A flight over Los Angeles is one of the few dates in this city that is genuinely difficult to do badly, and it starts at $299 for two people over 60 minutes. One of you flies from the left seat with a certificated instructor beside you and the other rides along, both on headsets, with the coast or the city underneath. We fly a lot of anniversaries, a fair number of first dates and a steady stream of proposals, so this page covers what actually works and what does not.
If you are choosing between routes and durations rather than occasions, start with airplane rides in Los Angeles, which prices everything side by side. If you are buying this as a present rather than going yourself, our discovery flight gift page covers gift cards and open dates.
Why A Flight Works As A Date, And When It Does Not
It works because it is an hour of undivided attention in a place with no phones, no queue and nobody else in the room. Los Angeles dating is largely a logistics problem, and this one has no traffic in the middle of it. It also works because it is genuinely unusual: most people in this city have never been in a small aircraft, and the experience of taking the controls is memorable in a way a restaurant is not.
There are two situations where it does not work, and it is worth saying so.
The first is if one of you is seriously frightened of flying and has not been consulted. A discovery flight is a good treatment for a mild fear and a very bad surprise for a real one. Our page on discovery flights for nervous flyers is written for that conversation, and we run a dedicated course for it.
The second is if the person you are bringing wants to be flown rather than to fly. This is a lesson. The person in the left seat works: they hold the yoke, follow instructions and concentrate. Some people find that the best part and some would rather look out of the window. On a flight for two, the person in the back gets exactly that, so decide who wants which seat before you book rather than in the aircraft.
Proposing In A Small Aircraft: The Honest Logistics
We get asked about this often enough to have opinions. Here is what we have learned.
You Cannot Kneel
A Piper Warrior cabin is roughly the width of a small car and everyone is strapped into a four-point or lap-and-diagonal harness. There is no kneeling, no turning round in the seat and no standing. A proposal in the aircraft happens seated, side by side or from the back seat forward, with a headset on. That is not a problem, but it is different from what people picture, and picturing it wrongly is how proposals go sideways.
Everybody Hears Everything
All occupants are on the same intercom. The instructor is wearing a headset, is talking to air traffic control, and will hear whatever you say. There is no private channel between two seats that you can rely on. Plan around it rather than hoping: brief the instructor before you get in the aircraft, and they will keep quiet at the right moment and let the radio do the talking. Ask us what the intercom in your specific aircraft allows when you book.
Where The Ring Goes
In a zipped pocket on your person, not in a box, not in a bag in the back, and not handed to anyone. A cockpit floor has seat rails, control cable runs and gaps under the seats, and a dropped ring is a genuinely difficult recovery that will end the flight. Take it out seated, with both hands over your lap, and do not pass it across the cabin.
Photographs And Video
This is where most plans need adjusting. The person flying cannot photograph, the instructor is flying an aircraft in busy airspace, and a third seat on a for-two booking is not guaranteed because the aircraft's weight and balance decides it. Ask us before you assume one is available.
What works reliably: a phone or small camera on a strap held by the passenger in the back, set going before the moment rather than fumbled for during it. What works even better, and is the thing we would actually recommend: propose on the ramp after you land, beside the aircraft, with the engine off and someone standing there with a camera. You get the flight, the story and the photographs, in daylight, with nothing strapped down. Ask us and we will hold the aircraft where the light is good.
Tell Us In Advance
Not on the day at the desk. Call (818) 330-1318 when you book and tell us what you are planning. We will put you with an instructor who is comfortable with it, arrange the route so the moment happens over the landmark you want, and keep the radio and the briefing out of the way. None of that costs anything extra and all of it is the difference between a good plan and a plan that survives contact with a control tower.
Which Booking To Choose
| Booking | Duration | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery Flight For Two, Malibu Coast | 60 min | $299 | Smoothest air, sunset over the water |
| Discovery Flight For Two, Malibu Coast | 90 min | $399 | Coast and city, time to swap seats |
| Discovery Flight For Two, Downtown | 60 min | $299 | Hollywood Sign, Griffith, downtown |
| Discovery Flight For Two, Downtown | 120 min | $499 | The whole basin, or Catalina |
| Luxury Cirrus SR22 For Two | 60 min | $399 | Leather, glass panel, air conditioning |
| Luxury Cirrus SR22 For Two | 90 min | $549 | The most comfortable cabin we fly |
| Night Discovery Flight For Two | 60 min | $399 | City lights, calmest air of the day |
| Full-Motion Simulator Experience | 60 min | $189 | A first date, or a weather backup |
Weight limits are 360 lb combined for both passengers in the Piper Warrior and 400 lb combined in the Cirrus. Tell us the real figures when you book, because an aircraft over gross weight does not fly and nobody wants that conversation on the day.
