On February 9, Lift passengers flying from Johannesburg to Cape Town were treated to a surprise in-flight book launch of Love at First Flight, written by renowned South African romance novelist Jo Watson.
Coinciding with the month of love, the launch showcased Watson’s new book, which fittingly portrays the story of an air traffic controller who enters a relationship of convenience with a pilot.
“We’re proud to celebrate our local talent, so when we were approached to launch a book with Jo at 36 000ft, our immediate response was ‘let’s do it!’ Providing a platform to Jo, an award-winning South African author, was only a pleasure, as we continue to collaborate and support SA artists and creatives. We’re passionate about uplifting local talent where we can, as well as providing our travellers with an elevated experience, which they have come to know and love Lift for,” says Jonathan Ayache, Lift CEO.
In the past, Lift has hosted several surprise inflight performances, including the Cape Town Opera during their national tour of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. Musician Divine Mahara also launched his first album, with the first-ever Lift silent disco. Schalk Bezuidenhout hosted a comedy skit and, most recently, Zolani Mahola joined Lift on a flight to treat travellers to another silent disco in the sky.
Watson graduated from the South African arts and media school AFDA and worked as a scriptwriter, director, producer and copywriter before debuting her novelist talent on the self-publishing platform Wattpad.
Shortly after, Watson’s novel Love to Hate You was published and became a bestseller worldwide. To date, her stories on Wattpad have accumulated over 60 million reads and she boasts 200 000 followers.
