Plain daft idea or not, you have to take your hat off to Dutch air carrier KLM for getting 5-star publicity following the announcement of a new system that will allows passengers to share each others’ social media profiles.

The airline is calling the service Meet & Seat, which will give customers the option to choose where they want to sit based on the Facebook and Twitter profiles of fellow passengers.

KLM is due to launch the tool sometime during 2012. However, it isn’t technically the first carrier to embrace social media in this way, as Malaysia Airlines is known to have plans for a service on much the same lines.

Both systems will work on an opt-in basis, although there has also been no clear indication as to whether either airline will charge for the service.

Several PR industry commentators have already branded the tool as a new step forward for social media, especially in the areas of business networking and online dating.

However, we’re not entirely convinced, as we believe that most passengers prefer to keep themselves to themselves during a flight and will view the idea as nothing more than a novelty.

Nevertheless, the new service is certainly an interesting concept that has set tongues wagging on TV and in the national newspapers.

So on PR merit alone we’d have to give KLM a big thumbs up for generating the kind of publicity that is sure to boost bookings during a difficult time for the airline industry.