20 March,2009 11:56 AM IST | | Agencies
An American flight attendant has developed a novel way of ensuring passengers pay attention during the pre-flight safety announcement - he delivers it as a rap.
David Holmes (40), a flight attendant for US airline Southwest, has become an Internet celebrity since passengers began posting videos of his cabin announcements three months ago.
"Before we leave/ our advice is/ put away electronic devices/ fasten your seatbelt/ then put your trays up/ press the button and make the seat-back raise up," Holmes raps, encouraging the passengers to stomp and clap to give him an accompanying beat.
Holmes, a former personal trainer, has been working for Southwest since 2005 and said he initially did the rap because he was in a good mood and wanted to have some fun at work.
He continued to do so after some passengers said his delivery made them listen to pre-flight announcements for the first time.
Despite his apparent rapping skills, Holmes is no freestyler - in an interview with the Wall Street Journal he said his lyrics are carefully written out in advance, often while enduring long waits in airport terminals.
While Holmes doesn't always do the rap (it depends on the vibe he gets from the passengers) he normally does it whenever flying back into his home town of Las Vegas.
