Airline returns to basics after criticism of 2024 version
Qantas has quietly released a new in-flight safety video, ditching its previous emphasis on global destinations and diversity, instead introducing a much shorter and more direct presentation.
The security video, which premiered on a 737 flight late last week, opens with a scene of the vast and still-empty Western Sydney International Airport, which small text describes as being on the territory of the Dharug people.
The video, which is approximately four minutes long, takes place primarily on airplanes and offers a brief look at Australian airports.
The previous video, from 2024, began with an Indigenous crew member talking about her “magic place” in the Northern Territory, followed by a tour of Qantas staff and customers’ favorite venues around the world, many with local cultural performances in the background.
It ran for about 9½ minutes and faced criticism for distracting viewers from safety information by interspersing clips from locations ranging from Litchfield National Park in the Northern Territory to Queenstown, New Zealand; Lapland in Northern Finland; and Los Angeles.
Following a short animation showing vintage Qantas planes, the new video features flight attendants and ground crew demonstrating seat belts, oxygen masks and aisle lighting with some modest movie magic.
There are also new rules banning the use of power banks on airplanes.
The video begins with a group of Qantas pilots and their crew in uniform walking across the runway towards the aircraft. A pilot says: “Welcome to Qantas. For over 100 years, safety has been our number one priority.”
“You’re about to hear from the people who make us one of the safest airlines in the world,” he says, before the video moves to the interior of the 737, where a flight attendant identifies the type of aircraft and another flight attendant explains how the seat belts work.
Qantas group chief security officer Mark Cameron said: “Safety videos are a critical part of flying and are complementary to the role our cabin crew play in communicating safety messages to our customers.”
“Our latest safety video is filmed on board our aircraft and training centers and features our employees demonstrating basic safety information to our customers,” he said.
The video marks a return to basics, following the flashy 2024 video that attracted scrutiny and criticism from the public and unions.
At the time, chief customer officer Catriona Larritt said Qantas was “proud to highlight our own well-traveled team members and customers to promote travel and tourism by not only delivering the message of safety but also inspiring people to explore destinations they haven’t experienced in Australia and beyond.”
Airlines such as British Airways and Air New Zealand produce elaborate, star-studded films in which tourism and entertainment rival the safety content of their messages.
Airlines point to the need to capture the attention of the flying public to convey a safety message. But the movies have become something of an arms race among airlines, especially national carriers who use it as a tourism marketing tool.
Critics claim that such productions undermine security communications.
Teri O’Toole, federal secretary of the Australian Association of Flight Attendants at the time, said she “couldn’t see anything helpful” in the 2024 video.[ed] A cabin crew as first responders to carry out their duties”.
In a possible reference to that controversy, Qantas said this week that the main purpose of the video was to ensure customers understood security procedures, but their attention also needed to be captured to ensure safety remains at the forefront.
And this is especially true for regular flyers that might otherwise slip through the cracks.
Qantas, like most airlines, said it typically refreshes its videos every few years.
The first impression of the new video seems positive.
A comment on the Australian Frequent Flyer Forum this week said the new video “focuses much more on simple onboard safety procedures, reflecting a trend away from videos that, while better at attracting attention, border on the abstract and double as advertising.”
The comments made for the video dated 2024 in the same forum were harsher.
“I tried to review everything but failed and normally I like QF safety videos. Although beautifully shot, the pacing was so slow and uninteresting that it felt like a chore to watch.”
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