Sitting with Sir Bob

The need to pay attention to a pre-flight safety briefing clashed with Sir Bob Jones' desire to put his headphones on and read a good book. Photo / Richard Robinson

They warned me about this at journalism school.

"Some day, Winston," a tutor whispered in ominous tones, "you will find yourself - as a white, middle-aged, heterosexual male - writing a column in which you defend Bob Jones."

And so, here we go...

Sir Bob, whose prose has appeared in recent times under the masthead of the New Zealand Herald, was last week asked to leave an Air New Zealand plane when it was discovered that the need to pay attention to a pre-flight safety briefing clashed with his desire to put his headphones on and read a good book.

He was in an exit row (better legroom, y'know) and when you're in those seats the cabin crew give you a specialised briefing about how to open the doors if - heaven forbid - the plane crashes.

Anyway, let's assume Sir Bob wasn't paying attention to the nuanced, exit-row briefing. All the old rogue has really done is highlight the fact that none of us really pay attention to the safety briefing.

Add up the inconvenience of all those flights around the world - every day - with special safety briefings to people in all the exit-row seats.

Now: multiply that - or divide it or whatever - against the number of times someone in an exit row seat has actually saved the passengers on the plane.

It adds up to zero (or bugger all, at best).

On this, at least, I can sympathise with Bob.