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Smile, You’re on Kulula Low Cost Airline

Another arrival in my inbox:

Kulula is a low-cost South-African airline that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Kulula is an Airline with head office situated in Johannesburg .

Kulula airline attendants make an effort to make the in-flight “safety lecture” and announcements a bit more entertaining. Here are some real examples that have been heard or reported:

On a Kulula flight, (there is no assigned seating, you just sit where you want) passengers were apparently having a hard time choosing, when a flight attendant announced, “People, people we’re not picking out furniture here, find a seat and get in it!”

                  —o0o—

On another flight with a very “senior” flight attendant crew, the pilot said, “Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance the appearance of your flight attendants.”

                  —-o0o—

On landing, the stewardess said, “Please be sure to take all of your belongings.. If you’re going to leave anything, please make sure it’s something we’d like to have.”

                  —-o0o—

“There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out  of this airplane.”

                   —o0o—

 “Thank you for flying Kulula. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride.”

                  —o0o—

As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Durban Airport , a lone voice came over the loudspeaker: “Whoa, big fella. WHOA!”

                  —o0o—

After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in the Karoo , a flight attendant on a flight announced, “Please take care when opening the overhead compartments because, after a landing like that, sure as hell everything has shifted.”

                  —o0o—

From a Kulula employee: ” Welcome aboard Kulula 271 to Port Elizabeth . To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt; and, if you don’t know how to operate one, you probably shouldn’t be out in public unsupervised.”

                  —o0o—

“In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child travelling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are travelling with more than one small child, pick your favourite.”

                  —o0o—

Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds, but we’ll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you, or your money, more than Kulula Airlines.”

                  —-o0o—

“Your seats cushions can be used for flotation; and in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments.”

                  —o0o—

“As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses..”

                  —o0o—

And from the pilot during his welcome message: “Kulula Airlines is pleased to announce that we have some of the best flight attendants in the industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!”

                  —o0o—

Heard on Kulula 255 just after a very hard landing in Cape Town : The flight attendant came on the intercom and said, “That was quite a bump and I know what y’all are thinking. I’m here to tell you it wasn’t the airline’s fault, it wasn’t the pilot’s fault, it wasn’t the flight attendant’s fault, it was the asphalt.”

                  —o0o—

Overheard on a Kulula flight into Cape Town , on a particularly windy and bumpy day: During the final approach, the Captain really had to fight it. After an extremely hard landing, the Flight Attendant said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to The Mother City. Please remain in your seats with your seat belts fastened while the Captain taxis what’s left of our airplane to the gate!”

                  —o0o—

Another flight attendant’s comment on a less than perfect landing: “We ask you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo bounces us to the terminal.”

                  —o0o—

An airline pilot wrote that on this particular flight he had hammered his ship into the runway really hard. The airline had a policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the passengers  exited, smile, and give them a “Thanks for flying our airline. He said that, in light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment. Finally everyone had gotten off except for a little old lady walking with a cane. She said, “Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question?” “Why, no Ma’am,” said the pilot. “What is it?” The little old lady said, “Did we land, or were we shot down?”

                  —o0o—
 
After a real crusher of a landing in Johannesburg , the attendant came on with, “Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Captain Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we will open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal..”

                  —o0o—

Part of a flight attendant’s arrival announcement: “We’d like to thank you folks for flying with us today.. And, the next time you get the insane urge to go blasting through the skies in a pressurized metal tube, we hope you’ll think of Kulula Airways.”

                  —o0o—

Heard on a Kulula flight. “Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to smoke, the smoking section on this airplane is on the wing.. If you can light ’em, you can smoke  ’em”

Voulez Vuvuzela – VuVu WHO?

A few weeks ago many of us would have responded to the word “Vuvuzela” with “Vuvu WHO?” but with the 2010 World Cup Coverage all that has changed. The unmistakeable VuVu sound has been floating out of television screens across the world as people tune in to watch the first ever Football World Cup to be hosted on African soil.

