Have you ever noticed that whenever they do the safety demonstration before a flight, the steward(esse)s are always subtly laughing? I have. At first I thought that they were just having a bit of fun, but after seeing the same kind of behaviour on many different flights in different airlines and countries, I am beginning to wonder. Surely the joke would have worn thin by now? I suggest that perhaps the airlines train them to appear light-hearted during the safety demonstration, lest the passengers cotton on to the fac6t that they might very well die today.
We all hear the stories: newspapers showing crashes are not provided on the planes, the oxygen masks are to subdue the passengers, and life rafts are a joke: crashing into water is like crashing into concrete. Yet still they show pictures of a plane floating happily on top of the sea, while happy passengers enjoy their bouncy slide to safety..
This morning I noticed something that amused me: at no point did they actually mention the possibility of a plane crash. Even when they were explaining the procedures, the crash was not mentioned. Instead of “In the event of a crash, the cabin crew will open the hatches” they said “the cabin crew will open the hatches”. That was all.
Maybe I was just sick of waiting at the terminal, and I was concocting theories to keep myself entertained.