Santa, the Abominable Snowman, Jeopardy’s Alek Trebek, a teeny-tiny elf and that leg lamp from A Christmas Story have roles in new holiday-themed safety video produced by Delta Air Lines.
My favorite cameos: the reindeer legs behind the life-vest guy (around 2:58) and the hazy menorah (3:12).
Enjoy.
Air New Zealand, the airline that brought us safety videos featuring exercise-celebrity Richard Simmons, characters from the Hobbit movies and nearly naked crew members with “Nothing to Hide,” is at is again.
This time the airline has gone retro, offering passengers on its fleet of Airbus A320s a lesson in “Safety Old School Style” set in a retirement community and starring Betty White, an actress familiar from television shows such as “The Golden Girls,” and “Hot in Cleveland.”
The reasoning behind having older people instruct modern-day travelers in on-board safety is simple, says White at the beginning of the video: “If you want to know about survival, talk to us; because you’re going to want some advice from people who have been there and done that.”
Other familiar faces in the video include Gavin MacLeod, who appeared with White on the “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and, later, as the captain on “Love Boat.” Actor Jimmy Weldon, who lends his voice to Yakky Doodle duck in “The Yogi Bear Show,” also has a cameo appearance.
Jodi Williams, Air New Zealand’s head of global brand development, said safety videos are “first and foremost a means of communicating important safety messages,” but this fun, nontraditional approach to delivering the information is “incredibly effective by getting people onboard our aircraft to actually take notice.”
It’s also a good investment in the airline’s brand. While creative videos cost more to produce than traditional ones, “they double as an incredibly effective tool for raising brand awareness globally,” said Williams, who noted that the safety videos such as “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Briefing” has been viewed almost 11 million times on You Tube.
“Air New Zealand has possibly done more for airline safety than any other airline in the world, all while entertaining travelers and thinking differently about aviation marketing,” said Shashank Nigam, CEO of SimpliFlying, a global aviation marketing strategy firm.
Other airlines, including Virgin America and Delta Air Lines also have non-traditional safety videos.
“The feedback on safety on videos is that people usually just disconnect because it’s the same story again and again,” said Mauricio Parise, marketing communications director Delta Air Lines, “especially for those business travelers that fly once or more a week.”
To that end, Delta has been trying to make its safety videos “more exciting, while keeping safety in mind.”
Beginning in 2008, Delta began running a safety video featuring one of its employees, Katherine Lee, later nicknamed “Deltalina,” as the key presenter.
“She gave a sexy spin to the story, without going too overboard. The reaction was amazing,” said Parise. So far the video has been viewed almost 3 million times on YouTube.
Eighteen months ago, Delta shot three new versions of its safety video and those have been showing on planes (and on the Internet) for the past year. “They’re creative and some funny things happen in them,” said Parise. “Deltalina has a cameo role, but everything is serious from a safety perspective.”
To keep content fresh and passengers engaged, Air New Zealand is already planning the video that will replace the just-released “Safety Old School Style” version starring Betty White. And Delta has a new set of videos it will roll out this winter.
And while he can’t put a specific dollar value to the return on investment in an engaging safety video, Parise is confident Delta’s investment is worth it.
“It’s creates a stronger engagement between the airline and a passenger,” Parise said. “Each touchpoint adds value to the brand and we have a captive audience for five minutes during that safety video.”
(My story about airline safety videos first appeared on NBC News Travel)
Here’s a great idea I came across today while walking the aisles of the exhibition hall at the Aircraft Interiors Expo Americas being held in Seattle this week.
A company called Belt-Tech has developed a way of making aircraft seat belts out of a conductive yarn that incorporates Real Time Information (RTI) technology. When the seat belt is buckled it sends a message to a light or a display screen so flight attendants no longer have to wake passengers up to check if they’ve got their seat belt buckled.
It seems that so far only one airline has placed an order for these belts for planes that won’t be delivered until 2015. But here’s betting that soon this type of seat belt will be standard issue.
A couple of travel tidbits for you:
From theTSA Blog’s Week in Review:
This past week we marked the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy and, during the week, TSA officers found 31 firearms in carry-on luggage at airport checkpoints.
Of those firearms, 27 were loaded and eight had rounds chambered. Officers also found stun guns (14), some big knives, airsoft guns and assorted other items most definitely on the prohibited items list.
Keep Kosher?
