As global leaders prepare to board Brisbane bound flights for the G20 Summit, Wotif.com has revealed the leaders and celebrities who Australian travellers would prefer to sit beside on a plane.
Move over Angelina Jolie, John Travolta and Billy Connolly, Wotif.com Flights and Packages Executive General Manager Helen Demetriou said according to the Are you a High Flyer survey*, more Australians want to sit beside Barack Obama or Tony Abbott when asked which celeb they’d prefer as their seat neighbour.
“Surprisingly the top list of potential seat buddies includes more than just popular celebrities with Abbott making it to seventh place, just beating Obama in eighth place.”
Helen Demetriou
“Top of the wish list is Virgin founder Richard Branson, followed by the late Nelson Mandela, then George Clooney, our very own Hugh Jackman and Pink, with the Dalai Lama just beating Abbott to sixth place.
“There’s a range of reasons why people want to share armrests with Abbott, the most popular reason being to give him feedback on issues or voice opinions, followed by questions they’d like to ask the Prime Minister or to get some answers on burning questions.
“Some respondents have more cheeky reasons, with one person saying a short flight next to Abbott complete with his budgie smugglers would be a good laugh.
“The top reasons for picking Obama are quite different, with the most popular reasons including hopes of flying on Air Force One or because he’d be interesting.
“There’s no doubt sitting next to Obama on the flight to Brisbane would be something to boast about, with one respondent saying flying on Air Force One would be a check-in status worth posting and bragging about.”
Helen Demetriou
“Some respondents picked Obama to get tips on public speaking or because they want to know how he became the most powerful man on the planet. But it wasn’t all business talk – one even chose him to find out if he snores or if he is a chatterbox.
“New Zealanders were more eager to meet their prime minister, with John Key being the third most popular person Kiwis want to sit beside, following Nelson Mandela and Ritchie McCaw, but surprisingly beating celebs like George Clooney.”
Ms Demetriou said Australians revealed that honesty was the most important attribute a world leader could have, according to the latest How are you travelling survey.**
“With all eyes on the world leaders this weekend, Australians ranked honesty, passion and charisma as the three most important attributes of a leader.
“While respondents ranked a sense of humour above good looks, practicality was more important than both.”
Head to Wotif.com now to book your next flight – you never know who you might end up next to.
Aussie’s top celeb seat buddy list:
- Richard Branson
- Nelson Mandela
- George Clooney
- Hugh Jackman
- Pink
- Dalai Lama
- Tony Abbott
- Barack Obama
- Billy Connolly
- John Travolta
NZ’s top celeb seat buddy list:
- Nelson Mandela
- Ritchie McCaw
- John Key
- George Clooney
- Richard Branson
- Nigella Lawson
- Billy Connolly
- Rachael Hunter
- Barack Obama
- Johnny Depp
Most important leader attributes:
- Honesty
- Passion
- Charisma
- Practicality
- Humour
- Understanding the need for a good holiday
- Good looks
- Punctuality