if only walls could join Facebook too...

Give them wings...

Love pangs, aches of longing and distance-sickness... these are the symptoms. What's the cause? Kilometers. Lots of them. It's been a long time since the lovers last saw each other and every second that goes by the kilometers feel progressively more like light-years.

Aircrafts fly, so do UFOs (that's what the F stands for...), birds and insects too but humans are not known to have the physical capacity to displaces themselves over long distances via flight. Having confirmed (telephonically) that both James and Tatjana are human beings, it is apparent that neither of the two can pop over for a visit without some kind of flying mobeel such asmaybe an aeroplane (for example...).

The Valentines Airlines Group on Facebook is over 1800 people strong today and as much as that sounds super fantastic the truth is that no airline has taken the bait. James and Tatjana are small-fries and as much as their little advertising strategy is already worth more than a return ticket it seems that they haven't had much luck with their proposals. It is (in retrospect) clear as daylight that it would make more sense for a small company in need of publicity (with strings to pull in the aviation industry) to take advantage of this offer. The couple has come to a seemingly dead end.

Thumbs are being held... empty in-boxes are frequently checked and hope is still around but reality has struck. The race against time seems to be getting the better of this little quest. Regardless of the outcome, the love-struck long-distancers are blown away by the amount of support they have received from Valentines Airlines. The emails, the forwarded friends requests, the posts and the team-spirit. If for nothing else, Valentines Airlines is a success and will continue to grow and gain support for long-distance lovers.

watch this space...

Love is in the air

Or at least it will be. Two and a half weeks into the Valentines Airlines Quest on Facebook the group numbers seem to be at roughly one hundred new members per day. On the contrary to the couples expectations the numbers keep coming.
Having collected 1566 supporters, Valentines Airlines is clearly gaining momentum. Certain airline companies have replied to the couple with "we're looking into it" and others seem to have been consumed by the black hole of cyber-space. Having given the concept some more thought, Tatjana and James have decided to also approach smaller travel-agencies that might benifit more from the advertising than massive airline companies. Either way... time is ticking and group-members are accumulating and time's ticking.

Group members wait in anticipation to see what will be of this long-distance couple on Valentines day as they invite more and more friends to join the cause. Will they be together? Who will re-unite them?

Join Valentines Airlines on Facebook and invite all your friends to join and see what becomes of this beautiful cause over the next few days. It's bound to be an exciting week at Valentines Airlines...

One reply... a couple more to go

(Today's Barcelona sunset)

It's phenomenal, Valentines Airlines continues to grow at roughly 100 members/ day. This Wednesday the group has hit an all-time high of 1 324+ members. As the numbers continue to break previous records so the work continues on the airline companies.

Feedback has finally seen daylight as one of the six airliners has sent the couple a reply. Virgin has given Valentines Airlines thumbs down. Unfortunate but true.

It would be easy to mistake this fact for bad news but quite on the contrary the couple's hopes are higher than ever before. They realize that they managed to get their message to the people they hoped to reach. Having sent a proposal to almost every individual at the Richard Branson office a polite and friendly reply finally made its way to Tatjana's inbox this evening.

Energy continues to flow in the general direction of the airline companies as yet another sunset comes and goes on opposite sides of the globe. Group-members are ever hopefull and inspiring with their words of support and colleagues continue to invest optimism in their love-struck employees. This is bound to be an interesting week at Valentines Airlines on Facebook.

1 200 on a Tuesday night

Another sunset comes and goes around the world. James' in nature with crickets and the odd animal call for a soundtrack while Tatjana's is in an office with loud traffic in the streets down below. Both sunsets are breath-taking but faaaaaaaaaaaar apart.

For the first time it seems that reality has struck. James and Tatjana have woken up to the fact that their efforts may be met with only emptiness from the airliners. The possibility that they might not see each other for an even longer stretch of time weighs heavily upon them as their love-pangs intensify.

It is obvious with the agreement of an airline company will come more group members but at this stage all the couple have is empty hopes. The Valentines Airlines group on Facebook, in an attempt to recruit 10 000 members in exchange for a return ticket from Barcelona to South Africa is at 1 200+ members and the airline companies are taking their time in responding to the proposal.

The clock seems to tick louder and louder every second as the waiting continues. The leads for contact details are running dry and Valentines Day is approaching. If only someone would lend them a hand... offer them a lead, a number, an email address with a YES behind it.

Happy Monday in faraway lands

Having survived yet another long-distance weekend, the couple is off to an optimistic start as the sun shines over both Skukuza and Barcelona.

The Valentines Airlines Facebook proposal has finally been sent to the contacts that have been collected over the past few weeks and finally the ball is in the airlines' court. The couple waits in anticipation to see who will be the first airline to offer them the flight that will bring them together over the Valentines Period.

Virgin Atlantic have been the first to respond with words of support as they look into the matter but no deal has been made just yet.

Valentines Airlines is 992 members strong one and a half weeks into its existence. If each member recruits another ten this week, the numbers will exceed the expected 10 000 in no time and so the only variable in this quest will be which airline comes to the party first. It's an exciting week in the life of James and Tatjana and all at Valentines Airlines.

A Sunny Saturday on opposite sides of the world

The lack of internet in Tatjana's apartment and the void that replaces James' stolen computer have had a massive impact on their previously daily skype chats. What initially seemed to be hunger has turned into shivers and temporary memory-loss. In speaking to coworkers, relatives and house-mates on both ends of the globe it has become evident that their symptoms of missingness are worsening once again. It's obvious that weekends tend to be harder on the couple as they spend more time pondering the meaning of distance.

The Valentines Airlines Group on Facebook, in an attempt to attract enough attention to acquire a free return ticket from Barcelona to South Africa over the Valentines period appears to be what keeps James and Tatjana going in their distant lands. The group is 877 members strong today and growing. If each member recruits 11 more members the numbers will be strong enough for the airlines to offer a free flight.

As the same sun beats down on both James and Tatjana on separate continents, their minds are flooded with thoughts of distant lands, Richard Branson and Valentines Airlines...