Travelers seeking Kosher meals when at the airport now have a new option at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Starting the week of September 24th, Chef Allen’s 2 GO in Terminal 3 will be offering a line Kosher packaged to-go items.
CPR-Training at the airport
On Thursday, September 19, some Southwest Airlines travelers at Mineta San Jose International Airport will be able to get training – in English or Spanish – in hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) from 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
This is a one-time event, but if you’re interested in learning this valuable life-saving technique (which does require rescue breaths) keep in mind there’s an automated kiosk at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport where you can learn and practice on a dummy.
The kiosk was installed in July as a six-month pilot project, but the American Heart Association hopes to bring the concept to other airports.
Travelers at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) can shop, snack, snooze and practice yoga while waiting for a flight. For the next six months they can also use their dwell time to learn how to save lives.
During a pilot program they hope to bring to other airports, the Dallas-based American Heart Association has partnered with American Airlines, also headquartered in Dallas, to host an automated kiosk to teach air travelers a simplified CPR method called Hands-Only.
Passengers can perform the technique — which does not require rescue breaths — on the torso of a manikin while viewing a watch-while-practice video showing the correct procedure in a non-threatening and fun way. “This tool really breaks the barrier people have of being afraid to initiate CPR while waiting for help to arrive,” said American Airlines physician Jeral Ahtone.
Research has shown that even abbreviated training with a short video can help people remember CPR steps, so secure, high-traffic areas such as airports, “where there is a lot of down time for people who are waiting for their flights” are logical sites to teach people the simplified CPR procedure, said Dr. Ahamed Idris, an American Heart Association volunteer and professor of Surgery and Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
The video program on the touch screen kiosk gives a brief introduction to the technique and is followed by a practice session and a 30-second test. Feedback is given to the user about depth, compression rate and proper hand placement.
“There’s a real value to putting simple and understandable life-saving information out in public,” said DFW spokesman David Magaña. And because DFW has added amenities such as a walking path, a yoga studio, a massage and spa center and a soundproofed nap center towards its goal of being “one of the healthiest airports anywhere … this project seemed a good fit,” he said.
And over the next six months, don’t be surprised if you come upon passengers at DFW humming the Bee Gees song “Stayin’ Alive” or doing a few John Travolta-style, finger-in-the-air disco dance moves. The instruction video encourages those performing CPR to first call 9-1-1 and then push hard and fast in the center of a victim’s chest to the beat of the disco classic, which has a perfect beat for the lifesaving procedure.
(My story about Hands-Only CPR training at DFW airport first appeared on NBC News Travel)
Photo by Harriet Baskas
Singapore Airlines may be known for its iconic “Singapore Girl” flight attendants, who have a reputation for grace, beauty and award-winning service, but don’t be fooled — the crew members roaming the cabin are also well-versed on safety and emergency-response procedures.
“We want them to make sure passengers have not just an enjoyable flight, but a safe one,” said safety training executive Joseph Kwok.
Singapore Air’s rigorous training program for cabin attendants includes the study of previous crashes. The details of the Asiana Airlines crash landing at San Francisco International on July 6 are already an informal part of the course syllabus.
“One lesson we can learn from the Asiana evacuation is that it was successful because the crew responded the way they were trained,” Kwok said.
Singapore Airlines’ grueling 15-week training program is one of the longest of its kind — the programs of major U.S. carriers typically last between five and nine weeks.
In addition to classes in grooming, social skills and cabin service, Singapore Air’s course includes a 14-day safety section with classes in emergency procedures, first aid and security and drills specific to different types of planes. At every stage of the program students are tested before they are allowed to move on.
Fast evacuations equal more survivors
Photo by Harriet Baskas
During a visit to the airline’s main training center in Singapore this week, loud yelling could be heard from a training capsule that looked like the cabin of an A320. Students were conducting an evacuation exercise, yelling memorized commands in a precise order.
“The faster you can get people out of the plane, the higher the survival probability,” said Kwok. “That was proven by the Asiana crew.”
photo by Harriet Baskas
The hangar-sized facility also has a very tall platform with a funny-looking fuselage on top of it — the cabin door section of a Boeing 777 is at one end and a slice of an Airbus A380 is at the other. The height of the platform mimics the average height the cabin doors would be from the ground so that, among other things, students get to experience what it would be like exiting the plane via the emergency chute.
Photo by Harriet Baskas
There’s a slight chlorine smell in the hallway leading to the water survival training class, which takes place in a large pool with a wave generator that simulates conditions at sea — “minus the sharks,” said Kwok. Here trainees learn ditching procedures as well as slide-raft boarding and launching. Female flight attendants learn to do this all while wearing the Singapore Airlines iconic sarong-style uniform.
