think it's really funny."

The prospect of joining the 'mile high club' might not exactly be endearing to a lot of folks. Especially if you are on an early morning flight and are fighting back sleep on the terminals only to re-embrace it later on, onboard the flight. Even then it is a fast changing digital dating landscape and if salads might help you choose a dating partner, Wingman might just get to spread its wings and fly.

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