Whose time zone does the countdown use?

It uses the clock on the phone of whoever opens the page. Set the landing time as it will be on their side, and the countdown reaches zero when you actually arrive.

Can I use it if I am driving or taking a train?

Yes. The pass and the plane are a bit of fun, not a rule. Pick your two cities, set the day you arrive, and the page works the same.

Building and previewing is free and private, with no account, and only you can see it until you send it. Sending it is $9.99, once, for a link that works forever.

Can I change the date if my plans move?

Yes. Use the edit link in your email to change the day or time, and their link stays the same.

Occasion

Tell your long distance partner you're coming: a surprise visit reveal

Q: Is the flight number on the pass real?

No. The flight number, gate and seat are made up from your names and cities. It is a keepsake, not a real itinerary, so you are not sharing your actual booking details.

Booking the flight is the easy part. Telling them is the part you will replay in your head. A text that says 'I'm coming to visit' is lovely and gone in a second. A boarding pass they tear open, with a plane flying from your city to theirs and a clock counting down to the minute you land, is something they will show to everyone.

The Ticket template on Longlove is made for that moment. They open a boarding pass with their name on it, tear the stub, and watch a small plane cross the map between your two cities. Under the map is the countdown to landing. You write the letter that goes with it.

Start with this template See live examples

What they open

The page starts as a boarding pass with their name and yours. They tear the stub off, and a little plane starts to fly across a map, from your city to theirs. Under the map is a countdown: days, hours, minutes and seconds until you land. Below that sits your letter, and a line of your choosing, 'I'm coming to see you' by default. It is designed for one thumb on a phone. It also reads as a joke and as a promise, which is the right mix for a surprise. Every time they reopen it the numbers have changed, so it becomes the thing they check on the train.

Fill in the details

You need five things. Your name and theirs. Your city and theirs, picked from the list so the plane and the map line up. The day you land, and the time if you know it. A line for the pass, such as 'I'm coming to see you', 'Come see me' or 'Counting down the miles'. And a letter. Be aware that the flight number, gate and seat printed on the pass are made up from your names and cities. It is a keepsake, not a real itinerary, so it will not match your actual booking. That is by design: you can send it without handing over your real flight details.

Set the time for their clock

The countdown runs on the phone of whoever opens it, so it reads the landing time as that person's local time. If you land at 18:40 in their city, set 18:40, not the time on your own clock back home. If you are not sure of the exact minute, set the day alone and the countdown goes to midnight at the start of it. For a bigger reveal, put in the time you will actually walk through arrivals. Then when the clock hits zero, it is the real moment, and you can be standing there with your phone out, filming their face as they read it.

Reveal now or at the airport

There are two good ways to use it. The first is to send it the day you book: the countdown becomes the gift, and they get weeks of looking forward. The second is to keep the visit secret and use the page as the reveal: send the link on the way to the airport, or the night before, with a countdown of hours rather than days. Either way, write the letter for the moment they will read it. If it is weeks away, it can be about how you cannot wait. If it is hours away, keep it short and let the clock do the work. If you land on their birthday, say so in the letter.

Make the wait part of it

A countdown is more fun with company. Add a few photos from the last time you were together, and a line about what you will do first: the restaurant, the walk, the sleeping. Add a small plan, a short list of things you are going to do, so the days before the trip feel like they are going somewhere. Once you land, you can edit the page through the link in your email, so it becomes a record of the visit. And if you are going to be apart again afterwards, the same page can count down to the next trip, because you can change the date whenever you like.

Questions

Start with The Ticket

Starts as The Ticket, filled in for you. Add your photos and words, preview it for free.

Start with this template