That really isn't the type of input I was thinking of, though certainly that is a fairly easy problem to solve in a variety of ways. I'm more interested in being able to say something like 'Aug 2' or 'next Thursday', the way I can in Google Calendar.
Oh hey, that does work! I hadn't noticed that, good for them! Their calendar dropdown is also superior to most others in that it isn't a popover-style context menu but has been integrated into the interface so that I can see a visual representation of the dates I've chosen.
Now if only their site wasn't completely broken on mobile... :(
I fly twice a year. Why the hell would I want an app for a flight booking company? It's this sort of mentality that really gets my goat when it comes to mobile.