The booming, high-stakes arms race of airline safety videos
66 comments
·April 4, 2025decimalenough
My favorite airline safety video of all time is ANA's "Kabuki", which (IMHO) strikes the right elements of being clear, informative, gorgeous, absurd and showcasing Japan all at the same time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2IZP5NhaKM
They used to have a really good "behind the scenes" video for it as well, but I can only find this shortened version on online:
monkeyfun
Wow, I can't believe I actually appreciate the direction and overall production value of an airline safety video.
Probably serves its function better for it too! I can't imagine nearly as many people would tune it out or just feign attention, but it's not totally sacrificing the focus on what matters.
decimalenough
Found it! Completely wordless, but the sheer attention to detail shown is again very Japanese.
neilv
In the United video, in many scenes, the more interesting thing is the Rube Goldberg machine distraction, not the actual safety information they're supposed to be conveying.
They even do split-screen to add in distraction, when they're trying to show something visually in the less-interesting window. (Worst lesson ever mis-learned from TikTok.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jep3RR2yEXA
Did they consciously decide that most people have heard the instructions many times, and the best the airline can hope for is that passengers pause and look up from their personal devices, and maybe subconsciously reactivate those neurons even the slightest bit... as better than nothing?
Or did the creatives simply get carried away, and no one reined them in?
DrawTR
Wow, that video is way over the top. It's almost creepy that, as the in-video flight attendant is explaining the safety of the seat buckle, the camera is actively panning away from her to focus on the motion of the ball
dogpuncher
I've sat through numerous Air New Zealand safety videos over the years and whilst every now and then they hit the spot most of the time they're lame and overly long.
It also seems like a waste of money that presumably finds it way onto ticket prices.
tmnvix
Yeah, I've seen my share of those.
I sort of assumed that Air NZ started this trend because of all the hype surrounding the first ones. There's an article covering the history of these here: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/the-wireless/374709/feature-a-bri... (they claim the first was in 2009, so a couple of years after the earliest one mentioned in tfa).
I find them downright annoying now. The cringe factor makes them uncomfortable to watch which is not what you want from a safety video. It feels as though they jumped the shark.
gaadd33
The article seems to imply that it's not a waste of money which is why it's expanded in use, especially with having partners like tourism agencies chip in.
cameron_b
But the article goes on to say that while it succeeds at being a novel spot for new media partnerships, it ( the style presentation ) performs more poorly at communicating the safety message
grishka
My favorite one isn't listed in the article, it's this one of Virgin America: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1A5BtqsaPM
Seriously, a flight safety video has absolutely no right to be this catchy :D
freshchilled
I used to fly Virgin America twice a week. That song would get stuck in my head every time I checked in. I still can sing most of it.
"In the unlikely event we need to get you outside, these exits come equipped with an inflatable slide..."
grishka
I've only flown Virgin America once. In 2014. Yet here I am in 2025 posting about it on HN. The selectiveness of my memories is weird.
teeray
This is the one I remember the best, and it’s been years since I’ve seen it. Put something in a catchy song and my brain will remember it… this is how I learned like 50-some odd digits of Pi[0]
null
encyclic
Same here, it was one that captured the vibe of the Virgin America perfectly and the only one I actually recall watching. It was directed by Jon M Chu, who subsequently directed Crazy Rich Asians, In The Heights, Wicked, and more.
SilasX
Yes! I loved that one! I was singing it afterward. ("Thank you for your attention, this robot rap is over")
I'm impressed that they were able to slip in a jab about the ridiculousness of having to tell you how to buckle a seatbelt.
xbar
Perfectly said. This one was a banger.
I searched for it in the article's list of videos with greater than 1M views but the author failed to capture it.
hooper
This immediately played in my head when I read the headline.
comrade1234
In my recent experience, KLM and Swiss are the best - no actors, completely animated and informative. While delta and united were the most cringe - weird actors and special effects and why is she smiling 100% of the time during an emergency?
wodenokoto
KLM still does the painted tiles animation, right?
