I rarely do more than glance at the in-flight safety video, but on my first flight with TAP, the Portuguese airline, I found myself glued to it. Halfway through, TAP turns public information into a mini-soap, complete with quarrelling pensioners, a hyperactive business traveller, and a thwarted would-be smoker. See below.

The flight, to Madeira last week, was memorable for a couple of other reasons.  There was the sharp turn before landing on the aircraft carrier that is Funchal airport. And there was the way TAP responded after the flight left London late, and several of us, bound for the conference of the Association of Independent Tour Operators, were in danger of missing our connection in Lisbon. That we didn’t was down to a friendly and efficient member of the airline’s staff, who met us as we stepped from the plane, led us to a bus, and then directed us through immigration and security and on to the gate. That’s the way to make up for lost time.