Cathay Pacific has just released a new safety video, which will be screened on all flights as of August 1, 2024. It’s the carrier’s first new safety video in over seven years.
In this post:
A look at Cathay Pacific new safety video
In addition to highlighting important safety features, Cathay Pacific’s new safety video is intended to promote Hong Kong as a destination, as the video was even produced in collaboration with the Hong Kong Tourism Board. The video is intended to highlight what a vibrant city Hong Kong is, and uses that as a backdrop for providing safety information in an engaging way.
The safety video captures many of Hong Kong’s popular sights, like the pedestrian crossing Causeway Bay SOGO, the Peak Tram, Yau Ma Tei’s Tin Hau Temple, Xiqu Centre, Clearwater Bay Country Park, and dragon boat races.
The safety instructions are around 6.5 minutes, which sounds quite long, though it’s in two languages, so I actually don’t think that’s too bad. You can watch the video for yourself below.
For those curious, below is what Cathay Pacific’s previous safety video was like.
My take on Cathay Pacific’s new safety video
Nowadays airlines put quite a bit of effort into their safety videos. It’s something that just about every passenger will watch, and therefore it’s viewed as an extension of the brand, and as a marketing opportunity. Furthermore, many airlines assume that passengers are more likely to watch a safety video if it’s entertaining.
In recent years, we’ve generally seen airlines go in one of three directions with safety videos. Some safety videos highlight a carrier’s home country or destination, some safety videos are intended to be humorous or entertaining, and some safety videos are just intended to convey information in a straightforward way.
As you can see, this video fits into that first category, and like so many airlines, heavily promotes tourism in Hong Kong’s home. Now, I happen to love Hong Kong, yet I haven’t visited since before the pandemic (aside from the airport). So I actually love these sights, but that’s just because Hong Kong has a special place in my heart.
That being said, I find the whole destination concept to be so predictable nowadays, and I also can’t help but wonder if the abstract nature in which safety information is conveyed in these videos makes it less easy to understand, especially for those who may not have English or Cantonese as their first language.
Given how so many airlines have gone this direction, personally I’m a big fan of Emirates’ “no-nonsense” safety video, which is proudly just a straightforward safety video that’s easy to understand, while still being calming and visually interesting.
Bottom line
Cathay Pacific has unveiled a new safety, which uses Hong Kong as a backdrop for sharing important safety information. I love Hong Kong, and I find this to be one of the more visually interesting safety videos out there, though I’m still not a huge fan of the totally abstract way that airlines are going about safety videos nowadays.
This is Cathay Pacific’s first new safety video in many years, so I imagine it’ll take some getting used to for regulars with the airline.
What do you make of Cathay Pacific’s new safety video?
Political stuff aside, SQ showcases their city with a relaxed, laid-back tone (SG is NOT laid-back, surely) with their safety video, while this version of CX's safety video only reminds me hellish crowd changing lines at Central station, and local Cha Chaan Tang waiter's famous IDGAF attitude.
It's not like I don't like HK, but this vid only gives me "let's rush to the next $$$ place and earn the next [beep] pile of money", instead of "enjoy my time here" vibe.
Hong Kong can be a busy, fast-paced city like New York. That does appeal to some people more than sleepy Singapore. But I note the video is great in showcasing HK's lesser known side as well: the hiking and the beaches, which can be spectacular and much less stressful than the dense urban portions of the territory.
Whilst Hong Kong is definitely not what it used to be, it’s a case of pot kettle black for Americans to comment.
A country where for many women it is illegal to get an abortion. That funds genocide in Gaza. And created Fox News, the mother of all propaganda hate press.
Lemme guess, you're one of those college students who just took Civics 101 and think communism could work if we just gave it a chance?
Cathay Pacific’ New Safety Video Shows Off Hong Kong
Whoopsie daisy, got the headline wrong! Here, I'll fix it.
