QANTAS: No longer playing safety video on Boeing 737 domestic flights?

No safety video was played on two Qantas flights in the last week. A recorded voice announcement of the safety instructions was delivered over the public address system. It was accompanied by a cabin crew demonstration of the procedures.

Both flights were short-haul domestic between Adelaide and Sydney on Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The aircraft on both flights was the 22-year-old VH-VXG, which has no seatback screens. Dropdown screens are available overhead and were deployed to provide WiFi login instructions. So, they still work. It’s not like they have been decommissioned.

Safety Videos

Video Instructions about safety procedures on aircraft come in a myriad of varieties and are used by airlines as a way of reinforcing their brand values. Air New Zealand has a reputation for being quirky reflecting New Zealand culture, – and blockbuster films.

Air France has a reputation for very stylish productions. ANA currently runs my favourite video with specific animations about tearing the escape slide if you don’t ditch the high-heels and explicit reasoning why you shouldn’t bring your hand luggage.

Qantas has expertly tugged at the heartstrings of even non-Australian passengers with its series of ‘We still call Australia home’ videos until the most recent interaction. The 2024 version has been mocked and criticised on social media for featuring only photogenic staff and frequent flyers, and being filmed in destinations that Qantas doesn’t fly to. It misses the emotional mark too.

Why no safety video?

This is the first time I have noticed that no screens were deployed on a domestic flight in a Qantas B737 aircraft to play the safety video during the safety demonstration.

I am speculating now about the possible reasons why:

• Safety – it has been found in research that passengers are more likely to pay attention to the staff demonstration if there is no video
• Efficiency – that not deploying the screens somehow adds to the efficiency of procedures in some unspecified way
• Cost saving – not duplicating the video or disk or distributing the digital file to each aircraft saves money
• Maintenance – halving the number of times the dropdown screens are deployed requires less maintenance time and checks
• Shame – Qantas is so ashamed of the widely panned new safety video that it has headed the hate on social media and is limiting its exposure. The new safety video features frequent flyers and staff at destinations Qantas doesn’t even fly to and has been criticised for bias toward promotion instead of safety.

I have approached Qantas for comment.

2PAXfly Takeout

Between you and me, I doubt it is the ‘shame’ reason since they deploy this on international fights. Well, they did, at least on my last venture to Singapore with Qantas in February. Maybe they have stopped playing it on non-domestic flights?

I hope it is for the ‘safety’ reason detailed above. I’m one of those passengers who actually stops what they are doing and pays attention to the safety demonstrations. I usually watch the cabin staff and not the video, but I don’t think I represent the behaviour of the standard passenger.

Does the change in procedure matter? Probably not in the scheme of things. However, the withdrawal adds weight that the Safety video is more about promotion than safety.