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Last week she discovered the virtues of crying. Now she's cracking jokes.

Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential hopeful, took possession of a new campaign plane yesterday and briefly impersonated a flight attendant as she welcomed journalists and staff aboard.

“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen and welcome aboard the maiden flight of Hill Force One” said the former First Lady as the plane took off from Las Vegas to Reno, Nevada. “My name is Hillary and I am so pleased to have most of you on board."

In the past few months of campaigning for the Democratic nomination, Ms Clinton had been travelling on a chartered jet with reporters relegated to a separate press plane or forced to use scheduled flights.

Now, as the contest goes nationwide, the Clinton campaign has put everyone aboard the same aircraft, a Boeing 737.

In her flight attendant parody, Ms Clinton joked that Federal Aviation Administration regulations "prohibit the use of any cell phones, BlackBerries, or wireless devices that may be used to transmit a negative story about me".

“In a few minutes, I am going to switch off the ’Fasten Your Seat Belt’ sign. However, I’ve learned lately that things can get awfully bumpy when you least expect it - so you might want to keep those seat belts fastened," she said.

"And in the event of an unexpected drop in poll numbers, this plane will be diverted to New Hampshire," she said, referring to her unexpected victory over Barack Obama last week, helped by a tearful moment in a Portsmouth coffee shop.

She added: "If you look out from the right, you will see an America saddled with tax cuts for the wealthiest and a war without end. If you look out from the left, you will see an America with a strong middle class at home and a strong reputation in the world.Once we’ve reached cruising altitude, we’ll be offering in-flight entertainment: my stump speech in its many variations.

"Once again, thank you for joining us on Hill Force One.We know you have choices when you fly, and so we are grateful that you chose the plane with the most experienced candidate.”

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