United Airlines has just unveiled a new safety video, and I’m not sure what exactly to make of it…
United Airlines’ new “Safety in Motion” video
United Airlines has today released its newest safety video, named “Safety in Motion.” You won’t find it on flights immediately — instead, it’ll debut on select aircraft as of May 25, 2024, and will roll out across the fleet over the summer. United has reportedly been working on this new video since June 2023, so it has been a long time coming.
The new video was filmed inside a life-sized, airplane-inspired sequential reaction machine. The video follows a ball as it makes its way through the sequential reaction machine, rolling and bouncing through airplane-inspired set-ups that include chutes, a snack cart, a drink cup, seatbelts, windows, seats, directional signage, and more.
The video features 17 real United employees from across the airline, including flight attendants, customer service agents, rampers, tech operations, network operations, and reservations employees (wearing United’s new uniforms, launching soon). Old school United fans will appreciate the use of “Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin, which has been a consistent feature in United’s safety videos over the years.
I imagine the timing of this new video being announced is no coincidence. For the past several weeks, the FAA has increased oversight of United, but that restrictions are finally being rolled back now. United highlights how the safety video has been approved by the FAA.
You can watch the new United safety video for yourself below.
For context, below is the safety video that United has been playing up until now.
Here’s how Maggie Schmerin, United’s Chief Advertising Officer, describes the new video:
“The safest safety video is one that passengers actively watch. Our creative concept was inspired by the idea of connection and the many moments of any given day that our employee work groups have to connect to be able to get thousands of flights off the ground and to their destinations safely. We worked across the airline to ensure our new safety video clearly and succinctly communicates critical information in a way passengers can’t help but watch – no matter their age, background or experience traveling.”
My take on United Airlines’ new safety video
I have mixed feelings on United’s new safety video. First of all, I found the video to be quite creative, so I appreciate that aspect of it. So many airlines have taken the same creative direction with safety videos, and I’ve never seen anything quite like what United has published.
All that being said, am I the only one who finds the video highly distracting? I just watched the entire video in one go, and at the end of the video I realized that I didn’t remember a single thing that was said in the video, as I was too distracted by following the ball. I’m curious if I’m the only one who feels that way.
The video certainly captures the attention of passengers, though not to the safety instructions, in my opinion. It’s ironic, because United claims the video offers “clear, easy-to-follow demonstrations of critical safety procedures,” and that the video is a “creative concept designed to capture and keep the attention of even the most frequent fliers.”
The other thing is that I can’t help but find the theme a bit weird, and maybe it’s just because I’m an avgeek. If you ask me, it would be a lot more fun to highlight how cool planes are, and/or how many places United flies, rather than focusing on… a ball?
Bottom line
United Airlines has unveiled its new safety video, named “Safety in Motion.” The video has some captivating visuals. This is no doubt a video that people will watch carefully. I certainly did. The only problem is that I didn’t actually retain anything that was said, but rather was so focused on the ball.
What do you make of United’s new safety video?
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