Valentine’s Day is a day of love, affection, and romance. For many couples, it is a time for romantic getaways and whirlwind adventures, while for singles — well, it is a reminder that they are still single.
If you are one those lucky ones to have a Valentine, do you have any upcoming date night plans? If so, just how long are you willing to wait for your date? 10 minutes? 30 minutes?
Well, how about 3 hours?
Just for fun, we at AirHelp recently put together a survey to find out what people’s plans are for this Valentine’s Day — and find out exactly how long people are willing to wait for that special date. Is it less time — or more — than they’d wait for a delayed flight?
Love Plans
We surveyed participants across the US and across several EU countries and found that Valentine’s Day is actually a pretty divisive holiday — some choose to celebrate it, while others don’t celebrate it at all.
The results were fairly even — out of the 2,700 people surveyed, about 31% of participants said that they planned on going on a date this Valentine’s Day, while about 37% said that they had no plans at all!
British couples are among those who are most likely to plan something special with a loved one, with almost 50% of respondents saying that they are going out on a date. On the other hand, American and German respondents are decidedly less romantic — with only 26% and 21% respectively choosing to make plans.
Who knew that the UK was so romantic?
Love Waits
For those who do plan on going on a date, punctuality is, of course, important. After all, you made special plans for Valentine’s Day, so you want your date to be on time. But most of us are willing to give our lovers a bit of leeway — the general consensus is that it’s okay to be up to 30 minutes late for a date. That’s a pretty reasonable timeframe.
However, some respondents are a bit more patient — about a third of our survey participants said that they are willing to wait for up to an hour, while about 10% said that they can even wait for up to 3 hours! Now that’s patience! If this were a delayed flight, having to wait for 3 hours or more is already enough to get you up to €600 in compensation.
Of course, different countries have different opinions on just how late you can be for a date. The British for example, are among the most patient daters — up to 12.5% say that they are actually willing to wait up to 3 hours for their date to arrive.
Unsurprisingly, Germans are the least patient — only 5.2% say they would wait for a date for that long. If you are dating someone from Germany, be sure that your time management skills are up to par because punctuality there is serious business!
Love Travels
Some couples go the extra mile and actually travel for Valentine’s Day — about 10% of survey participants say that they made travel plans, probably to take their partners out on an unforgettable, romantic holiday.
Unfortunately, even with the most careful planning, things can go wrong. In fact, in 2018, more than 4,000 flights on Valentine’s Day alone were either delayed or canceled. About 108 of those flights experienced delays of up to three hours or more, which is enough to receive compensation. Now, that’s a lot of ruined romantic plans!
After all, a delayed flight is not just lost hotel bookings or forfeited concert tickets — it’s time that you miss out on with the one you love.
If this happens to you, don’t let Valentine’s blues get you down. Your flight may qualify for compensation under the EU regulation, EC 261. While money can’t replace lost time, you can at least still recover some of your expenses. You can check just how much you may be owed with AirHelp’s handy eligibility checker.
If you were flying out to meet your Valentine and but ended up 3 hours late for your date due to a flight delay, you just might need that compensation to console you. After all, only 10% of dates will be waiting! You may as well use that money and take yourself out on a date.
Happy Valentine’s Day from the AirHelp team! ❤️✈️
Flight delays happen, but that doesn’t mean you have to accept them. You may be entitled to a much as $700 in compensation if your flight was delayed, canceled, or overbooked within the last three years.
Feature image by 3dman_eu on Pixabay
