Pilot makes passengers cry proposing to flight attendant

An off-duty pilot has reduced plane passengers to tears with a romantic mid-air proposal to his flight attendant girlfriend.

Alaska Airlines flight attendant Brandy Hollenbeck initially had no idea her boyfriend Eric Greener had snuck on board the March 18 flight from Seattle to Juneau, Alaska.

"We tried to keep her busy in the back of the plane during boarding so she wouldn't see (her boyfriend) Eric board," RieAnn Fullwood, another flight attendant and Brandy's close friend, said.

Midway through the flight, Mr Greener made his move, taking control of the PA and telling passengers their love story, which starting when his mother came home from an Alaskan flight talking about the flight attendant she'd just met, who she believed was the girl for him.

Ms Hollenbeck proved a hard woman to distract, continuing to serve coffee to her customers as Mr Greener poured his heart out.

"At one point I thought, 'Someone up there is telling my love story!' But I just kept serving coffee," she said.

The professional façade crumbled when Mr Green asked the magic words: "Will you marry me?"

At the question, the plane full of passengers also promptly burst into applause, some of them becoming teary eyed.

"I'm a Gold (frequent flyer) and I've never seen anything like that!" one customer said.