Virgin Atlantic's New Hire: 'Whispering Coach'

To safeguard its first-class passengers' ears, of course!
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 1, 2012 9:22 AM CST
Virgin Atlantic's New Hire: 'Whispering Coach'
A Virgin Atlantic airplane lands at London's Heathrow Airport, Monday Jan. 10, 2011.   (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Add this to the list of things elite Virgin Atlantic passengers will soon enjoy: ear comfort. The British airline has retained the services of a "whispering coach" whose job is to make sure that those who book a seat in its forthcoming Upper Class Dream Suite aren't submitted to the horrors of speech over 30 decibels when the lights are dimmed. Normal speech, explains USA Today, generally clocks in between 60 and 70 decibels.

Richard Fitzgerald will teach crew members the appropriate way to speak in the new first-class cabin, set to hit the skies in May. He explained (silently, over email) that a whisper "soothes and relaxes passengers, as well as allowing them to clearly hear what the crew member is saying without disturbing nearby passengers." And the new training won't end there: The crew is also learning important things like how to appropriately wake up those snoozing in first-class when necessary. (More Virgin Atlantic stories.)

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