Passengers on alert
Cabin attendants on carriers in the United States and elsewhere can skip the sarong-swimming lessons, but they must all pass an annual refresher course in safety measures.
In addition to reviewing medical and evacuation procedures, this annual recurrent training often includes discussion of accidents and incidents that occurred the year before. “We discuss what went wrong, how the crew reacted and how they could have done things differently,” said Heather Poole, a flight attendant on a major U.S. carrier and author of “Cruising Attitude.”
In the aftermath of plane crashes, passengers are “extremely attentive,” said Sara Keagle, a veteran flight attendant and author of “The Flight Attendant Survival Guide.” “The difference with the Asiana incident is that the flight attendants seem to be finally getting recognition for the job they did as first responders.”
And while the Asiana crash shines a light on the job performance of flight attendants, Poole predicts fearful passengers will start asking about the experience of the pilots on board.
“But just know,” she said, “flight attendants wouldn’t work a flight if they felt uncomfortable with the cockpit crew.”
(My story about flight attendant training courses first appeared on NBC News Travel)
It may not be pretty or high fashion, but the protective clothing worn by many people who work at airports can guard against injury and illness.
At least that was the message last week at Kelowna International Airport (YLW) in British Columbia, Canada, at the second annual Safety Fashion Show.
Here are few of the models that appeared on the red carpet:
This is the airport’s wildlife control contractor, in charge of the catch and release program.
An officer from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Firefighter in gear
(Photos courtesy YLW Airport)
I should know better.
After being marooned on the 14th floor of a Honolulu hotel after an earthquake and having to find alternate lodging in 2 degree weather at 11 p.m. in Fort Wayne, Indiana after a hotel power outage, you’d think I’d remember to pack a flashlight along with a gadget to recharge my phone on the go.
But I had neither flashlight nor fully charged cell phone when I showed up at my Los Angeles airport hotel the other day to find all the electricity out, strong winds blowing through the lobby and the hotel staff in an unhelpful tizzy.
According to which staff member was making the rounds power was either out in “just isolated blocks” or “the entire city.”
Guests were being given flashlights (while supplies lasted) and encouraged to walk up the stairs to their rooms.
When the flashlights ran out, glow sticks were offered.
Trudging up seven flights of stairs to a dark room that may have stayed completely dark till sunrise didn’t sound appealing, so I took my glow sticks and headed to the hotel bar, where – for about a hour – drinks were being poured for free.
“No electricity; no security cameras,” said the bartender, pouring himself a stiff drink as well.
Ultimately, I bailed. Unwilling to hang around in case the power returned, and getting now help from the darkened hotel in finding other lodging, I hopped the shuttle back to the airport and picked out another hotel from the info board.
And glow sticks and a flashlight are once again part of my travel kit.
What emergency supplies are in YOUR travel kit?
Not everyone is happy about the TSA’s decision to take small knives and sports equipment – including golf clubs (2 per person), pool cues, lacrosse sticks, hockey sticks, ski poles – and small novelty/souvenir bats off the list of items that passengers are prohibited to take on planes as part of their allowable carry-on items.
The new rules go into effect on April 25, but many flight attendants and their unions aren’t happy. The Flight Attendants Union Coalition released a statement blasting the TSA’s decision. and Ian Funderburg, who identifies himself as a flight attendant, has started an on-line petition asking the President of the United States to reverse the TSA’s Decision.
A TSA spokesperson told me on Wednesday that the agency worked closely with airlines on this latest revision of the prohibited items list and that airlines were comfortable with the action.
I was also reminded that while the TSA has said it’s OK for hockey sticks and other sports equipment to go through the security checkpoint and taken onto planes, that doesn’t mean that an airline must allow that stick or that equipment onto the plane. If an item is deemed too big for the overhead bin, or if the item exceeds the number of carry-on items a passengers is allowed, an airline still has the right to ask a passenger to check an item that will not fit an overhead bin.
And if passengers are asked to check – and pay baggage fees for – sports equipment that TSA says is allowable past the security checkpoint, you can bet there are going to be dust ups and debate.
I had the pleasure of talking about this topic on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered on Wednesday evening. You can hear that four minute story here.
Another fun safety video from the folks at Air New Zealand. And a chance to win a trip for two to New Zealand.