(Source: Wired & The New Zealand Herald)

Love is in the air — Air New Zealand, that is. The Kiwi carrier has launched Matchmaking Flight to bring lonely travelers together. After all, what better way to get to know The One than sharing a 13-hour flight on your first date?

If you aren’t up for a blind date, you can try meeting that special someone on the airline’s Matchmaking Flight website, a social networking where passenger can meet and interact in the safety of cyberspace before meeting at the terminal. That could keep you from getting matched with that sketchy guy in Seat 35B who keeps mentioning the mile-high club.

In a new venture, coined “love at first flight”, the airline says it is aiming to help single Americans find New Zealand dates with a themed flight headed for a dual hemisphere singles party.

It’s almost a given that the first flight will depart from Los Angeles International Airport on Oct. 13. The journey of love, which is an enticing overnight flight, begins with a pre-flight party at the Air New Zealand Lounge. What happens next is up to you. Upon landing, passengers will dance away their jet lag at the Grand Matchmaking Ball at Auckland’s SkyCity Grand hotel. The whole package starts at $780 per person.

Register on the website and you can look for love in categories that include American boyfriend, Canadian girlfriend, Kiwi friend, and, our favorite, “business contact. The airline says 75 people have signed up. They’re about evenly split between North Americans and Kiwis. Men and women are also equally represented. Air New Zealand hopes passengers will be in a romantic mood just thinking about their destination.