Shortly after take-off on an outbound evening Air Lingus flight from Dublin to Boston, the lead flight attendant nervously made the following painful announcement in her lovely Irish brogue:
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm so very sorry,
but it appears that there has been a terrible mix-up by our catering service.
I don't know how this has happened, but we have 103 passengers on board,
and unfortunately, we received only 40 dinner meals.
I truly apologize for this mistake and inconvenience.
When the muttering of the passengers had died down, she continued,
"Anyone who is kind enough to give up their meal so that someone else can eat
will receive free, unlimited drinks for the duration of our 5 hour flight.
Her next announcement came about 2 hours later:
"If anyone is hungry, we still have 40 dinners available.
