Although customers place a high value on cheap travel options, such as cheap airplane tickets, discount hotel rooms, and cheap vacation packages, just about everyone will agree that air safety remains priority number 1. Unfortunately over time it has become increasingly challenging to get customers to view in-flight safety videos.
To counteract this problem Air New Zealand has previously shown its passengers safety videos featuring exercise celebrity Richard Simmons, characters from the Hobbit movies, and nearly naked crew members with Nothing to Hide.
Recently the airline went retro, and showed passengers on its Airbus A320 aircraft a lesson in Safety Old School Style set in a retirement community starring Betty White. Ms. White is well known from her television shows including The Golden Girls and Hot in Cleveland.
Betty explains at the beginning of her safety video that the reason for using older people to instruct travelers regarding on board safety is If you want to know about survival, talk to us; because youre going to want some advice from people who have been there and done that.
Other actors in the video include Gavin MacLeod, who was on The Mary Tyler Moore Show with White and later the captain on Love Boat. Jimmy Weldon, who lends his voice to Yakky Doodle duck in The Yogi Bear Show, makes a cameo appearance.
Air New Zealand believes that a fun nontraditional approach to communicating important safety messages is incredibly effect by getting people onboard our aircraft to actually take notice.
While creative safety videos cost more to produce than traditional ones the airline has found such videos are a very effective tool for also raising brand awareness globally. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Briefing safety video has been viewed almost 11 million times on YouTube.
Other airlines, including U.S. based Virgin America and Delta Air Lines have followed Air New Zealands lead in entertaining passengers while informing them about safety measures.
In 2009 Delta decided to make its safety videos more exciting while keeping safety in mind. That year Delta introduced a safety video featuring one of its employees, nicknamed Deltalina. She gave a fun sexy spin to safety. The video has been viewed by almost 3 million times on YouTube.
Last year Delta came out with three new safety videos that are creative and have funny things happen in them. Deltalina had a cameo role.
To keep passengers engaged, Air New Zealand is working on a video that will replace the just released video starring Betty White. Delta too will be rolling out a new set of safety videos this winter.
Delta contends that engaging safety videos are worth the investment because they create a stronger engagement between the airline and passenger.
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