Year in Review: Top In-Flight Safety Videos of 2015
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APEX Insight: The airline safety video isn’t just a method of showing you how your seatbelt works, it’s a huge opportunity to instil brand loyalty as well. A clever and memorable airline video not only puts a smile on the face of the safety-video-weary passenger, it also gives an airline the chance to reach a wider audience and viral fame. In the tradition of year-end lists, here are our favorite in-flight safety videos of 2015.
Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand has a rich tradition of hilarious and often risqué videos. Where do you go after body painting and hobbits? The answer: a ludicrously elaborate Men in Black parody video featuring the All Blacks, now Rugby World Cup champions. Watch carefully for cameos from some of the world’s biggest rugby legends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji65WI5QLZI
KLM
Using animated Delft Blue tiles to convey in-flight safety info was a masterstroke: the finished product appeals to fans of Delft Blue tiles, stop-motion animation, and A-Ha’s “Take On Me” video. The clip culminates in the flight attendant standing on all of the tiles that were hand-painted to create the video. Interestingly, this safety video even tells you what to do in case you accidentally drop your phone during takeoff or landing. Now that’s attention to detail.
Delta Air Lines
The Internetest Safety Video on the Internet force-feeds us our favorite memes at once. Keep an eye out for the 22 different nods to web-based distractions over the years. The ones we recognize say a lot about us. Perhaps the one critique here: their Harlem Shake wasn’t weird or deviant enough. Even had Delta not committed to including all these memes, the flight attendant’s awesome speaking voice would be enough to anchor even the plainest video. Is he available to record our outgoing voicemail messages?
United Airlines
The Safety is Global II video showcases United’s iconic global destinations, starting at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London. From the human in a Loch Ness Monster suit on a Scottish golf course to a sunset wedding in Hawaii, elements of the in-flight experience are worked into each location. Keep an eye out for the helpful llama in Peru.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HWaaaFcdmQ
Air France
Air France’s newest safety video, which is rather fittingly named “Nouvelle vidéo démonstration de sécurité Air France,” removes the airplane from the equation and places five women on stage to act out a uniformed flight attendant’s instructions. Thematically, this is cut from the same cloth as the airline’s artsy and elegant France is in the Air advert. Watch for the In-the-Event-of-Evacuation sashay.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0N3J6fE-0JI
Emirates
This one isn’t, strictly speaking, a safety video, but we’ll allow it because it turned out so well. Emirates went to Estádio de Luz in Lisbon, Portugal, to perform an in-stadium safety demonstration to 65,000 screaming Benfica fans. (Benfica and Emirates signed a three-year sponsorship deal in May.)
Hawaiian Airlines
It’s almost as if nobody wants to shoot videos aboard planes anymore. Using Hawaii’s natural beauty as a backdrop for an airline safety video is a no-brainer, but the effect is still stunning. The video is subtitled in two languages: English and ÅŒlelo HawaiÊ»i. Bonus: guess if any of these locations were also used during the filming of Lost. Some of them look quite familiar…
Hainan Airlines
In 2015, one airline managed to produce a safety video depicting the Scorpion King and the Snake Queen. That would be Hainan Airlines, who used characters from the Calabash Brothers, a famous Eighties Chinese cartoon series. When stopping that mean ol’ Scorpion King from smoking in the cabin, the young brothers sternly remind him that electronic cigarettes are also not allowed. The video is careful to demonstrate assisting your talking armadillo with its seatbelt. Listen carefully for the Line ringtone as the Snake Queen tries to use her phone during takeoff.
BONUS: WestJet
This one isn’t actually an in-flight video per se, but a passenger’s video of flight attendant Michael McAdam absolutely crushing the safety demonstration. The video was posted to Facebook and subsequently went viral. A bit of YouTube excavation reveals that McAdam is not new to the game.
Each year, airlines push the boundaries of the in-flight safety video further and further. While younger airlines have no problem cutting loose on film, legacy carriers are loosening up a bit and having fun with these required videos. We can’t wait to see what the airlines – and their fans – bring to 2016.