Canadian North flight attendant proposes mid-air to girlfriend, on flight where they first met

"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have your attention please?"

That's how Mike Lorentz, a Canadian North flight attendant, started one of the most important announcements of his life, on board a flight from Ottawa to Iqaluitlast Thursday.

"Today, we have a very special passenger on board. This passenger is very supportive of Canadian North. And, fortunately for me, she is very loving, supportive, and understanding of me," Mike announced over the plane speakers.

"That sounded to me like a marketing announcement," recalled Dina Fox, a passenger on the flight, who had no idea what her boyfriend had planned.

I remember saying to my colleague: 'Wow that lady just took a piece of my heart.- Mike Lorentz

"She expresses her love towards me tirelessly and endlessly," continued Mike, who later said his voice was quivering at some points.

"She is a loving and patient teacher for me. I am very blessed and I am very grateful to have this lady in my life. I would like to introduce you to the love of my life."

That's when Dina finally realized what was happening.

"I was just thinking, 'wow it's truly going to happen and my dream will come true.'"

Mikemade his way around to her seat and proposed, 33,000 feet in the air.

"I wanted to pinch myself. Is this really real?" recalled Dina through sniffles.

Love at first sight, at 33,000 feet

Mike said it was love at first sight.

"I knew in an instant that I have found my true love," he said.

In November 2015, Dina was on board a flight from Ottawa to Iqaluit to embark on a half-year-long business trip.

Mike, not a regular worker on the flight route, said it was "a random assignment" that he received that day.

"We just had an immediate spark," said Dina.

The plane landed in Nunavut's capital, and they said goodbye without exchanging contact information.

"When she left the airplane, I remember saying to my colleague: 'Wow that lady just took a piece of my heart,'" said Mike.

It's nice to find love at this age... Love really does give you wings.- Dina Fox

The two reconnected on Dina's outgoing flight in the summer of 2016. Mike, from Edmonton, and Dina, from Ottawa, have been in a long-distance relationship ever since, but still very much in love.

"I absolutely adore him and he's the best thing that's happened to me," said Dina.

"She was heaven sent," said Mike.

Dina's love for the North

The couple said if it wasn't for Dina's connection to Iqaluit, and for Mike's by-chance assignment that day, they wouldn't have met.

"I'm very, very fond of the North," said Dina.

Recalling her first-ever vacation to Iqaluit in 2010, she says "I really fell in love with the people and the serenity and the light. Just a different light that Iqaluit has."

Most recently, Dina's months-long work trip was "a real time of healing" for her.

"The silence, I think, of the land, just really provides an opportunity to be introspective. And that prepared me to open my heart up to somebody like Mike. Both of us have been hurt in the past and often we tend to close down."

The couple say they're planning afrugal wedding as soon as possible, as they are both planning for retirement.

"We're both late 50s early 60s so, you know, it's nice to find love at this age," said Dina. "Love really does give you wings."

• The most Canadian proposal ever? Yellowknife woman gets the man, and rock, of her dreams
• Love, Northern style: Yellowknife husband drives 1,400 km to pick up KFC meal for wife