$1,900 to have sex on an airplane? The rise, the risks and the business of high-altitude couplings

In September, a British couple was arrested when their flight landed in Ibiza: they’d been caught having sexual relations in the plane’s bathroom. The dalliance wound up in the media, the dastardly duo in the hands of justice… and their fate on social media, thanks to the various fellow passengers who recorded the moment that the flight attendant opened the bathroom door.

But is there a specific regulation or a manual of conduct that provides a protocol for airplane crews in the case of a couple who decides that their plane is the ideal place to make love? Anantxa, a 32-year-old flight attendant, says: “Not really. If they are in the lavatory, you have to make sure that there are only two people, because there are only two [oxygen] masks [in case of cabin depressurization]. There have been times when people have tried to get three people into the same lavatory, it happened to us on a flight between Madrid and Santo Domingo. What we do in those cases is kindly invite them to return to their seats, for their own safety,” she tells EL PAÍS.

A 2016 study by JetCost — an app that compares flight, hotel and rental car offers — found that 14% of Spanish cabin crew members have had sex with a passenger on a plane, a percentage that rises to 21% when they were asked about couplings with fellow crew members. Popular culture has imparted a certain mystique to having sex at high altitudes. In Rich and Famous (1981), it was portrayed as glamorous. In Snakes on a Plane (2006) it was thrilling, and in 365 Days (2020) it was arousing, desirable. A former flight attendant named Mandy Smith, who worked for Virgin, Richard Branson’s airline, made it clear in her memoir Cabin Fever that sex on board an airplane is far from limited to the world of fiction. “My suitcase was like a traveling sex shop,” she confessed in the book.

The mile high club

To become part of the so-called mile high club, you don’t need to pilot a plane. All it takes is climbing aboard a fellow passenger and having sexual relations, at least once. The club even has its own website, where those who have decided that orgasms are better midair proudly share their experiences. One woman named Mrs. Poppy says that her first time on an airplane was with her husband, who was also the flight’s captain. “I was flying to Frankfurt from Colombo with my three children and husband. I have always heard [of] people having sex on board and it was my dream to experience the adventure of making love at 35,000 feet. For our luck [sic] they had the crew rest which each pilot [got] to rest for few hours… He took the first lap […] We had amazing sex. Trust me with 300 passengers on board I had to switch my sound of music cos [sic] we had to be decent in an indecent manner. I am glad I did experience [sic] making love on board,” she writes.

Kris Jenner preferred to tell her story directly to Cosmopolitan. “I was with [her partner, who would later come out as a trans woman, Caitlyn Jenner] on a commercial airliner in first class. We joined the mile high club and felt we got away with it. We had sex in the bathroom and we came out and nobody said anything. At the end of the flight, the flight attendant got on the microphone, ‘Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Jenner! You’ve just joined the mile high club. We’re so proud of you, and we decided to give you a bottle of champagne! Yay!’ I could not squish down in my seat low enough. I was mortified.”

But why do so many people think that sex in an airplane bathroom, a priori a small and uncomfortable space, is worthy of being attempted and then shared with the world? “Adrenaline comes into play, it’s the risk hormone and is immensely addictive, as it intensifies physical and emotional sensations,” says psychologist Lara Ferreiro. “Orgasms are intensified because of the low atmospheric pressure, while the sensation of danger excites many.”

Such are the legions of people who fantasize about having relationships up high that there are now companies that have been formed to take advantage of their desires. The best-known is Love Cloud, a company that offers flights (for now, only in Las Vegas) to celebrate weddings, anniversaries, Valentine’s Day, birthdays or other “special occasions.” According to its website, it provides “an exclusive escape into the clouds, providing a serene backdrop for love to unfold.” Its three packages range from $995 for a 30-minute flight to $1,895 for a one-hour flight. Each passenger receives a card and a certificate signed by the pilot indicating that he or she is now a member of the mile high club. If in the past, having sex on the plane was something to keep secret, today is it worthy of decoration.

Although the majority of those who reserve the services of Love Cloud are couples, the company has on occasion been booked by groups of three or four people. In exchange for an additional fee of $200 per person, it’s possible to bring your polyamory sky-high. On the flights, a mattress on the floor, red satin pillows and a curtain separating the bedroom from the pilot (who wears noise-canceling headphones) sets the scene. In addition, those hiring the service can bring their own playlists for the airplane’s sound system. Still not convinced? If despite all this, what you really want is just a simple flight with your partner in a romantic ambiance, sans the exchange of fluids, Love Cloud also offers a romantic date option in which sex is prohibited.

Which brings us back to the episode with which we opened this article. As exciting as sex in the air may seem, it is important to take into account the laws of the country where the plane is registered. Prevailing regulation explains the arrest of the British couple: according to Article 71 of the United Kingdom’s Sexual Offenses Act, it is illegal to have sex in a public bathroom. In Spain, having sex on an airplane is only a crime if you leave the bathroom door open, as that would incur penalties for exhibitionism and sexual provocation. Anyone looking for sexual turbulence, therefore, must attend to the law. Call it geopolitics, if you will.

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