Originally Posted by
seraphina
Route and technical info is always interesting, however if it's a night flight the fewer announcements the better, obviously. I don't care about what's in Highlife, or when the duty free is coming around or what have you. I also like a bit of levity from the cabin crew - it usually indicates they're on the ball and looking forward to the flight.
And do they teach pilots special BA elocution? Announcements from the flight deck always come across in beautiful tones that imply reassuring competence and good looking suave Bond-a-likes in charge of mighty beasts - or is it just that I am so far down the back I never get a chance to see the pilots and have my illusions shattered?
Oh I agree entirely. There is something very reassuring for the passengers (nervous or not!) about hearing the tones of the Captain make an announcement in calm, measured and (yes) suave tones. Last thing we want is someone common!
I have always been interested in the way announcements are made though, ever since I heard that one of the reasons CC make the "Cabin Crew, doors to manual and cross check please" over the tannoy was as a way of calming passengers. They are expecting it and so when they hear it they know everything is normal. Humans anticipate certain behaviour and the one thing guaranteed to upset them is the feeling that something's different and "just not quite right".
I quite like the way the FC make an announcement that "we'll be departing on the easterly runway" or "arriving on the northerly runway" (as if that actually means anything to the pax!); and comments such as "You may be interested to know that the poor visibility meant that was an automated langing" but prefer more the knowledge of height and cruising speed. You've got to remember that almost every member of the travelling public is an expert these days, so the knowledge that we'll be "vectored in over Ockham" is almost de rigeur.
Personally though my least favourite announcements were on a CDG-LGW flight (about 40 minutes flight) where I timed the CC announcements at 10 minutes; and my most favourite was the Captain who described the principles behind turbulence with an indirect reference to
Bernoulli's principle and a quite indepth metaphor requiring us to "imagine a flowing stream in the middle of a meadow" (and continued in that vein for some minutes!)
But let's not forget that phrase that you've finally arrived safe and sound... When you're completely jet-lagged after a long night-flight... and have no idea what day or time it is... "Welcome to xyz, where the local time is 6am. Thank you and good morning". You're so busy expecting a "good night" or "good evening" that the good morning welcome always brings a smile at the CC professionalism that I always smile. :-)