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If you’ve ever hid tears while watching an in-flight movie you wouldn’t have been caught dead sitting through at home, then you’ll appreciate Virgin Atlantic Airways’ new amenity.
An illustrated “weep warning” will flash on screen at the beginning of films that may be especially moving. The first films to get the emotional alerts will be “Water for Elephants” with Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson and “Just Go With It” starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston.
In a news release, the airline said the warnings will signal to passengers that they may want “to have tissues at the ready and to press the call button for a shoulder to cry on.”
“Our flight crews are used to making sure everyone is comfortable,” said Greg Dawson, Virgin Atlantic’s director of corporate communications. “I’m not forecasting a torrent of tears on the next flight. But if we need to stock up on tissues, we will.”
Dawson said the airline began studying in-flight crying while testing some new on-board entertainment offerings. “While debriefing the crew, we heard from them that a lot of the guys were getting quite emotional at some of the films.”
Intrigued, the airline commissioned a survey of 3,000 United Kingdom residents and discovered that more than half (55 percent) of the respondents said they experienced heightened emotions while flying. Of the men surveyed, 41 percent said they’d hidden under blankets to hide their tears, while many women reported hiding tears by pretending they had something in their eye.
Live Poll
Should airlines offer weep warnings on in-flight movies?
In a separate Facebook survey of customers, “Toy Story 3,” “The Blind Side” and “Eat Pray Love” topped a list of the 10 films that had made airline passengers cry while flying. “Brokeback Mountain” and “Gran Torino” were also on that list.
“People may be especially susceptible to tearing up when flying because people are often already in an emotional state when they get on a plane,” said Seattle-based psychologist Makiko Guji. “It could be a big transition time in their life. They might have anxiety about flying. There are many reasons people may be more vulnerable when flying than when they’re in their daily routine.”
Still, Guji isn’t sure in-flight “weep warnings” are necessary. “Usually companies put out warnings to protect themselves. I don’t think anyone would complain to an airline that they got too emotional on the plane.”
More on Overhead Bin
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- FAA to fliers: Put down that magazine!
- Airline sued over cashless cabin policy
Find more by Harriet Baskas on StuckatTheAirport.com and follow her on Twitter.
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I was once on a flight to London from Boston where the movie was "A Perfect Storm," never mind the wisdom of showing a movie about drowning in the Atlantic while flying over same. An older couple was watching the movie a couple seats ahead across the isle. During a tense scene involving saving a broken antenna the husband starts hollering "Grab it! Just grab it dammit!" His wife grabbed him by the shoulder and shook back out of his living room and into the plane again.
AMEN!
Lol. That's funny. Well, it got his mind off the flight.
Been able to handle all the movies pretty well except "Marley and Me." I'm not the only one who wept.
Not everyone responds to movies the same way so I don't see how this warning could always be accurate. For example, I didn't cry through Rise of the Planet of the Apes and neither did most people around the theater, but the adults next to me did cry more than once...so would this movie qualify for a "weep warning" even though it did not move everyone to tears?
????? seriously?????? lol
They have it for the twilight movies, for when you realize the writer/stars make more in a year than you will make in your lifetime.
With all of the inflight urination stories I have read lately, airlines might be better served by issuing Wizz Warnings.
Never mind. P!ss on it.
I've heard of this before. The working hypothesis was that many people are afraid of flying and that fear can find strange manifestations on the aircraft including increased crying during movies a person would never cry over on the ground. It's basically the same reason some people feel better having the TSA around.
Anything Harold and Kumar makes we weep uncontrollably.
I wonder how much they will charge for Weep Warning Service? I better check my ticket fine print.
Yeah, Marley and Me was rough....even when I knew what to expect. Harder to keep it together than Ole Yeller.
But come on....weep warnings? Good grief. Reminds me of the Gieco commercial when Armey (the drill sargeant) plays a therapist. "You know what makes me sad? YOU DO!!!! Why don't we chug on down to mambi-pambi land where we can get some self-confidence, you jackwagon!"
Think they'll put a warning on Elf?
Nothing more than just another giant baby-step towards the further pussification of society. Political Correctness gone wild!
You know what movie brought me to tears? Green Zone, with Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear. God, that was awful. Just a flaming turd of a movie. My 5 year old writes better than that. That is all.
Good gosh. Kill me now. Is there anything else anyone will think up to make news? If you want to "weep," try volunteering at a children's hospital and see some real tragedy instead of worrying about some make believe fantasy.
Maybe I'm wrong, but to me this sounds more like an attempt at light-hearted humor rather than concern that a passenger may sue them for making them cry in public. Plus, there have been times that I've chosen inflight movies on the personal devices that I wish I hadn't because they ended up being quite intense and emotional and it wasn't the downer I was looking for to kick off my vacation.
Men turning into a bunch of whiners, sounds about right.
Anyone else starting to hear a song in the background? . . . 'Feelings,... Nothing more than feelings...' HA! : )
I guess if people need multiple, in-your-face warnings to remind them that the coffee they just purchased is hot, the same caliber of sue-happy idiots that will find some reason to bring a frivolous suit against the airlines for making them cry. Boo hoo!
I think this is a little tongue-in-cheek humor by Virgin Atlantic. Some people are taking this way too seriously!
The last time I flew Jet Blue, the flight attendants made some funny comments during the announcements and instructions. I thought it added a lighthearted spin to the otherwise tedious process of flying. A little laughter goes a long way, especially when some passengers are already a bit cranky and the plane has even taken off yet.
With all the terrible news we are bombarded with on a daily basis, we need all the humor we can get.
Just think about that! ... If it wasn't a requirement for the aisle to remain clear, they could join hands and form a 'Healing Circle' too!
If they don't add the warning to "Rudy" and "Miracle" it won't do me any good.