The AvGeeks that found true love at TPG UK and Virgin Atlantic’s blind date event

Exactly one year ago on Valentine's Day 2020, when the true impact of COVID-19 was yet to be understood, The Points Guy U.K. along with Virgin Atlantic co-hosted an AvGeek blind dating event at Quo Vadis in Soho, London.

We paired up 24 single AvGeeks, plied them with cocktails served by Virgin's gorgeous cabin crew and left cupid to work his magic.

Each couple was asked after their date to tell the rest of the group why they thought they were best suited and deserved to win a rather romantic prize. Craig and Lyndsey, who had traveled to London from Wales, were voted the winners and the following weekend, they jetted off to New York, courtesy of Virgin Atlantic.

It was not meant to be, however.

"Sadly love didn’t blossom between Craig and I," Lyndsey told us. "It was a great opportunity, I loved every minute and really enjoyed meeting everyone both in the TPG U.K. and NY office plus all the other daters. The Virgin team at Heathrow and onboard were lovely as always and treated us amazingly, lots of extra desserts, plenty of Champagne and upgrades."

Whilst our winning couple didn't last the test of time, another unexpected love story unfurled. We reached out to all of our daters and it seems that whilst all of the matches that we paired together were nonstarters, two participants took it upon themselves to find love. Enter Jev Orgen and Kane Huxley.

They were not paired by us, but they gravitated towards each other at the event and left together for dinner. The rest, as they say, is history. The love grew and not only are they still together today but they have some amazing adventures planned for the future and even live together now.

Here's what Kane told us:

"Wow, a whole year — odd how it seems not that long ago but also a lot has happened since then.

As you know, Jev and I both attended the TPG and Virgin Atlantic's Valentine event last year but we weren’t actually paired as each other's blind dates. Jev’s date had to leave early to go to the gym, while mine was seemingly unaware of what an A350 was. Jev and I noticed each other, spoke and immediately clicked. Just the two of us went to dinner after the event and the rest is history! Embarking on a new relationship at the same time as the onset of a global pandemic is quite the ask, but we've seen it through and now live happily together in London.

Two weeks after we first met, we booked a business-class error fare to South America for six months later. (Only two weeks in, that was optimistic!) Although the trip was cancelled and postponed many times, we have managed to getaway a number of times. In summer, we took a trip to Cyprus with friends, I took Jev to Athens for his birthday, we also had a family trip together before Christmas to Mexico. We are extremely grateful for the amazing holidays we had during 2020 but we really did miss the ’normal service' that wasn't possible due to coronavirus restrictions.

We booked two trips as part of the incredible Virgin Atlantic Black Friday sale to fly in the new Upper Class Suite on the A350: one to South Africa and one to the USA. South Africa didn’t materialise for obvious reasons, but we are still remaining hopeful for America in the Summer.

As we met purely out of our shared love for aviation, it was disappointing to not be able to fulfil our planned year of flying. But booking flights, even if they get cancelled, is what has kept us going in the multiple lockdowns of the past year. Although I’ve always had a love for aviation, Jev has helped me develop my passion for points, alongside TPG’s amazing resources. I somehow have managed to gain Gold status on both BA and Virgin, a Companion Voucher and 100,000 Avios all within one year and during the pandemic. So at least now, we both can select 1A and 1K! I would like to use my Companion Voucher and our Avios for me and Jev to go to Japan together when we can.

We have also booked Bali for the end of the year with Turkish Airlines on its 787 to experience Jev’s favourite destination and his homeland’s airline. I’m looking forward to the onboard chef and the Baklava.

It has been an amazing, yet odd year for us. We never thought it would have played out the way it did, but we have definitely made the most of it. Thank you TPG and Virgin, we will forever be grateful to you all for putting on this event — otherwise our paths would have never crossed. We’ll let you know when you need to buy your hats.

We look forward to continuing to travel together when it is safe to do so and will always be looking at TPG for inspiration and to learn new tips and tricks."

In true TPG and Virgin style, it would only be right to treat Jev and Kane to something special. A goodie box landed at their shared home this week.

While the pandemic has forbidden us from doing another dating event this Valentine's Day, we hope to team up in the name of love and AvGeekery in 2022.