Air time ending for safety rap video
Air New Zealand’s muchmaligned rap safety video might be on its way out, but travellers will still see it for a few weeks yet.
The airline spent $2.5 million on It’s Kiwi Safety, which featured Hunt for the Wilderpeople star Julian Dennison, launching it in November 2018.
Air New Zealand said it was dumping the video it had previously called a ‘‘blockbuster’’ because of a partnership it was forming with Bay of Islands tourism groups, replacing it with
Summer of Safety, as part of a wider campaign to bring visitors to Northland.
That 2016 video, filmed in Northland, stars Rachel Hunter, Olympic medallist Eliza McCartney, Joe Naufahu from Game of Thrones and Jayden Daniels from Shortland Street.
Soon after its launch, the rap video attracted vocal and widespread complaints.
Breakfast presenter Hayley Holt called it ‘‘embarrassing’’, a comment which made headlines around New Zealand. Others asked how safe it was to have passengers listen to a safety message in rap form.
Although the replacement process started on February 1, passengers are still being played
It’s Kiwi Safety on some flights. A spokeswoman said Summer of Safety was being ‘‘progressively rolled out’’ on international and domestic services. That process was complete for the domestic fleet as of February 3.
But passengers reported that it was played on an Auckland-toWellington flight yesterday morning.
The airline said the Northland video would be introduced on international flights from March 1.