Originally Published 6/21/11
1. Don’t be late
Seems basic, yes, but more and more airlines appear to be hedging on ETAs by overestimating flight times. Do flights often get delayed? Of course. But they’re starting to actually show up early too. The last thing you want is for her to be standing there waiting after she’s just spent hours on a plane. Use a flight tracker to see where she’s at while in the air.
2. Put some effort into your look
She just got out of a pressurized, winged metal tube, and 95% of her fellow passengers were dressed in flip-flops and pajama bottoms. Don’t go overboard, but arrive in some sharp casual clothes. This getup should do. Who knows, maybe she’ll want to tell you about her trip over a cocktail on the way home. You’ll be prepared this way.
3. Meet her inside
Don’t circle the airport in your car. Make the effort to park and get to where you can see her walk out of security. Otherwise you’re just a faint smell of stale cigarettes away from being no different than a cabbie.
4. Bring Flowers
But not roses. Way too dramatic. Show up with a dozen long-stem red roses and the entire airport will be expecting you to get down on one knee to propose. Go with something less pretty and more cute like gerber daisies. They’re big, colorful, affordable, and plenty easy to find at a grocery store on the way to the airport.
5. Take her luggage
There’s a reason why it’s not called floatage. And she’s been lugging that luggage around for long enough. Now it’s your turn. Plus, she’ll be carrying the flowers. When you hand her the gerbers, don’t ask, just pick up her bags. Congrats, you’re her knight in shining armor. Or, her pack mule. One of the two.
6. Don’t expect much
Sure you’ve made the extra effort, but flying can be incredibly uncomfortable. She’s probably drained from traveling. Don’t expect her to tear her shirt off in appreciation when you hit the car.
I thought this was going to be a post about “truly picking up” a woman @ the airport – come on Dappered!
aka: How to be a beta male
Child please.
What non-sense is this about beta males, I do this for my wife, and I am far from a beta anything. This is class and it shows your lady your appreciation of her. Nice post Joe.
Initially, i thought this was going to be some lame pick up line thing (secretly saying to myself, Joe must have lost his marbles).
People looking to score “pick up” lines should rethink that IMO, those things are half hearted and ungenuine. Alpha-females (they do exist, my attorney wife epitomizes it) will shoot you down painfully and hurtfully at times. I have seen it done, her friends smell lame guys a mile a way!!!
I wholeheartedly agree with all of these tips. Almost two years ago I did most of these for a girl I’d been dating for a couple months when she flew out to Vegas to meet some friends of mine and myself. We’re now living together and will hopefully be getting engaged soon.
In general, acting like a gentleman and treating her like a lady > ‘pick up’ lines.
just one more article proving why dappered is one of the best sites around. (Still confused on why I get more out of this website in a week than I do out of GQ in a month….and its FREE! Not that, uh, you should start charging Joe.)
Just dropped off the lady at the airport at 3am this morning…a shame dappered doesn’t have an article on that…not that it would matter to read with bloodshot eyes.
I like the thought of actually going in. I’ll try that on her flight back.
Joe, I loved this article. I’m a soon to be 21 year old, and there is something to be said about being a gentleman to the lady in your life, even (especially?) at my age. Granted, my girlfriend and I have recently broken up. However, we are on good terms, I treated her kindly during and after the whole break up. I feel like kindness and being mature and gentlemanly is truly missing in a lot of people’s lives. Thanks for bringing it back, post by post.
Cheers,
Jared
Get a cab!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“maybe she’ll want to tell you about her trip over a cocktail on the way home” Do you keep a martini shaker in your glove box?
I thought this article was going to be on picking up women at the airport….not, well picking them up.
Lesson 1
People are tired and just want your car to be there once they clear luggage. You parking your car and forcing them to walk even farther is insane. Be in contact with them the moment they exit the plane and have your car waiting at a known exit.
Lesson 2
Seat them in the car first, before addressing the luggage. If it is a late night arrival, have a blanket ready and something something warm to drink if it is cold. Always have something to eat, you know they like. Basically something to nosh on, because airline food sucks and there is good chance their blood sugar is low.
