John Travolta Qantas video: Safety video featuring actor labelled ‘corny’ by airline staff

By
Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:42 AM on 22nd March 2011

A new Qantas safety video for its A380 super jumbos starring John Travolta has been labelled ‘corny’ and ‘tacky’ by the airline’s staff.

The three-minute video has also annoyed Qantas employees because its voice over refers to flight attendants and pilots as a ‘team’ not a crew.

It opens with the Hollywood star, an ambassador for the airline, dressed in a Qantas uniform, complete with captain’s hat.

Scroll down to watch the video

Corny: John Travolta’s appearance in a new safety video to be screened on Qantas flights has been panned by airline staff

The 57-year-old says: ‘This is your captain speaking. Well, maybe not today.

‘But I can guarantee that the guys on the flight deck and the great team care just as much about aircraft safety as I do.

‘I’ve been flying over 40 years as a pilot and I can tell you, there’s no-one I’d rather have at the controls than a Qantas pilot.’

Some of the airline’s employees have now posted anonymous messages on internet forums criticising the clip.

Insulted: Some staff are irritated by the actor calling them ‘the team’ and not ‘crew’, saying ‘It makes us feel like we work at McDonald’s’

Sydney’s Daily Telegraph newspaper reports that one post said: ‘Who better than the genuine aviation professionals who saved QF32?’

The forum user was referring to Sydney-based pilot, Captain Richard de Crespigny, called
‘Captain Marvel’ after being credited with saving 466 lives on flight
QF32 from Singapore last year when parts of its engine fell off.

Several staff members have called for de Crespigny to replace Travolta in the video.

Another described the video as ‘corny’ and ‘tacky’.

Come fly with me: The Grease star is a fully-certified pilot with 40 years experience

Call me Captain: Travolta, who pilots his own Qantas Boeing 707, is global ambassador for the airline

Some flight attendants also commented they had a problem being referred
to as ‘the team’ and not cabin crew or flight attendants.

They said: ‘We feel it’s demeaning to be called “the team”, one said. ‘It makes us feel like we work at McDonald’s.’

Another said: ‘The whole thing seems to make the safety message seem trite.’

A spokesman for Qantas said the feedback they had from staff and customers had been positive.

Ambassador: The 57-year-old has embarked on several promotional tours for the airline, including landing in Melbourne for the F1 Grand Prix last year

She added: ‘We’re really happy with the video and we think it’s really engaging.’

The Grease star is a fully certified pilot and has embarked on a number of promotional tours for the airline in his capacity as ambassador.

Last November, he piloted his private Qantas Boeing 707 to Australia in a ‘Spirit of Friendship’ tour to coincide with the 90th birthday celebrations of the Australian airliner.

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