Qantas, known as “The Spirit of Australia” has been around for more than a century, and in that time it has proven itself to be one of the safest and most dependable airlines in the world. The excellent safety record of Qantas is a reflection of the company’s dedication to safety, which is a core value.

Qantas pioneered the long storytelling safety video, and they have now produced a number of them. I have loved them all. As a Qantas passenger who has flown them over 470 times earning me Gold for Life Frequent Flier status and Platinum status multiple times, these videos feel very much a part of the Qantas culture. Whenever I board an Australia bound flight after a long overseas trip, these videos never fail to tug at my heart strings. They also reassure and remind me that Qantas has that amazing safety mantle, meaning I do relax even more than I do with other airlines.

Qantas this week, revealed their 2024 safety video. (follow the link or watch it below). There has been a huge amount of critique of the video by public, regular fliers and media.

This is a familiar pattern, currently. Qantas has endured significant criticism over the last four years. Some of it is warranted, and some of it has been completely ridiculous. It has felt like some politicians and media outlets simply want to find fault with everything the Australian carrier does. They ignore the fact the airline has remained safe, profitable and in the top 20 airlines in the world for customer service. It is hard to know if the criticisms of this video sit within the general negativity to Qantas or have some truth. I rate Qantas as a Good Airline, with a rating of 83% currently. For more on how I rank airlines, click here.

In this year’s video, Qantas takes a unique approach by showcasing the favourite destinations worldwide of both Qantas staff and some Qantas Frequent Flyers. I do like the inclusion of the Frequent Fliers in the video, but I am a little jealous as I would have loved to have been chosen!

Visually, the new video is stunning. It was filmed across 14 destinations over 40 days in temperatures ranging from minus 36 degrees Celsius (-33F) in Lapland, Finland (above) to 36 degrees in Jaipur, India (97F). I have listed the locations and the associated safety components below.

The biggest criticism of the video is that the full version runs for 9 minutes and 32 seconds. On a long taxi at Sydney airport, that will keep our attention until we get a runway slot! It needs to be noted that there are 75 versions of the video in 12 different languages. On many flights, we will see a far shorter version. By contrast, Qantas’ previous video launched in 2020 which celebrated 100 years ran for 8 minutes 21 seconds. Their 2016 safety video is about half the length of this new one.

Another criticism by the Flight Attendants Association of Australia (FAAA) is that the video does not tell passengers to listen to cabin crew in an emergency situation.

Airline Ratings noted that there is no message in the video to leave bags on board in an emergency evacuation. This knowledge was a huge factor in the successful evacuation of Japan Airlines 516, earlier this month.

The Video

What do you think? Is it too much? Too long? How will you feel seeing it ten or twenty times (which I probably will!).

It will be progressively rolled out onboard Qantas flights from this month. No doubt I will see it soon. My 448th Qantas flight is in exactly three weeks. More excitingly, in 2024, I plan to fly to Santiago, Chile with Qantas, meaning I have travelled to all inhabited continents with the “Spirt of Australia”!

Video Locations

The Locations in the 2024 Video and the associated safety information are here. Note, you can fly with Qantas to about half of these destinations. For the rest, you will need to use a One World partner. All the ones marked with a ✔ are places I have been to.

✔	Litchfield National Park, Australia	Introduction
✔	Queenstown, New Zealand	The type of plane that passenger is on

✔	Hollywood, USA	Seatbelt information
	Cabo San Lucas, Mexico	Life Jacket Explanation

✔

Ningaloo, Western Australia

Mask Demonstration

	Jaipur, India	Brace Position
✔	Freycinet National Park, Tasmania	Emergency Exit information
	Lapland, Finland	Escape Slides and life-rafts.

✔	Seoul, South Korea	No Smoking
✔	Marrakech, Morocco	Keep and create a safe environment and instructions on bag stowage
✔	Rome, Italy (the tear-jerker scene)	Electronic device instructions
✔	Paris, France	Qantas magazine and DVT

✔	Sydney, Australia	Prepare for take-off with seat upright
✔	Noosa, Queensland, Australia	Conclusion

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