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I'm a firm believer that traveling together will tell you everything you need to know about your romantic relationship.
As a travel reporter who also happens to be single, I've put a lot of thought into what it means to travel with a partner, and over the years have established a few non-negotiables. The last thing I want is to get into a relationship with someone, then find out they're the type to clap when the plane lands.
So to avoid the devastating — and perhaps embarrassing — end of a relationship, here's what I need to know about someone before we vacation together.
There are two situations when it's acceptable to clap upon landing: if it's been a particularly rough, life-altering flight; and if you're a baby.
In the first scenario, you can put your hands together if you genuinely thought your life was in danger, and if others started clapping first. In that case, you can join in with some light applause – but please, don't start it.
The second scenario speaks for itself — it's at least kind of cute when kids do it. But if a full-grown adult claps when the flight is over, barring the aforementioned caveats, it may be too embarrassing to overcome.
Don't do that!
Without fail, when the plane is done taxiing and the seatbelt light is turned off, people spring up out of their seats to stand in the aisle.
Look, I get it. For those with tight connections, being among the last to deplane can mean missing the next flight. As for the rest of you, the door hasn't even opened yet. Where could you possibly be going?
Dating someone who does this is definitely an ick — and could potentially be a dealbreaker.
This has been a summer of abandonment. Week after week, it seems another person has made the news for leaving their spouse — or even worse, their spouse and kids — in economy while they took a first-class seat.
For me, this simply wouldn't fly. Whatever class we're in, we're in together, so either we're both living it up in business, or we're both cramped in economy. But if my boyfriend booked himself a first-class ticket and left me in coach? It's over on the spot.
I'm a lifelong window-seat fan. Daydreaming while staring out the window or leaning against the wall to take a nap are two of my go-to pastimes on a flight, and I'll willingly pay extra to nab the window seat.
Ideally, my future spouse would be a middle or aisle-seat fan, so that we could sit together without beefing over who gets the window seat.
Alternatively, he could also be a window-seat person, but let me have the best seat because we're in love or whatever.
In addition to abandonment summer, it's also been a bad-behavior summer. Passengers are absolutely losing it, with some harassing staff and others getting into "shouting matches" with crew.
Before traveling together, I'll need insight into a person's disposition and basic human decency, to ensure they won't get our flight diverted over an unabashed display of disturbing behavior.
To put it simply: Tell me upfront whether you are going to throw a tantrum over your in-flight meal.
To be fair, I don't (yet). But this isn't about speedy security.
As E! News host Justin Sylvester recently pointed out, having the designation might go a long way towards proving you're not a serial killer.
"If you date someone with TSA PreCheck, that means the government already did a little background check on them," Sylvester said on "Today." "If you have a criminal past they will not give you TSA PreCheck."
According to TSA's website, PreCheck enrollees do "undergo recurrent criminal history vetting" to keep their status — so in addition to zipping through security, you also likely have a fairly clean record.
