All this journo business does raise some interesting points.
To educate the punters on what happens in the real world of aviation I am thinking of giving a "factual" PA next time the weather down the track is cactus.
Something like this....
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Welcome aboard Flight 123 from Los Angeles to Sydney.
Unfortunately, as luck would have it we can't quite get enough petrol in the tanks to get to Sydney so we plan on falling in the ocean about a hundred miles out, crack the liferafts and paddle the rest of the way…hehe only joking folks!
Actually, we are a bit short of petrol so we are going to Brisbane instead. Now, I know what you are thinking….you bought a ticket to Sydney and thats where you wanna go.
Funnily enough, so do I. My banged up Corolla is sitting in the car park collecting all sorts of fallout and I would like to take it home before it completely falls apart.
But I digress. Once we get the big bomber into the sky we have a magic procedure we carry out that makes fuel as we go. Sometimes we can make enough fuel so that we can get all the way to Sydney. The problem is, sometimes it doesn’t work.
Now there is another problem I think I need to share with you. Despite our best efforts the rain, wind and pestilence sometimes conspire to confound our fuel making abilities. It’s the work of the devil I am sure but it does happen.
If this bad turn of events takes place it’s possible, unlikely for sure, but possible that we wont even be able to make Brisbane. But don’t worry, we have a plan for that too. We can go to all sorts of exotic South Pacific Islands, take your pick.
My old Co-pilot Simon once said “Tahiti looks nice so we went there”. Please leave your requests with the flight attendant and ohh, be aware there is a small fee to make requests.
So settle back, relax and enjoy the superb in flight service as your crew flies you to Sydney or perhaps Brisbane, Fiji or wherever the good winds take us.