American Way (American Airlines) Magazine

Mondo Times editors    Boulder, Colorado USA

Posted at 1:35am on Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

A poll of readers of American Way, the in flight magazine of American Airlines, shows that when on a first date, 66% of them will decide in just a half hour whether they will see the other person again. Sixteen percent say they make the decision in the first five minutes, and another five percent of total respondents know "immediately."

The findings were reported on September 14, 2009.

The survey, conducted jointly by the magazine and specialty dating service It's Just Lunch, found that 22% of the respondents would give the other person a bit more time - one hour, total. Only 13% of respondents would give their date more than one hour to make the cut for the second date.

Particularly speedy was the 21-39 year old sub-set of survey-takers, a full 20% of whom need only 5 minutes. The 40-49 year olds are slightly more patient, with 33% allowing their dates more than one hour to make a second date-worthy first impression. Keeping things balanced, however, was the fact that the men and women seemed to take about the same amount of time to size each other up.

What factors are these singles taking into consideration during that time period, which might sway them in one direction or another? The majority of respondents - 54% - cited "No physical attraction." "Lack of personality" was selected by 48% of respondents; "Boring conversation" by 46%; "No shared interests" by 39%; and "Different outlook on life" by 38%.