Air Travelers Dish on Dream Celebrity Seat-Mates

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Oct. 3, 2011) - One of the few drawbacks of flying solo is not knowing who you'll end up sitting beside. No one wants to get stuck next to the chatterbox, the too-much-cologne guy or the person who falls asleep on your shoulder. But imagine being seated next to Justin Beiber, Donald Trump or Kate Middleton. Would that be a dream flight or your worst nightmare?

FlightNetwork.com, one of Canada's largest online travel agencies, polled 780 respondents in its most recent State of Air Travel poll, this time seeking to find out which celebrities Canadians would most want to be seated next to on a plane.

Among Canadian celebrities, chanteuse Celine Dion was the favourite, receiving 23.7% of the vote. Dion was followed closely by environmentalist David Suzuki, who came in second with 19.5%. Popular comedian Russell Peters rounded out the top three with 15.4%. Among the least popular Canadian seat-mates were pop star Justin Beiber with only 3.2%, and former media mogul Conrad Black at the bottom with 1.7% of the vote.

When asked about our neighbouring celebs, talk show guru Oprah Winfrey was the US favourite by a landslide, earning 38.3% of votes, coming in well above President Barack Obama, who came a distant second with 19.5%. Actress/comedienne/writer Tina Fey rounded out the top three, while mogul Donald Trump came second-last with only 4.1%.

Meanwhile, across the pond, the Queen may be unwilling to relinquish the throne, but she's been unseated in popularity by her successor, the Duchess of Cambridge, at least in Canada. According to FlightNetwork.com's poll, 22.6% of respondents would love to sit next to Kate Middleton on a flight, compared with the Queen, who finished third with 15.9% of the vote. Chef Jamie Oliver was sandwiched between them, in second with 16.2%. Comedian Russell Brand was the least favourite international option, coming last with 5.6%.

About FlightNetwork.com (www.flightnetwork.com)

As one of Canada's leaders in online travel, FlightNetwork.com delivers the lowest airfares from the top airlines by offering consumers access to over 2 million bulk rates on cheap flights negotiated with major airlines. Its proprietary flight booking engine offers last second booking and the exclusive ability to 'mix and match' fares – the only Canadian online travel agency that allows booking on different airlines for departure and return flights to get the lowest fares possible. Backing up Flight Network's award winning online service are over 120 insightful travel specialists in the FlightNetwork.com call centre who ensure that customers successfully book the best travel deals.

FlightNetwork.com's Price Drop Protection plan is a unique, free program, exclusive to FlightNetwork.com customers on all economy flights. Price Drop Protection allows consumers to track price drops after they buy and, when a price drop occurs, lock in the savings. They then receive the difference between the base price of the flight and price drop. The Price Drop Deal is unlimited on domestic flights and up to $100 on USA and international flights.

FlightNetwork.com CEO Naman Budhdeo was recently named to the 2010 top 40 under 40 awards, presented by The Globe and Mail and The Caldwell Partners. The awards recognize the leadership, vision and achievement of Canada's young leaders.