Phillips, who was handling passenger messages, scolded the Californian for interrupting him.
Regardless (or is it because?) of the potential for mid-air coitus, Virgin haveintroduced an instant messaging system enabling passengers to message others in the seats around them.
They argue that such a change would create a more secure, more professional system that would send passengers a message that flying is safe.
Passenger contacts, messages between riders and drivers, and riders' social media accounts will be accessible even when the app is not running.
United and American also let passengers receive voice messages, making the service more accessible to less-wired customers or those with older cellphones.
This can work against the airline, too, as Virgin discovered when a New York-bound flight was diverted and some passengers sent out messages venting their annoyance with the delay.
Drivers have been ordered to disable their rear-window controls lest passengers toss antigovernment messages upwind from the Great Hall of the People, the imposing Mao-era confection on Tiananmen Square that is the site of the congress.
Unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show, the TeenDrive365 application is pitched as a "distracted driving simulator", challenging people to drive safely amid distractions from virtual text messages, passengers, radio and traffic noise.
In Norway, more than 40,000 bus stops are tweeting, allowing passengers to leave messages about their experiences, and in London the mayor's office has just begun a project to tag trees so that people can learn about their history.
