So, now you know that I used to work as a flight attendant at some point in my life, there's one thing that has become my pet peeve ever since I started flying as one: flight safety demo.
Well, during my tenure as a flight attendant, I had to do all the safety demo since the flights that I operated rarely have the in-flight entertainment that actually worked.
But then it's not exactly the awkward moment when everyone on the flight actually paid attention to me when I did the demo that got me to talk about it this time. It is the fact that people seem to take more attention when they could see the demo in person instead of the videos. When it comes to the in-flight safety demos, most people ignore it when it's actually important to look at for the sake of everyone's safety during the flight.
This got me an idea to collaborate with some other cool bloggers to compile the most interesting flight safety videos from various airlines. Those that are too awesome to ignore, so there we go! 😀
Listed as the World's Coolest Safety Video, #AirNZSafetyVideo is shining the light on Antarctica in its latest safety video with Hollywood actor and environmentalist Adrian Grenier.
This video is one that takes you on a breathtaking journey to Antarctica and follows Kiwi scientists as they answer pressing questions on climate change.
According to Nicole from Travelgal Nicole, this video really catches her eyes because it is all shot in Antarctica and talk about climate change, and how it is affecting parts of New Zealand. She applauds Air New Zealand for taking this on and raising awareness to the problem.
Previous videos have been Hobbit-themed, included Bear Grylls running around New Zealand, had the Men in Black, Richard Simmons and even Betty White in their safety videos. They definitely are a fun take on something that can be especially boring.
It has to be said that Air New Zealand has a brilliant record in making safety videos that are packed with creativity.
For Bernie of A Packed Life, their “Bare Essentials of Safety” is a case in point, with cabin crew ‘dressed' rather elegantly in full uniform, created in body paint.
But for her, nothing beats the thought of airline safety as demonstrated by hobbits and elves in the epic Lord of the Rings safety briefing. From Gollum keeping an eye on the departures hall to cabin crew with pointy ears, there's advice aplenty for the travelers of Middle Earth.
Remember to stash your golden hoard safely under the seat in front, and secure your belt low on your hips when riding your horse. The oxygen masks segment is accompanied by a great moment with a stressed bird – don't miss it!
The video is filled with wonderful audio and visual gags, and I particularly enjoyed Gandalf's take on how to brace when there's no seat directly in front of you. The aisle lighting segment – full of flaming torches – is a great concept too.
Overall, it's a great way to capture your passengers' attention – which is what it's all about. So, stay safe on your way to Middle Earth
2. Virgin America (now Alaska Airlines)
Until recently, Virgin America had one of the trendiest and most unique airline safety videos. It featured choreographed dancers performing a “safety dance” to safety information lyrics.
The Virgin America brand and their FAs were able to retain passengers' interest, including people who weren't flying with them. Within 2 weeks of the release, the video had gotten over 6 million views on YouTube. It combined entertainment, information, and humor perfectly and won a couple of awards, including Shorty Industry Award for Best Use of Video and Clio Music Award for Film.
This entertaining safety video was released in October 2013 and regularly played on flights until the end of July 2018. In April 2016, Virgin America was purchased by Alaska Airlines and have been in the midst of a merger since. As part of the transition into the Alaska brand, this Virgin America video is no longer in use.
3. Turkish Airlines
John from From Real People is lucky enough to travel fairly regularly with his job, and he sees a lot of airline safety demonstrations.
Sadly, pretty much just like me, he sees a lot of people not paying attention to them either. His day job is in aviation safety, and they see over 50 serious injuries every year due to turbulence. Many of these injuries could have been prevented by passengers following crew instructions and keeping their seatbelts fastened throughout the flight when not moving around the cabin.
Anything new or interesting that airlines can do to get more people watching their safety demonstrations is a positive thing. This is why John loves the Turkish Airlines Lego Safety Video so much.
The video really helps to get people's attention and then gives them short, simple messages that they can understand easily. The video also covers all the main points with fun and a little humor, which always goes down well.
For Lisa from Flip Flop Globetrotters, the Turkish Airlines ‘magic' safety video with social media megician Zach King is definitely one of the most captivating and interesting safety demo videos that she has ever seen. A far cry from the traditional dull briefings. The video was created by Crispin Porter + Bogusky London in 2016, but is still being used today and still very popular. It has over 9 million views on YouTube.
They have flown with Turkish Airlines a number of times the past few years and this video captivates every time. It's both informative and entertaining.
In the video, mischievous and playful King constantly switches between reality and illusion. He blows up the emergency slides with a straw, turns a t-shirt into a life vest, changes a laptop into a piece of foldable pink paper and transforms an adult passenger into a child.
The ‘King' of visual illusions definitely makes the video a pleasure to watch. Everybody loves a bit of magic, right?
4. Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian Airline's safety video is absolutely the favorite for Angelica from Thing to Do and Eat.
It doesn't take place inside of an airplane. Instead, they share your flight safety info against gorgeous views of different parts of the islands – waterfalls, canyons, mountains, and of course, the clear blue ocean. So it's easy to fall in love with the island before you even arrive, and it's hard to not pay attention to the safety tips!
The other best part is how it includes both Native Hawaiian culture and the diversity on the island. Some parts of the video are in Hawaiian, there are subtitles in Hawaiian, and there's a scene with hula dances. Plus, the people in the video actually reflect the people who live in Hawaii!
5. Delta Airlines
For Kris from Nomad by Trade, she loves the Delta fashions through the years safety video. She's not even much of a fashionista, but seeing the vintage uniforms is really interesting and she loves seeing the diverse group that was selected to present the safety instructions.
It's fun to see how the crew's uniforms have changed through the decades as popular styles evolved. Some of them have a very fun retro vibe while others haven't held up as well to the test of time.
It's eye-catching and unique, which is exactly what you want when trying to get often disinterested passengers to pay attention to the safety instructions.
I hadn't gotten to fly very much prior to the last few years, but I imagine seeing those vintage uniforms will recall memories from older fliers who may have seen them in action. Make sure to check it out on your next Delta flight!
6. Qantas Airways
A representative from the down under, Emily from Wander-Lush also loves the safety video from their national carrier: Qantas.
If there's one thing Aussies are known for, it's flying the nest. The 2018 in-flight safety video for our national airline carrier, Qantas, riffs on the theme of Aussies abroad. Segments feature expats and tourists doing typically ‘Australian' things in a range of beautiful destinations across the planet, all of which are serviced by Qantas flights.
The video starts with a montage of tearjerker parting moments cut straight from the airport. Each instruction segments plays on a typically Australian quirk – whether it's sitting in the front seat of a New York cab, or ordering a flat white coffee in London.
Qantas has done a great job of weaving safety instructions into each narrative; it's much less clunky than some of the airline's other recent videos. The concept is particularly relatable to Australian passengers, while the comical aspect makes it appealing to everyone.
As with their other in-flight videos, Qantas's choice to use real people (rather than actors) makes the scenes even more engaging.
7. Qatar Airways
Andra from Our World to Wander absolutely loves flying!
But, she loves it even more when she's on board on a Qatar Airways airplane. It's by far her favorite airline for so many reasons (including the delicious food they serve). And some while back they even pleasantly surprised her with a fun safety demo.
She usually stops anything she does whenever the flight attendants come and show the flight and safety demo, out of respect for them. But this time, there were no flight attendants and they showed the instructions in a video which was playing on everybody's screens.
It proved to be a hilarious video featuring the stars of the football team of FC Barcelona. She could instantly see all the men's eyes glued on the screen. Everybody stopped whatever they were doing and had some nice laughs watching the video.
For Andra, she especially liked the demonstration on the oxygen masks. And it sure made everybody more attentive to the instructions.
8. Singapore Airlines
Now, let's go to the national carrier of the friendly neighborhood Singapura with their infamous Singaporean girls. 😛
Nicholas from Rambling Feet has chosen Singapore Airlines as his favorite. When the cabin lights dim before take-off, Singapore Airlines plays a safety video that features several of the city-states attractions. Strings play as a flight attendant speaks to the camera, skyscrapers towering over her in the background. The tempo is a little slow, but it calms you down as the video takes you on a journey around Singapore.
While it's not the first airline safety video that features a country's attractions prominently, it's an approach that works. The video is relevant and still has a local flavor.
It quickly introduces the new visitor to some of the best places to see. As for the Singaporean who has been away for a long time, the sight of those familiar spots makes the heart relieved to be returning home.
9. Pegasus Airlines
The last but not least, this one is my own favorite video. I watched the video when I flew with Pegasus from Istanbul to Adana. As I flew with budget airlines for way too many times, I didn't really expect them to actually have in-flight safety video. And boy, was I wrong! 😛
In fact, on my first (and last so far!) flight experience with Pegasus, it kind of leaves a good memory as I genuinely like their safety video where they have all these kids to perform on this amusing video as the pilot, flight attendant, and even the passengers. That was uber cute and it definitely stole my attention!
Even better, since the performers are all kids (or cocuklar in Turkish!), it might come handy for those who travel with kids since they can be relatable for them as well. So it's great!
So, yes… Those are the most interesting safety videos that we've seen from 9 different airlines. It is always important to know the basic safety procedure because God forbid, no one knows what could happen in a flight. 😐
Have you seen any other attractive safety video from other airlines? Tell me on the comment section, and safe flight always… Cheerio! 😀
This post has been so much fun and yet quite educational. Thanks for lining this us… I have really enjoyed it!