Do you obediently study your emergency card in the airline seatback pocket when asked? I actually do. But I instantly forgot everything during an emergency safety drill at The Base, Virgin Atlantic’s training facility in Crawley, England, south of London.
The Base is not open to the public, but I was able to tour the facility with two other journalists. Here are a few disparate thoughts from the experience.
Emergency training: In an emergency, your flight crew will be shouting instructions to you while trying to keep passengers calm and informed. In our four-minute evacuation drill, the information was quite detailed. They don’t just say, “Run!” In evacuations, for example, you will be told that high heels, luggage and laptops must be left behind — all in the interest of getting everybody out fast. In reality, you won’t care.
Look out below: The emergency slide was a separate drill. I was surprised at how quickly I slid down, then was embarrassed when I did a face plant as I started to run. The lesson: Balance first, run second.
A matter of taste: I met Mark Nunn, in-flight services food and beverage manager, whose job is a lot harder than you might think. He travels the world tasting, selecting and approving menus for Upper Class, Premium Economy and Economy passengers.
His special challenge: At cruising altitude, passengers lose 30 percent of their sense of taste due to dry air and pressurization of the cabin. Thus, passengers may think food is bland, though at ground level it tastes fine. Nunn has to compensate with seasonings. Also, the food served onboard must not be offensive at the destination where a plane lands. In Muslim Dubai, for example, no flight arriving there will have served any pork dishes.
Info on Virgin Atlantic Training: http://www.tinyurl.com/mjclhsb
