Etihad Airways has today unveiled its new safety video, and it counters the general trend we’ve seen from airline safety videos for a couple of reasons.
In this post:
Basics of Etihad’s new safety video
Etihad’s new safety video is filmed at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, to give passengers from around the globe a glimpse of what Abu Dhabi has to offer. Real Etihad Airways flight attendants are used for the video, and the passengers in the video are also Etihad employees.
The music in the video is part of Etihad’s new signature sound collection, which will be used across the airline for a variety of touch points. As it’s described, the new music is inspired by Abu Dhabi, and is an eclectic mix of Emirati and international instrumentation and arrangements, played by musicians from the UAE and around the world. Hopefully this doesn’t replace Etihad’s excellent current boarding music.
The new Etihad safety video will first debut on the carrier’s Boeing 787s as of April 2021, and will then progressively be rolled out on more planes in the fleet.
You can watch the new safety video here:
My take on Etihad’s new safety video
There are a couple of things I find most noteworthy about the new Etihad safety video. First of all, the video specifically shows a masked passenger, including a reminder to take off your face mask in the event you need to put on an oxygen mask.
To my knowledge, Etihad is the first airline to actually put any coronavirus restrictions in a safety video. My guess is that the airline can just edit out this portion once masks are no longer required on planes, since there are no masks for the rest of the video. Or who knows, maybe we’ll be wearing masks on planes forever.
Beyond that, I feel like this video is extremely bland, yet also kind of calming. Given how international Etihad is, it probably makes sense to have a video where instructions are provided in a slow and clear way, without unnecessary jokes or theatrics.
While many other airlines have turned their safety videos into big productions, this seems kind of basic. In the press release about the new safety video, an Etihad executive says that the new video “reflects [Etihad’s] brand and personality.”
I’m not seeing much personality here, but maybe that’s just me, or maybe Etihad is admitting it doesn’t have much personality as a brand? I dunno. 😉
Both Etihad and Abu Dhabi have historically done an incredible job with marketing, so in that sense the new video is kind of a letdown. For example, here’s a short video that makes Abu Dhabi look like the coolest place on earth:
As beautiful as the Louvre is, how about a safety video that incorporates more varied scenery showcasing Abu Dhabi?
Bottom line
Etihad Airways has unveiled its new safety video, filmed at the Louvre Abu Dhabi. While some airlines have turned safety videos into comedy skits or into high-budget films, Etihad’s new safety video is pretty straightforward, yet still calming.
What do you make of Etihad’s new safety video?
I think Etihad's personality can be likened to the interior of a Mercedes Benz sedan. A perfectly comfortable, luxurious and familiar environment, but with little zex appeal.
I have many more similar analogies ;)
A non-zero amount of people will likely wear face coverings on planes for quite some time even after it's not required. Therefore, safety briefings (live or video) will likely continue to state "If you're wearing any type of face covering and a loss of cabin pressure occurs, you'll need to remove the face covering prior to putting the oxygen mask on."
So the thing that caught me was the Louvre. I was there just a couple of weeks after it opened back in 2017 and flew out the next morning on Ethiad in the Apartment to JFK. I was in Abu Dhabi for less than 24 hours and I spent 4+ hours in the Louvre and could have spent another 4 hours there. It is beyond stunning and is the thing I remember most about being...
So the thing that caught me was the Louvre. I was there just a couple of weeks after it opened back in 2017 and flew out the next morning on Ethiad in the Apartment to JFK. I was in Abu Dhabi for less than 24 hours and I spent 4+ hours in the Louvre and could have spent another 4 hours there. It is beyond stunning and is the thing I remember most about being in Abu Dhabi. They are very proud of their cultural icon that you just can't take your eyes off of. Yes the video is boring and slow, but they also want to showcase this architectural masterpiece they are covet. Perhaps they could have done that separately. When Covid is over with or calmed down enough to travel again, I urge everyone who can, to visit the Louvre in Abu Dhabi. And give yourself at least 6 hours.
It's maybe soothing but it's so slow and quiet and blend.... I stopped watching after 30seconds....
I liked the old animated safety video better.
LOL - I know the guy putting the mask on in the economy seat. I use to work with him at Etihad.
This has to be the most boring safety video ever and I wonder how many passengers will stay engaged from beginning to end.
I'm not wearing a mask forever. I'm moving to Florida.