We would like to apologise

You might have heard Lane Greene on our podcast talking about the weirdly formal language of airlines.

Well, I’d like to invite you to join me on a quick Virgin America flight from San Francisco to San Diego. My TV screen isn’t working (hence the fact that I’m writing this). But there’s no way I can get angry with them, when the flight attendant’s just said to me:

‘I’m really sorry about the screen. But you just let me know if you’re hungry or thirsty: we’re gonna booze you up.’

Put that in your tone of voice guidelines.