A new and horrifying way to keep “undesirables” away so that we can become even bigger jackasses–airport seating based on social network profiles. From Nicola Clark’s smart piece in the New York Times:

“This month, the Dutch carrier KLM began testing a program it calls Meet and Seat, allowing ticket-holders to upload details from their Facebook or LinkedIn profiles and use the data to choose seatmates.

The concept is a step beyond the not always successful efforts a few years ago by some airlines — including Air France, Virgin Atlantic and Lufthansa — to build ‘walled’ social networks out of their existing frequent flier memberships.

‘For at least 10 years, there has been this question about serendipity and whether you could improve the chances of meeting someone interesting onboard,’ said Erik Varwijk, a managing director in charge of passenger business at KLM. ‘But the technology just wasn’t available.’

Relative latecomers to the social media party, airlines are quickly becoming sophisticated users of online networks, not only as marketing tools, but as a low-cost way to learn more about their customers and their preferences.”

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Aisle seat next to a penguin, please: