travelling-blogger

comments

A young couple's love has reached new heights after they got engaged in front of dozens of strangers on board a plane over Texas.

Keegan Johns, 23, surprised his 21-year-old girlfriend, Molly Burns, with a heart-warming proposal that was caught on camera at 33,000ft.

The stunned bride-to-be smiled, laughed and said 'Yes' before the couple embraced each other in the aisle as passengers applauded and cheered. 

Will you marry me? Keegan Johns proposed to his girlfriend, Molly Burns, on a Southwest Airlines flight

Happy couple: Keegan Johns and Molly Burns met in 2010 when they worked together at a restaurant

Keegan, an investment specialist, popped the question while the Southwest Airlines plane was flying from Dallas to Houston on Saturday.

But Molly, a team leader with a cosmetics company, caught on just before the mid-air proposal when Keegan handed her a card with a sweet note written inside.

She told MailOnline Travel: 'I had no idea he was going to propose. He told me he had to go to the bathroom. But before he got up he tossed me a card and said, "I got this for you, read it right now".

'I thought it was thoughtful of him to write me a card. When I read it I knew he wasn't really in the bathroom.' 

Young love: Keegan decided to pop the question at 33,000ft because of Molly's love for planes

Molly added: 'I got really nervous and red because I don't like being the centre of attention, so I thought, "Cr**, he's gonna do it in front of all these people."

'I was shaking but obviously happy. Then he came on over the intercom.'

When Keegan returned to his seat he dropped to one knee and asked Molly for her hand in marriage. Passengers offered their congratulations and asked to see Molly's engagement ring.

In love: Molly says she caught on to Keegan's plan once he handed her a card and got out of his seat

The pair first met in 2010 when they worked together at a restaurant but they didn't spend time together until January of this year after Molly contacted Keegan on Facebook. Their relationship blossomed from there.

Molly has long had a love for aeroplanes and aeronautics, so she suspected Keegan's eventual proposal might involve planes.

The couple, from St Louis, was travelling to Houston to watch an air show featuring the Blue Angels, the US Navy's flight demonstration squadron - equivalent of the British Red Arrows. 

Keegan said: 'Molly loves airplanes. At one point she thought she might be a pilot even. So we were on our way to an air show in Houston, Texas, to see the Blue Angels. Molly thought that I would propose to her there, I'm sure.'

The couple was travelling to Houston for an air show featuring the US Navy's flight demonstration squadron

Keegan planned the proposal in advance and had a little bit of help from Southwest Airlines staff. 

Before boarding the plane he informed the flight attendants of his plans and they made sure a bottle of champagne was on hand when Molly accepted his proposal. 

When the plane landed in Houston the couple was greeted by Keegan's excited relatives, who brought a homemade sign reading: 'Welcome Molly to the crazy Johns family'.

The couple has been flooded with messages from well-wishers and the proposal has received plenty of attention after it was covered by media in the US.

Keegan said: 'All the attention from our proposal has been very interesting. I asked Molly to marry me on a plane because I want to show her off and tell as many people as possible that I love her. So this extra unintentional attention is only helping my cause.'

Molly added: 'We never thought people would care this much. It makes us feel special. Plus, we have the best proposal story ever.'