If the budget stretches, the Cirrus SR22 Turbo is the one to pick for an occasion. It has leather seats, air conditioning, a glass cockpit and a side yoke, and it cruises at 215 knots, so an hour covers most of the coastline rather than a section of it.
Timing: Sunset, Night Or Morning
Sunset is the obvious answer and it earns it. The air settles as the ground stops heating, the light comes in sideways off the Pacific, and in the twenty minutes either side of sunset you get a lit landscape and a lit city at the same time. Book the aircraft slot to start about an hour before sunset, and remember that sunset here moves from about 4:50 PM in December to about 8:05 PM in June. Our sunset flight page has the month-by-month table.
Night is the atmospheric one. The city is a grid of light from the mountains to the ocean, the air is at its smoothest, and the cockpit is dark and quiet. It is $399 for two, about $100 above the equivalent day flight, and it is only possible inside our operating hours for most of the year rather than all of it. See night flight over Los Angeles.
Early morning is the underrated one. The first two hours after sunrise give the smoothest air and the clearest visibility of the day, the airport is quiet, and you are back on the ground by nine with the whole day ahead. For a first date, or for anyone anxious, this is the slot we would pick.
Anniversaries, Birthdays And First Dates
Anniversaries. The version that works best is the one where you both fly. Book 90 minutes, swap seats halfway, and you each get the left seat over a route you chose together. Two logbook entries, if you want them.
Birthdays. If the birthday belongs to someone who has always said they would like to learn to fly, this is not a gesture, it is the first lesson. Enroll in a course within 24 hours of the flight and we credit the full cost of the flight toward it, which makes a $299 present the first installment of something larger. Our guide to learning to fly in Los Angeles covers what comes next.
First dates. Two hours at an airport with someone you barely know is a lot of commitment for a first date, and the honest alternative is the full-motion simulator at $189 for an hour: same novelty, no weather, no weight limit, and you can leave when you like.
Groups. If the occasion involves more people than one aircraft holds, our groups and events page covers running several aircraft together.
What To Tell Us When You Book
- That it is an occasion, and which one. This changes how we schedule it.
- Who is flying and who is riding, and both weights honestly.
- The landmark that matters: the Hollywood Sign, Point Dume, where you met, a particular stretch of coast.
- Whether anyone is nervous, and how nervous.
- If you want photographs on the ramp afterwards, and roughly what time the light needs to be.
Related Reading
- Airplane rides in Los Angeles — every route and price in one table.
- Sunset flight over Los Angeles — how to time the light for the date.
- Malibu coast flight — the route most proposals are flown on.
- Night flight over Los Angeles — the city lit up, for two.
- Is a discovery flight a good gift — the honest answer, including when it is not.
- Unique things to do in Los Angeles from the air — other ideas from 3,000 feet.
Romantic Flight Date FAQ
Can You Propose On A Flight Over Los Angeles?
Yes, and we help with it regularly. You cannot kneel, because everyone is harnessed into a cabin about the width of a small car, and everyone including the instructor is on the same intercom. Tell us when you book and we will route the flight over the landmark you want and keep the instructor quiet at the right moment.
How Much Is A Flight Date For Two In Los Angeles?
$299 for 60 minutes for two people in a Piper Warrior, $399 for 90 minutes and $499 for 120 minutes. The Cirrus SR22 for two starts at $399, and a night flight for two is $399. There is no tax, fuel surcharge or booking fee on top.
Can Someone Photograph The Proposal?
The person flying cannot, and the instructor is flying the aircraft. A third seat on a flight for two is not guaranteed, because weight and balance decides it, so ask us first. The reliable version is to propose on the ramp beside the aircraft after landing, with someone there with a camera.
Do Both People Get To Fly?
On a 90 or 120-minute booking, yes. One person flies from the left seat, and there is time to swap so the other flies as well. On a 60-minute booking there is normally only time for one person to fly properly, and the other rides with a headset and the same view.
What Is The Best Time Of Day For A Romantic Flight?
Sunset, for the light and the settled air. Book the aircraft slot to start about an hour before sunset. Night flights are the most atmospheric and have the smoothest air, and early morning is the smoothest and clearest slot of all if either of you is nervous.
What Is The Weight Limit For A Flight For Two?
360 lb combined across both passengers in the Piper Warrior and 400 lb combined in the Cirrus SR22. These are aircraft loading limits rather than policy, so give us the real figures when you book rather than on the day.
Book A Flight Date Over Los Angeles
The Malibu Coast discovery flight for two at $299 is the one we would book for an occasion, and the Cirrus SR22 for two at $399 is the upgrade worth paying for. If you are planning a proposal, call (818) 330-1318 and talk it through with us before you book, any day from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM, or book a free consultation. We are at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Van Nuys, CA 91406, on Van Nuys Airport.