Love was in the air this weekend -- very high in the air.
In a moment made for a Delta commercial, Chicago resident Arvin Shandiz proposed to his girlfriend, Hyde Park-native Alexandara Williams, Friday while their flight from Chicago to New York hung 32,000 feet somewhere over Pennsylvania.
The couple first met on a January 2010 Delta flight from LaGuardia to O'Hare Airport. They returned to Chicago on Sunday when Delta surprised them with a free honeymoon trip, Delta Official Leslie Parker said.
A YouTube video shows Shandiz on the loudspeaker proposing mid-flight, and an emotional Williams a few rows back clearly aware of what her boyfriend is up to.
“Good evening everyone, my name is Arvin, and I’m on this flight with a beautiful young lady I met almost two years ago flying Delta Air Lines," Shandiz said over the loudspeaker. "From the moment that I met her that night, I knew I never wanted to spend a second without her. Alex, you’re the most beautiful girl in the world, and you make me so incredibly happy. So would you marry me?”
Williams said yes, and the cabin erupted in applause. As an added bonus, Delta offered free champagne to everyone on board.
Shandiz contacted Parker, who filmed the video, a few weeks ago and informed her of his plans to propose, Parker said.
“I had no idea what was happening,” Williams, who’s studying occupational therapy at Rush University, told the Chicago Sun-Times.
“I told her we were going to see my brother’s new baby in New York,” said Shandiz, an options trader.
“It was magical to say the least, and it’s been a fairy tale from the moment we met,” said Williams.
