After reading through this whole thread to date, I have a few comments:

- Having done stand-up comedy in the past, and having given hundreds of lectures and courses, the key to any public speaking situation is to know your audience! If the crowd is good for it, go for it (within reason and regulation).

- With the safety briefing, it is best to not deviate too much - I have been on flights where my seat mate was a "white knuckler" nervous type, and any deviation from standard policy or procedure caused immediate and nearly uncontrollable trepidation. Other announcements are probably more open to humorous adaptation ^

- Some people, hard as they try, cannot be funny. Case in point: three people tell the same joke to the same crowd, but the crowd only finds one of the three funny. Why is this? It is less about the material and more about the delivery and approach. Intonation, indirect communication (eye contact, body movements), etc. are all key to being funny. And by the way, just because you think that you are funny, it doesn't mean that others do!!

In summary, if you: know your audience, know your abilities, and know your place, go for it! If not, you may not be as funny as you think you are...:rolleyes:

+1 to those who pointed out that if properly done, it may well increase the number of pax who actually listen to the briefing.

I know, it's boring to listen to the same jokes over and over, but don't you kinda tune out after awhile? Of course the more OCD among us listen anyway, just in case there's some announcement like "And just for this flight, all emergency exits have been moved to the left side of the airplane" :D

hm
 

Basically, I think that adding a little humor to the safety rap doesn't make that much of a difference; I still tune out anyway. However, I do agree that it can make the rap a bit more annoying; instead of being able to totally tune out, random laughter from infrequent fliers gets my attention.

That said, I can recall two funny raps:

(1) David Spade's safety warnings when he was posing as a flight attendant in the movie "Tommy Boy"

(2) The flight attendant on a recent trip from SMF to SAN, who informed the pax that FAs would come through the cabin one last time to make sure that seats were in the upright position, bags were stowed, and that noone was dressed too provocatively.

An important detail
 

Forgot to mention something:
The "provocative dress" comment was made by a Southwest FA.

My all time favorite line:

"In the event of a water landing, your cushion can be used as a floatation device. Just pull it off, place your arms thru the straps, get in the water and kick-paddle, kick-paddle till you reach shore. Once there, feel free to keep the cushion with our compliments!"

Heard it on a flight over a year ago, but it still stays fresh in my mind. I cracked up so laughed when I first heard it.

Flew from San Diego to MDW on SWA 2 weeks. The flight attendant at the door greeting passengers made the emergency briefing announcement before flight leaves. He mention in the PA saying that the FAA does not allowed anyone to stand or form a line near the lavatory(since it is close to cockpit door), please wait at your row until it is become vacant before you approach.

But part that i thought it was funny was that he said "if you don't believe me, there is a big ole sign right here (pointing at the cockpit door) in PLAIN ENGLISH, and it reads NO... PARA... SE... AQUI"

I can recall a People Express FA (or whatever they were called back then) saying he hoped the copilot was going to land because the Captain was known for rough landings. I think that was the one who proposed to another FA over the PA. She turned beet red!

People Express, what a business model. Didn't take reservations, let people on the plane first-come-first-served, took off, then sold the tickets in the air! I can remember them dashing up the aisle with a cart carrying a HP printing calculator, running credit card imprints, and the drinks cart following.

Seemed to work, strange as it was. Not that they lasted more than a few years. They flew a lot of the old Braniff metal.

On a SWA flight from FLL to TPA, we were told that "In the event of a water landing, get out and walk to shore."

(Florida has basically no deep water between Ft. Lauderdale and Tampa)