There is a country 40,000 feet above the ground known as Flyland, it’s citizens are the 11.9 million people flying around the world each day while developing romances, forming friendships and indulging in food, drink, and entertainment.
Flyland is a concept brought to life by banking group HSBC which decided to looks at commercial aviation as a new global economy with GDP of $400.5 billion.
Skyland is also a place that fosters human connection.
According to HSBC, two couples meet and fall in love on the average flight. Who needs Tinder when you have Skyland?
They say with nearly 107,000 flights a day, there are plenty of opportunities to meet your perfect match.
Of course, it’s not just romantic relationships that are created in this community in the clouds.
Almost half (47%) of air travelers have started a conversation with the stranger next to them (whether the stranger actually wants to engage in this chat is a whole other issue to look at).
Of those conversations, 12% are said to have led to a lasting friendship and 13% have led to a strong business connection.
Bhutan may still be the happiest country on Earth, but the people of Flyland are overwhelmingly positive about the benefits of travel.
More than eight in 10 air travelers believe they now understand the world better with 67% claiming to be more tolerant and 63% more patient as a result of travel.
And there are personal benefits, too, with feeling more independent 77% and more confident 73% topping the list.
And if you’re wondering how these magical Flyland statistics came to be, HSBC recently commissioned BDRC to do the research.
The international ‘in air’ sample is made up of 2150 online interviews among recent flight bookers over 18 years of age, weighted to represent the universe of global international travelers by location of departure and class of travel.
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