Lesson 3
Put the baggage in the back, get in the car and ask “how did it go”. Leave it an open ended question that they can answer regarding the flight, the trip or just with a meh. Then just listen to them talk, women love that. Repeat every third sentence they say as a question and they will continue happy in the knowledge that someone cares about them.
Sorry the rest of that stuff up there reads like someone who has never picked someone up at an airport before.
Having traveled a lot for work this year, and my girlfriend traveling even more than I have, I would have to agree with Joe about parking first and then meeting her inside. After sitting down for countless hours in a plane the last thing I want to do is rush to the car just to sit some more. Also, my girl loves to see a familiar smiling face waiting in the lobby. And, besides flowers, mix it up a couple times and bring her favorite candy or coffee/tea/hot chocolate – a nice lemonade or arnold palmer is great during the warmer months, too. Get creative. Picking up curbside is for friends and questionable relatives, not for your lady. Plus, I hate driving around the terminal over and over until they finally arrive
Being a frequent traveler, I question one or two of the tips above but your Teachings 1,2, and 3 should be tagged to the article, How To Be A Good Limosine Driver, not How to Pick Up Your Girlfriend From Her Trip. And if you want to be a great limo driver, I think a martini shaker would be a good thing to have in the car.
Per the martini shaker: No, not in the glove box. But when I used to have my sporty ride it was in the center console in the back seat. (But of course, the intent was stopping somewhere that serves cocktails on the way home, not in the car, which as you point out, perhaps could have been misconstrued.)
It might read as crazy talk to you, but I’ve done plenty of airport pickups. And this post was written not too long after the most recent.
As far as it being insane to make people walk farther than the nearest exit? Not sure about that take. My wife seems pretty sane (although she’s married to me, so, maybe that’s a sign of crazy) and she seems to enjoy it when I meet her at security. Plus if she has to wait for checked bags, we get to see each other / talk (and that means more than just repeating every third sentence of hers) until the bags finally arrive.
But the nifty thing about this world, is that we all do stuff differently. No right or wrong really. And I have no doubt that you’ve picked up people at the airport before.
Exactly what i thought, Adam
As opposed to the alpha males, who will leave their wife/GF/SO stranded at the airport, get divorced/dumped, and spend the rest of their lives in their caves, trolling the internet about how no woman is good enough for them….
I know the terminal in that picture all too well. Joe are you from the IE?
Okay fellas… Let’s agree to disagree on this one and move on before this perpetuates into a back and forth that no one would win. Thanks for the comments…
As a woman, I appreciate this article
3 is especially thoughtful. 4 is icing on the cake!
Repeat every 3rd sentence? Really? Really??
Wow. Lmao. Expected some weird guide to getting phone numbers from all the cute girls that I see in airports.
I guess I am off base and lack a certain romanticism. For me, I associate flying with taking the bus or public transportation, but I suppose it does hold a romantic appeal for some. Also, the airport that I pick most people up from, OAK, really doesn’t have a place where you can park and enter the baggage claim area to meet them, without forcing them to walk about a mile to the parking lot. It is a pretty crappy airport compared to most cities.
I wish limousine services was as nice as what I outlined. Most of the time, when I arrange for limousine pickup, they screw it up and I end up waiting in the rain or snow for them to arrive. Las Vegas seems to be the only city that I can get decent limo service in.
Maybe this is why I suck at relationships. Yes, the every third sentence may be a bit too often, every 4th or 5th may be more like it.
I held off on reading this article because I thought to myself… What guy goes to the airport to “pick up” women?
placate much, joe?
Just in the comments section when guys look to pick fights.
Funny, I read the lead-in and assumed it was about picking up “your woman” at the airport, not picking up ANY woman at the airport. As a woman who does a whole lot of business travel, I find this To Do list to be spot-on. Don’t dress like a slob, get there early enough to go inside, act like you’re happy to have me back, pamper me a little because I’m tired and have been dealing with over-blown alpha males for weeks on end, and bring me flowers to show the men who’ve been following me off the plane and through the airport that you are the lucky one that gets to take me home!
