Safety in the world of commercial aviation has been a key topic in the early days of 2024, following a collision between two aircraft at Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND) on January 2nd. Safety videos play a key role in ensuring that passengers are prepared for emergencies, and the latest from Korean Air is a little different.
A world first
Specifically, as announced earlier today, the Seoul-headquartered SkyTeam founding member has become the first carrier in the world to feature virtual humans in a safety video. The airline has teamed up with Netmarble F&C’s Metaverse Entertainment subsidiary to present the demonstration in a virtual manner.
As seen below, the star of the video is a virtual human dressed in the Korean Air cabin crew uniform. The carrier explains that “the sleek visual presentation is expected to garner passengers’ attention and increase viewers’ engagement levels,” and adds that it hopes to resonate with all ages and backgrounds.
Image: Korean Air
As well as using a virtual human to lead the safety demonstration, Korean Air has also set its new safety video in a virtual space. Known as the ‘Korean Air Safety Lounge,’ the airline notes that “the virtual space was created to make it easier to explain and understand the inflight safety rules.” But who else features in the video?
Aided by a virtual girl group
The video’s virtual flight attendant protagonist is known as Rina, but what about the passengers following her instructions? As it happens, these are also of a virtual persuasion, and, specifically, are the four members of a virtual girl group known as MAVE. Touching on the technological step forward that the airline’s new video represents, a Korean Air spokesperson stated that:
“This will become a great example of the synergy created between the aviation industry and digital technology. We intend to change perceptions of inflight safety videos with these new ideas, and make them more relatable and engaging for passengers.”
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According to Korean Air, the airline is now playing the video on all of its flights as of today. However, for those wanting to get the chance to view it without having to fly with the South Korean flag carrier, it has also been uploaded in full to the airline’s official YouTube channel. The five-minute clip, which is embedded above, has been viewed over 30,000 times in the 10 hours since its upload.
Several high-profile releases last year
As it happens, Korean Air’s announcement represents the latest in a string of high-profile safety video releases in recent years. For example, Aerolíneas Argentinas released a football-themed safety video for use on its Airbus A330s and Embraer E190s following the country’s 2022 FIFA World Cup winning campaign. Meanwhile, British Airways’ latest release features the carrier’s new uniforms.
What do you make of Korean Air’s new safety video? Do you expect virtual elements to play a key role in future onboard demonstrations? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!