TheOnion.com has good tongue-in-cheek coverage of the Vuvuzela, running the headline:

South African Vuvuzela Philharmonic Angered By Soccer Games Breaking Out During Concerts
JOHANNESBURG—Members of the South Africa Vuvuzela Philharmonic Orchestra, widely considered to be among the best large-scale monotonic wind instrument ensembles in the world, told reporters Friday they were furious over the recent outbreaks of international soccer matches during their traditional outdoor concerts.

“I cannot imagine what is getting into these football teams that they would suddenly begin full-scale international competition just when we are beginning our 2010 concert series … More…

Vu to You Too? What exactly is the Vuvuzela?
The vuvuzela (voo-vu-zay-la) is a plastic blowing horn usually about 2ft long that has become the instantly recognisable background noise of south african football matches. It produces a loud monotone sound that has whipped up health and safety concerns over whether the combined decibels at a game will cause permanent hearing damage. Opponents also complain that the sound makes it almost impossible for the players or referees to communicate in any verbal form. It also makes the job of the sports commentators a lot more complicated.

The name vuvuzela means to make a “vuvu” noise in Zulu – based on the “voo voo” sound the horn makes.

Similar plastic trumpets have been used in stadiums in Mexico since the 1970s and were used in Argentina as early as 1978 at the FIFA world cup that was held there that year.

Bicycle Horn – was this the invention of the Vuvuzela?
Earlier versions of the trumpets were made of tin and a well-known fan of the South African Kaiser Chiefs Football Club – Freddie “Saddam” Maake claims to have invented the vuvusela in 1965 by adapting an aluminium bicycle horn – removing the rubber sqeezer so he could blow it using his mouth. He has photographs of himself in the 1970s and 80s at local South African games as well as at international games in 1992 and 96 and at the 1996 World Cup in France, holding the aluminium vuvuzela.

He claims that becuse the aluminium version was banned by the authorities because it was apparently a “dangerous weapon”, he then went out and found someone to manufacture a plastic version.

2010 FIFA World Cup – Giant Vuvuzela
The largest working vuvuzela in the world was created as part of the Korean car manufacturer’s 2010 World Cup marketing campaign. The 114 footlong instrument was created on an unfinished flyover road in Cape Town and was supposed to have been blown at the beginning of each World Cup match – powered by several air horns attached to the mouthpiece.

An ongoing dispute with the city authorities regarding the noise levels it would make mean it has remained silent so far throughout the games.

So.. how do you blow a Vuvuzela?

… its as easy as that.

Even Baseball doesn’t seem to be exempt from the vuvuzela

The Florida Marlins baseball team handed out free horns to the first 15,000 fans through the gate for their game with the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday (June 20th 2010). More…

Vuvu Banned
The controversy over the Vuvuzela during the 2010 World Cup has led to the instruments being banned from numerous stadiums and events including baseball games at Yankee Stadium, tennis matches at Wimbledon, the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the Cardiff City, Millennium and SWALEC Stadiums.

Touchdown Jesus – Lighting Strike – Ohio

A six-story statue of Jesus Christ in Monroe, Ohio was struck by lightning and burned to the ground, leaving a blacked steel skeleton.

Insurance companies are calling it “An Act of God”

The “King of Kings” statue had become one of southwest Ohio’s most familiar landmarks having stood at the evangeliocal Solid Rock Church since 20004. The church and statue are next to the Interstate 75 highway in Monroe, just north of Cincinatti.

The statue was made of plastic foam and fiberglass over a steel frame, showing the torso of Jesus with upraised arms. It was nicknamed “The Touchdown Jesus” because the pose resembled a referee signalling a touchdown.

The same nickname is used for a famous mural of the resurected Jesus that overlooks the Notre Dame football stadium.

Lightning struck the statue about 11.15pm on Monday, setting it on fire – damage from the fire was estimated at $700,000 with another $300,000 damage caused to an adjacent ampitheater.

Power Cuts for the South African World Cup – Don’t Worry

Just in case anyone was worried about their visit to or their viewing of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa – good news…

Good news from the South African authorities – on South African news tonight was an assurance to South Africans regarding possible power shortages during the upcoming World Cup in South Africa – South Africans were told not to worry because the national electricity supplier WILL NOT TURN OFF STADIUM LIGHTS DURING POSSIBLE WORLD CUP POWER SHORTAGE – but it might ask people to turn off their lights and televisions to conserve power…