It's a date: Auckland's mystery hunk from seat 17C has been found

A simple Auckland to Wellington flight could be the start of a Christmas romance for one young pair. Photo / File

It could be time to get out the mistletoe - Auckland's mystery hunk from seat 17C has been found and a date looks on the cards.

The man earlier this week took a seat on an Air NZ Auckland to Wellington flight next to a woman, who was quickly taken by the handsome stranger.

Kind, chatty and dapperly dressed, he left her longing to know more about him once they parted ways after the short flight.

That led the woman's sister - who was on the same flight with her eight-month old baby - to contact the Herald asking for help finding the man.

"Everyone loves a love story, and we were hoping this could be the start of a Christmas romance," the woman's sister said.

Now - thanks to Air NZ - the man has been found.

And while he did not want to give his name, we can confirm passenger 17C wants to go on a date with passenger 17B.

"I really enjoyed meeting the two lovely sisters," he told the Herald.

"They seemed sweet and caring."

The woman, in particular, had a great personality, was pretty, blonde and fun to chat to, he said.

The woman also lived in Ponsonby where the man had also just moved to after earlier living in Wellington.

Asked whether he already had a nice cafe or restaurant in mind for a date, he said not yet, but maybe he and the woman could go for a wander and see what caught their eye.

The woman was secretly excited but also embarrassed by the fuss, her sister said.

She was notoriously picky, and so it was a big deal for her to be interested in a guy.

That is why her family were keen for her to meet someone nice, her sister said.

But they were also realistic that - while the pair shared a great conversation at 30,000ft - there were no guarantees a romance would automatically take off once the couple met on terra firma.

The sister also said comments on Facebook accusing the woman of being a stalker were way off the mark.

"It's not like she wants to marry him or anything - it wasn't meant to be like that.

"It was more like, he's a really nice guy and they both live in the same area in Auckland and it would be cool to go for a drink."

The mystery man's family-minded character was initially what caught the woman's eye during their shared Air NZ flight NZ0441 together.

Seeing the two women travelling with a baby, he offered them his aisle seat in case it would be easier to care for the young one.

He was also very chatty during the flight and told them he was going to see his mum for Christmas because most of his brothers and sisters were in Australia.

"My mum did a good job raising me," he told the Herald when advised what had helped him catch the woman's eye.

And it was his mum, who also first spotted the story featuring her son.

"She was the one who first saw the article and called me up laughing," he said.

"The eight brothers and sisters was a dead giveaway."