Best airline ever!

PORT DOUGLAS, AUS - -When I was in Sydney, I was glad to have closed-toe shoes since it was rather chilly, windy and rainy. Now that I'm in steamy Port Douglas, I'm seriously wondering whether public nudity is truly illegal or simply frowned upon.

Anyway, now on to the commercial segment of our programming....

If you ever find your lucky selves in beautiful Australia and need to get from one lovely city to the next, there are several air options for you. Qantas is great, of course, and Jet Blue is a new low-cost airline, but for my money, you've got to fly Virgin Blue.

The flight crew was friendly, as all Aussies are, but we were lucky enough to have a hybrid Aussie named Barry, as our host for the three-hour flight from Sydney to Cairns (nearest airport to Port Douglas).

Barry is Irish.

And crazy.

Some of Barry's loudspeaker comments enroute:

"And straight from flight school, our pilot, Captain....."

"Virgin Blue prides itself on having the best, most professional flight crews. Unfortunately, they're all in Melbourne watching the Cup, so today we have....."

"All electronic devices must be turned off now. That includes cell phones, as they interfere with the pilot's pacemaker."

"If you have any questions while we're in the air, please don't hestitate to ask our purser Alyce. She knows everything."

"As all Virgin Blue flights, this is a non-smoking flight. Anyone caught smoking will be invited to take a seat on the wing and enjoying a complimentary viewing of "Gone with the Wind."

"Will the cabin crew now please hold hands and get ready for takeoff. Alyce! That's not my hand!"

"If you have anything stowed in the overhead bins, please be aware that items may have moved during the flight, so please be carefull. As everyone knows, shift happens."

"And from all of us, including the two boys in the pointy end, thanks for flying Virgin Blue."

Oh, and if that's not enough. We had a game of "guess the combined age of the cabin crew." Yes, they were all under 30, some significantly so. Our girl Alyce is only 24!

The fun is just beginning...