As far as I can tell, they use real crew to present the concept, so maybe that doesn't as any actors, but it is definitely not completely animated.
Cerium
I have not seen KLM or Swiss, but I'm a fan of Cathay Pacific's video for the same reason. Extremely clear, animated video shows you just what you need to know.
angled
Wonder how much of the increase in quality of the safety video is due to the introduction of COS21.
thenthenthen
Here is a making of video from the KLM safety video:
gruez
>but I'm a fan of Cathay Pacific's video for the same reason. Extremely clear, animated video shows you just what you need to know.
They have the exotic settings that the article mentions, though.
maest
> why is she smiling 100% of the time during an emergency?
I always assumed this was one of those American cultural things, akin to how waiters in the US always are super cheery and excited to serve you. (In an obviously artificial way)
tekla
Would you rather they show utter chaos and panic during a emergency situation?
inejge
The interesting thing is, in a real emergency something often clicks, and people become more focused and organized than otherwise. The 2009 Hudson ditching is a celebrated example, but there were numerous others over the years. (More recently, the upside-down crash landing at Toronto.) IMO the key is to have well-trained and authoritative cabin crew, but any knowledge of emergency procedures also helps, and that's where safety videos come into play.
The author of the article is a bit of a jittery flier (a go-around was their come-to-Jesus moment? come on), but fine, whatever makes people pay attention to basic safety information. It doesn't need to be much: know where the emergency exits are, how to open them if necessary, and don't take your cabin luggage, and you'll already be ahead of most.
sethjgore
All I an say in this section is I was most intrigued when I was travelling across Europe on a long and complicated business journey. Turkish airlines (if I recall right, maroon uniforms) had a sign language video for both Turkish sign language and international sign language. I felt so elated and welcome at that moment. I felt at home. Somebody cared for people like me. I have not come across anybody else who has done the same job.
So what I have to say, yes, the measure of the effort what pretty much sums to entertainment and pseudo-psychology, speaks to the consumer masses who are worried when they jump on a plane filled with other 150~ish strangers.
shsachdev
Hey I’m the author of the article! Happy to answer any questions :)
0xDEAFBEAD
Would it be legal for airlines to replace the video with a quiz, for those passengers who opt in? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43608141
I don't think the current video format is very good for retention. Putting it in the form of a quiz could help frequent travelers actually memorize the information over time, which could in turn save lives.
shsachdev
I don’t know whether it would be legal, but I 100% agree with your suggestion - a more active form of learning would be more effective. Professor Molesworth (the expert I interviewed for the article) actually suggested that airlines should make passengers count how many seats away from the emergency exit they’re sitting - again, making that a more active process.
There’s also the argument that to improve retention, the regulatory body should decrease the amount of “key safety messages” that need to be included in the videos (which ends up being around 35-45). If you decrease that number, retention of the info you do mention should go up.
perdomon
Why do you think airlines spend so much money on these safety videos when they're almost exclusively shown to people who are already customers of the airline? The 2m YouTube example you gave is great, but 1. that's probably an exception to most safety videos and 2. the vast majority of safety video views are probably uninterested folks in cramped seats with earphones in. Do you think that's the best use of marketing dollars? What about making the actual product (flight experience) better?
shsachdev
Good question. I asked myself the same thing. Since airlines are mandated to produce a safety video regardless, the ROI they really have to assess is against that incremental spend on making the video cinematic/entertaining. And if you factor in that potential to go viral and get good PR from it, as well as the fact that they can produce a video once and reuse possibly for X years, the incremental investment doesn’t sound that unappealing. Also: traditional methods of advertising (say renting a billboard) are just as expensive, if not more.
kimos
It’s a captive audience which you can directly target for retention. In 3 months when they go to buy another plane ticket they’ll remember the catchy funny video and associate that airline with positive feelings when making a choice.
JumpCrisscross
> Why do you think airlines spend so much money on these safety videos when they're almost exclusively shown to people who are already customers of the airline?