Cathay Pacific’ New Safety Video Shows Off An Island That Now Offers Repression, Arrests for Peaceful Protests, and a Muzzle on Speech by its Overlords on the Mainland
While Hong Kong has many islands to be sure, much of Hong Kong is in fact not on an island and is attached directly to the Chinese mainland. Much of the New Territories and Kowloon is part of this penninsula.
Are you aware that there's more to HK than the political situation? The city and surrounding nature really are spectacular. Anyway, I hope you comment on the political flaws of every other territory mentioned on this blog first and foremost for consistency's sake.
There's more to any place than its politics, but it's the politics more often than not, that dictates the primary safety and experience of visitors. This is true irrespective if one ignores politics or not.
The best way to promote HK would be to restore its status as an autonomous region with free speech and a free press.
The old video is superior to the new. The new is too artistic and not functional enough. There are too many artistic interpretations of the inside of the aircraft. Passengers are not always that smart to make the connection between an artistic impression of the outdoors and the insides of the aircraft. In these regards, many modern safety airline videos are rubbish. Where is Pete Buttigieg when you need him?
It's a nice video and Ben's constructive criticism is well taken. Shame about the ignorant comments in this post about HK by people who don't seem to have visited in years if ever and only seemed to come here to reinforce negative images in partisan media.
It is nice, but unfortunately SQ had already done it much earlier so the impact isn't there anymore
Any frequent flyer would know that the SQ version is in itself just a weak copy of the original Qantas concept. If anything I'd say this CX copy is superior to the SQ version.
Seeing as the city's status has (mildly) diminished since the protests and CCP takeover, it is an interesting move to double down on Hong Kong.
I took a few CX flights last month and was delightfully surprised that they have re-introduced their old signature ,advertising and Ident music; as their boarding music:- Love's Theme. (There is great 5minute compilation video on YT ) Certainly brings back memories of traveling on Cathay's first ever non-stop Hong Kong to London flight, on a newly engined 747-200. Before that; all flights stopped-over at Bahrain.
With the various CCP diktats, now demanding the universal use of Mandarin. I am so glad that Cantonese is still used. Sadly, Cantonese is now a dying dialect/ language. (FYI:- Cantonese is difficult to learn; as the spoken word, greatly differs from the written Chinese.)
Cantonese is one of the if not the strongest surviving Chinese dialect out there. Pretty obvious that this comment was made without consideration of a great part of southern China and Macau speaking it as well as its widespread adoption throughout Southeast Asia, especially in Malaysia and Singapore. If anything, my take would be that Cantonese has emerged even stronger with the communist oppression of HK.
I would second @JW's comment. I was born in HK and grew up in Canada and now live in US for a long time. I am a Cantonese speaker. For years I was told to learn Mandarin for a variety of reasons (career etc.). But the past few years I've been proud to speak Cantonese and refuse to speak the little Mandarin I know. My 93 year old Dad (very good health!) in Toronto recently...
I would second @JW's comment. I was born in HK and grew up in Canada and now live in US for a long time. I am a Cantonese speaker. For years I was told to learn Mandarin for a variety of reasons (career etc.). But the past few years I've been proud to speak Cantonese and refuse to speak the little Mandarin I know. My 93 year old Dad (very good health!) in Toronto recently said to me "I refuse to speak Mandarin with the way China has treated HK", which coming from my Dad says a lot about the continued vibrancy of Cantonese in the global Chinese diaspora in addition to HK.
I wonder if they also explain the "National Security Law" and how Hong Kong is now effectively a police state that only superficially resembles the city it once was?
Reminds me of the recent SQ Singapore City video. Definitely not original.
"Definitely not original" - nor is SQ's which is merely a weak slightly-late-to-the-game version of what the likes of Qantas and United had been doing for ages.
don't expect originality out of SIN or HKG, or anywhere in Asia. These places are about conformity, copying, playing it safe, inside-box thinking and ultra conservatism in everything.