British Airways released its newest in-flight safety video in late July, styled as a classic British period drama, along the lines of “Bridgerton” and “Pride and Prejudice.”
The production was directed by Sharon Maguire, famous for her film Bridget Jones’ Diary. It includes over 40 British Airways staff and was filmed in grand country houses across the UK.
While the video is meant to demonstrate the safety procedures for the aircraft, including how to fasten your seatbelt and how to fit an oxygen mask, many airlines have also added comedy to their safety videos in recent years.
The video has already received over 950,000 views on YouTube.
However, in the wake of several high-profile aviation incidents since January, some passengers could be concerned that the Regency-era gags distract from vital security information.
British Airways had originally canceled the film’s premiere at a cinema in south London in May, according to The Daily Telegraph, after a Singapore Airlines flight was hit by severe turbulence earlier that day, resulting in one death and 104 injuries.
With passengers understandably very shaken, airlines may question whether entertaining safety videos cover the necessary information for passengers and strike the right tone.
“A major problem with most cabin briefings is that they are too mundane and tend to be ignored entirely,” said Shem Malmquist, a B-777 pilot and one of the primary authors of the seventh edition of “Commercial Aviation Safety.”
“I like this approach, and it does a good job capturing the important bits,” he said.
Guy Gratton, Associate Professor of Aviation and Environment specializing in air transport safety at Cranfield University, agreed.
“I think that it’s absolutely excellent,” he said. “It’s part of an entirely appropriate current tradition of using entertainment principles to get passengers to listen to pre-flight safety briefings.”
However, the video does have drawbacks. As noted by Business Insider’s Taylor Rains, who previously worked in airline safety for Allegiant Air, the video was not filmed on an airplane, meaning it does not necessarily provide a realistic view of what might happen in an emergency.
The lack of visual cues could also be difficult for those who do not speak English as a first language.
The history of comedic instructional videos on airlines began in 2007 with an animated film by Virgin America, which included a matador, his bull, and a nun. Since then, other highlights have included Air New Zealand’s 2014 Lord of the Rings epic and British Airways’ 2017 and 2018 star-studded videos, which included Rowan Atkinson’s Mr. Bean and Gordon Ramsay.
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