Stumbled on this & feel compelled to comment. Who knew guys didn’t know? My husband has parked & come inside to take my bags off the carousel & kiss me since back when he was my boyfriend. Maybe it’s not so surprising that my Daddy was always waiting at the gate when I came home to visit. Oh, and I’d make bets I don’t have to explain this to my 18 year-old son the first time he picks up a girl at the airport. My guys are keepers. I’m not sure about some of you.
Nice one! Perfect ansfer for me. I (white male, 31y) have searched this toppic just to have my A game at the airport in couple of hours from now meeting my girlfriend, who’s by the way a business lady. We have been living togheder for over a year now and I still want her to feel very special.
I also liked comment about father meeting his daugher, by doing the same you putting yourself next to him and that is closest you can get to her heart. Alex
For that, consult How I Met Your Mother. Barney is an expert.
Or just be a boss and send a limo for her.
haha nice work Joe.
Reading a lot of the comments towards the top makes me realize why most girls (ahem, women, sorry) think that chivalry is dead. But I like how every female comment was like “good advice!”. Proof that you did a good job, Joe, and that your wife’s a lucky gal.
Btw I also thought this article was going to be about “picking up” hot girls at the airport haha.
haha the last one is my favorite. “Don’t expect her to tear off her shirt…” Its so nice to read something that like this that recognizes treating a woman respectfully doesn’t have to be quid pro quo. I have a 25 hour flight on thursday. Airplanes suck!
Props to Joe for writing both humorously and like an adult.
This is one of those things that really show if you’re a gentleman or not in my book. It’s fine if you can’t be bothered to do something beyond the bare minimum, but you also shouldn’t fool yourself into thinking you’re a real gentleman if you read this piece and thought ‘there’s no way I’m doing that!’
I am the frequent traveler & my wife is not. Usually I drive myself to the airport but on the rare occasion it works for her to pick me up? I am beaming when she comes inside. I can understand the sentiment of picking up at the door, car ready; it is nice to simply jump in the car, however it is not intimate (more cab or limo-like). I would gladly walk a mile to be greeted as I get off the plane. Nothing beats seeing a familiar face in a crowd of unhappy/zombie travelers. And if the dog or children are there too? Hombre, I can’t even tell you; it’s like landing at your house.
I WISH I had the opportunity to pick her up.
Thanks for the reminder of putting in a little effort into this simple task Joe.
After picking up the GF at least 3 times at the airport this year by just pulling up to the curb, I will make the effort and do all of the above.
Simple: “You have a wheelie bag? I have a wheelie bag!”
doesnt mean you are a beta male if you do this, but this article is pointless. i agree with the article, but there is still no point to it. thought this was a style site…we can find self-help stuff elsewhere…
The way I view it, this is an article about how to pick up your significant other at the airport WITH style. Therefore it’s relevant.
Lawyered.
There’s no one size fits all…There’s a huge difference between an one hour flight and a four hour flight, possible layovers, not to mention, the drive home from the airport may be ten minutes or three hours…What’s also interesting is why she fly without you? Could be quite an interesting conversation on the way home if she says “something happened out in XXX, we need to talk” lol
Go alpha, show up to the airport with her two hottest girl friends, all three of you dressed to the nines! I can assure you the ride home with the three girls will be anything but dull 😉
Since when is this what alpha means?
Since 4.09.1926, also Hugh Hefner’s birthday…
As a female who went to school and now lives several states away from where I grew up, I’m very familiar with flying and still fly pretty frequently to visit my family–and I found this article to be dead-on! Flying sucks as it is, and having someone there to greet you with flowers, ask about your trip, and carry your bags when they arrive totally beats having to drag them out to the curb yourself, locate which of the 30 cars outside is his, throw those bags in the trunk, then hop in and try to get a quick, awkward, over-the-center-console hug/kiss before the car behind you starts honking.
That doesn’t mean you have to show up in a tuxedo with a dozen roses–you’re right, Joe, it does look like a marriage proposal. If the flowers feel too ostentatious for your taste then have them waiting in the car (or just skip them if even that feels like too much for you). But making the extra effort to SHOW her you missed her, and not just tell her, lends itself far more to a confident, take-charge “alpha male” than a beta one. And if he does so while still abiding by #6 (Don’t Expect Much)? Then I can almost guarantee he’ll be getting some anyway.