It reinforces the brand. Virgin gets to show it's sexy. ANA that it's fun but sophisticated. United that it has four neurons firing across the enterprise.
humanrebar
I have no special information, but some of these seem targeted at least partially to internal marketing and morale. For instance, I have seen what appear to be employees (probably union members) delivering a lot of these lines.
I would expect it's at least slightly better for morale, recruiting, and retention. I also expect that executives and middle managers move to use these as an opportunity to reinforce corporate values, whatever that means to them.
shsachdev
Good point, yes - the director of the United video (Karim Zariffa) told me that during the shoot the employees were highly invested (they didn’t want to make a mistake on camera) and the whole shoot likely helped boost employee morale.
nomilk
How did you make the plots? Given the audience (general public) I find the cloudy backgrounds and superimposed images quite engaging.
shsachdev
Thanks! So the plots were designed by one of my editors Zachary Crockett (https://x.com/zzcrockett?lang=en) - I think he uses Photoshop :)
AStonesThrow
I've been flying Southwest exclusively for about 25 years, save for one international expedition. Their cheeky attitude and the good-natured humor of the flight crew has always pleased me, because flying is so serious and stressful for many of us, that a light-hearted safety briefing really brightens our day and unclenches our butt-cheeks. And they have never forced me to endure a video (unlike churches around here!)
Art was imitating life when SNL dropped this extremely over-the-top parody of a live-action safety briefing, showcasing talents of Luke Null and the seasoned veteran Will Ferrell: https://youtu.be/Ji0TgBy085U?si=3ZHQk9p6wWZB4Oja
dangus
I truly wonder if there is a phenomenon where companies turning everything into an advertisment eventually backfires due to the pure saturation. It must dilute the effectiveness of ad spend and videos like this. I as a consumer on a commercial flight now expect my display to be full of junk like credit card ads before the flight gets underway so I try to tune it out.
I also wonder if the flight attendants in aisles physically demonstrating and making eye contact with passengers has something of an effect of guilting you into paying attention. There's no guilt in ignoring a screen talking at you in an obnoxious way.
Probably my biggest dislike about these safety videos is when they demonstrate safety features with fake props and "clever" representations of aircraft. If they are going to use visual aids they should try to match your environment so that you know what to look for in a real emergency.
My second biggest dislike about these videos is the cognitive overload. Sure, there's an argument that something catchy will help grab your attention so that you aren't just tuning out the safety information, but on the other hand so many of these videos turn into an incredibly high-stimulation affair. There's more of a focus on jokes and visual gags that it's hard to stay focused on the actual safety instructions on offer.
technothrasher
> flight attendants in aisles physically demonstrating and making eye contact with passengers has something of an effect of guilting you into paying attention.
I certainly felt that guilt the one time years ago I was the only passenger on a 737 on what was effectively a dead leg from ORD to ROC. The flight attendent just came right up to my seat and did the demo staring straight at me. It was very uncomfortable. After she did it though, she was very nice, and told me she wouldn't bother coming through the cabin but that she'd be right up front if I needed anything.
tekla
I literally don't understand what you are having issues with on these videos. How do you get cognitive overload on tasks designed for a child?
Garnish0062
I flew Eva air in 2024, and I must say that their "spy thriller" flight safety video really had me hooked. https://youtu.be/kQCtR9K8XT8?si=Fo6yATgH457Pa16b&t=52
They straight up have a "weapons display" showcase of things you shouldn't bring, as if you were looking at a scene where john wick would choose his weapons.
0xDEAFBEAD
Frequent travelers should have the option of replacing the video with a quiz that asks you questions about various aspects of airline safety, and corrects you on any wrong answers. That would boost retention, and give you a chance to see if you're actually mastering important safety information.
I recently travelled on Ethiopian Airlines, whose safety video is a good mix between the 90s and someone's nephew who know how to edit videos.
It very literally showed everything talked about happening inside an actual airplane. Masks actually deploying and dropping from the ceiling and people putting them on, etc.
What was interesting for me was, it was the first time I saw _where_ under the seat the life jacket is and it made me realize that despite having watched 100s of these videos I actually never knew how to get the life jacket.