No worries Qantas — rugby isn’t your forte
Qantas is re-editing its latest inflight safety video after a New Zealand sports fan spotted a gaffe when it referred to Eden Park.
The video features “everyday Australians sharing the Aussie spirit with locals around the world”, including rare scenes of Wallaby supporters looking happy at an All Black test on Kiwi soil, in this case in an Eden Park setting where they last triumphed in 1986.
However, an aerial shot before the scene of jubilant Wallaby fans surrounded by grim looking All Black supporters, was what was known as Jade or AMI Stadium in Christchurch.
That stadium is now being dismantled after being damaged in the Christchurch earthquake in 2011.
A Qantas spokeswoman said the airline was in the process of updating the video with the correct aerial footage of Eden Park.
The airline released the video yesterday but it had not been loaded into aircraft entertainment systems.
The advert also shows scenes from the Shotover Jet in Queenstown, to where the airline also flies from Australian cities.
Other scenes include playing cricket on a rooftop in Tokyo, riding in the front seat of a taxi in New York, indulging in a “Tim Tam Slam” in Johannesburg alongside safety instructions for travelling on Qantas aircraft. The classic Aussie phrase “no worries” also features in a conversation between a couple traversing the Andes in Chile.
Set to a modern take of I Still Call Australia Home, the video starts with a frequent Australian rite of passage as a young woman says farewell to her family at Melbourne Airport and ends with an off-duty Qantas pilot at Cottesloe Beach in Western Australia.
In between, about 20 Australians who are living in or visiting the destinations shown, explain lifejackets, emergency exits and why you should always ask for help if your phone slips between the seats.
Qantas International chief executive Alison Webster said the airline’s safety video was a creative way to share the spirit of Australia with millions of customers every year.
“The primary purpose of these videos is to communicate an important safety message, and we know from our previous efforts that beautiful locations with a touch of humour is a great way to get people’s attention each time they fly.
“We use real people, rather than actors, in our safety videos because it creates a sense of authenticity that’s very Australian in itself.”
The film is the latest in the nontraditional approach taken to safety videos by airlines. Air New Zealand was one of the pioneers but has faced pushback from plans to set its next one in Antarctica where one of its DC10s crashed on Mt Erebus in 1979 during a sightseeing flight. Some relatives of those who died say the plans are insensitive.