United Airlines sure does have quite a few themed safety videos lately — this spring the airline had a Spider-Man themed safety video, while now the airline has debuted a Star Wars themed safety video.
United Airlines’ new safety video, called “Fly The Friendly Galaxy,” should be available on United flights soon. United says that this is to celebrate the conclusion of the Skywalker saga, “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” in theaters December 20, 2019.
You can watch the video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21hbvm69i4k
I’ll admit that I’m probably not the person to judge a Star Wars safety video, since I think the last time I watched anything Star Wars related was in the 90s.
I will say that I thought the video was rather mildly themed — they certainly could have taken it a step further. Couldn’t they have R2-D2 demonstrate how to put on the seatbelt and wear an oxygen mask? 😉
This isn’t the only Star Wars themed thing you’ll see at United, as the airline also has a special livery 737-800.
What do you make of United’s new Star Wars safety video?
If you have more than one flight with them in a day, it gets annoying pretty quickly—especially with the movie trailer after the safety video and the Star Wars product placements everywhere else. Frequent flyers must not like this either.
I hate it. Not that it’s necessarily a bad video per se - though I think the FAs and crew always look like they’re under duress and the cameos by Muñoz or other CEOs are awful and unnecessary narcissism. But I hate the now-constant barrage of advertising. The napkins advertise Coke. The safety videos advertise some new movie or franchise. They hock their credit cards everywhere. It’s inescapable. What’s next? The UA version of the...
I hate it. Not that it’s necessarily a bad video per se - though I think the FAs and crew always look like they’re under duress and the cameos by Muñoz or other CEOs are awful and unnecessary narcissism. But I hate the now-constant barrage of advertising. The napkins advertise Coke. The safety videos advertise some new movie or franchise. They hock their credit cards everywhere. It’s inescapable. What’s next? The UA version of the ads US Air had on their tray tables?
@Jatt,
I saw that NZ hip hop safety video and thought it was terrible, as did a lot of kiwi fliers based on comments on the YouTube channel. It was annoying and more importantly the safety message was hidden among the distractions.
The reason I like this one (and I’ve only watched it here) is that the safety message comes through clearly and the Star Wars theme is in the background.
Also note...
@Jatt,
I saw that NZ hip hop safety video and thought it was terrible, as did a lot of kiwi fliers based on comments on the YouTube channel. It was annoying and more importantly the safety message was hidden among the distractions.
The reason I like this one (and I’ve only watched it here) is that the safety message comes through clearly and the Star Wars theme is in the background.
Also note that all US carriers’ safety videos must be approved by the FAA. And by law, all the safety announcements and demonstrations must be delivered by qualified airline employees (pilots, flight attendants, etc) in uniform. That restricts how far their safety videos can go. That’s a good thing, and I think this video gets it just right.
@Jatt Baller but do you recall where to properly place your oxygen mask after all that nonsense?
The only airline safety video I remember was on Air NZ and was a hip-hop style video - it's kiwi. The amount of effort Air NZ put into it was evident and the video was memorable. United's safety video is not bad but could've certainly taken it a step further, they definitely missed the opportunity to make it memorable
Ben,
Agree with you completely. Well done, but could be way better.
Not sure about other airlines but recently in UA’s personal device entertainment, all previous 8 Star Wars movies are available.
For a SW junkie like me that’s enough.
I like it. The Spiderman video currently running was good for a few flights but after six months has become rather irritating. This one goes back to highlighting UA destinations and cutting out the comedy; much better. Oscar still gets a cameo, which is likely more important to the employees then passengers, but as long as UA continues to do well it also goes down well with this frequent flier.
Meh, Air New Zealand's LOTR and Hobbit are far better.
For frequent fliers safety videos could be rather annoying. So any attempt to do something original I recon it’s a major step forward and the idea is simply great. But I think they could have taken the opportunity to bring it to the next level and make a better production. A small movie with the film characters inside the space ship for example.
Yea,
Han Solo is the epitome of safe flying and nothing ever happened to his passengers.
Why United ripping off ANA for??
Kudos to United for securing this partnership deal
Not bad. It's always nice when you see something different rather than the same thing - especially for road warriors.
They had the Spiderman tie in (Sony) so they clearly are after these kinds of partnerships by seeking a new studio (Disney).