'Plane' Speaking: In-Flight Networking

Now, I'm far from being a billionaire, but planes have always been one of my favorite places to network. Admittedly, chances of success increase when you're in business or first class, but you never know. Quite a few business moguls make it a point of honor to travel coach, and many companies have policies that require their executives to fly coach on short distances. Some flights simply have no assigned seating, which was the case on the Delta Shuttle I took from New York to Boston a few months ago.

As I boarded that flight, I let my eyes scan over the seated passengers. On these flights, I often board last, so as to have the most choice in seating companions. I selected my flight neighbor: Wearing a suit (presumably a business person), sitting alone (easier to approach), and reading a book (as opposed to huddling over a laptop or report). After a few tries, the conversation took off. As it turned out, the gentleman was a Managing Director from of my target companies. A few follow-up e-mails later, we had lunch. Over the following weeks, I introduced him to a few contacts of mine who could help him expand his network. Three months later, he arranged a private lunch for me with his company's national manager, whose division happened to need my services.