[esselle]

When I first started flying regularly, late 80’s/early 90’s, cabin crew would routinely admonish any pax not paying full attention to the safety briefing, in a way which left nobody in any doubt as to how important it was.

I haven’t seen that happen for a while now, so if the crew don’t present it as such, it is no surprise that it is ignored by many.

[SimonS1]

Having decided to allow gate to gate use of electronic devices the crew are on a hiding to nothing. In fact coming across to Mauritius on Weds the crew announced on boarding that devices could be used in “all phases of flight”.

[LuganoPirate]

I can probably recite the safety briefing by heart so like Simon I rarely watch them unless on a plane I’m not familiar with. No matter which plane I’m on I always check where the exits are in relation to my seat.

[canucklad]

What amazes me about the whole thing is this…..

If there is an accident involving an aircraft, the appropriate bodies stop at nothing, with cost not being an issue to find out the cause of the accident.
Then fixes are implemented to ensure that the risk is removed or at the very least minimised..
Because of this approach air travel has now become the safest form of travel.

Yet, and without the time to go and research specific incidents , time and time again fatalities have happened in survival incidents because people couldn’t get out the aircraft in a timely manner.

But, where are we today, what has the industry done to improve our safety ……lighting strips on the floor!!

No smoke hoods, not even a smoke mask….

But we are allowed on with everything including the kitchen sink, allowed to use distracting devices during the 2 most critical parts of the flight, and of course the airlines assume all will be well if they yak to us about “stuff”

In my opinion ,a totally unsatisfactory state of affairs…..

[seasonedtraveller]

Even after all my years of travelling by air, I always put down my reading material and at least, pay attention – even if I can recite the script by heart. I do this as a sign of respect to the crew and as an example to fellow passengers.

I am constantly amazed and annoyed by the ignorant bloody fools who think it’s ok to talk all the way through the briefing as though it doesn’t apply to them.
I have to say, it also annoys me that cabin crew very, very rarely ask the offenders to be quiet – in my opinion, cabin crew should absolutey insist that people cease their conversation for the 2 mins that the briefing actually takes.
Rant over 🙂

[SimonS1]

Whilst the points raised are valid I think there is a risk of overreaction.

Despite several incidents I don’t recall a single fatality on a British airline or a flight to/from the UK for some time. Wherever there has been an incident people have been safely evacuated with limited injuries. So current procedures are clearly effective.

Of course complacency should be avoided and there is always room for improvement but there certainly won’t be a knee jerk reaction in my personal travelling habits.

What I do feel is this is another wake up call to control the level of baggage entering airline cabins so lockers are not chock full of heavy bags which through human nature people will be tempted to take with them on leaving (I did read that 48 hours after the LAS incident people had not been reunited with their belongings….).

[canucklad]

I agree Simon that over reaction is a risk……
Overly secured cockpit doors being a classic example……

However, it’s worth noting that the BA evacuation was exemplary, and worked like clockwork, not least because it had many factors working in its favour……

1) Most importantly (You reading this WW) a well-trained, professional crew from front to aft.
2) A well drilled and highly professional controller and more importantly fire crew on the ground
3) A flight less than 2/3rds full
4) The incident also happened in daytime
5) The fire didn’t rapidly spread before the fire fighters arrived

I do like the idea of securing overhead bins during take-off and landing through an auto-lock device
I’m not an advocate of gate to gate IFE or otherwise usage
I also like the idea of the briefing being done by the cabin crew, not relayed by TV screens. Also that certain words are emphasised to focus the mind.

A classic example of my last point, was on a flight back from “somewhere” , during the life jacket spiel, I clearly remember the fuss the guy took over ensuring we tied the straps to the LEFT and in FRONT What he failed to stress was not to inflate the vest inside the cabin.
To me he should have shown us how to tie it, regardless of side and then stress UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES inflate inside the cabin…Language used correctly can be a powerful tool.

[JohnHarper]

Like many of us who fly frequently I’m sure I have the idea of safety on an aircraft now written into my DNA but that does not stop me paying attention to the crew briefing on every occasion that I fly.

That said briefings are different and give more emphasis to some things than others and some include things that others do not. Some of the things that are programmed into me that don’t appear in all briefings are:

Making sure my seat belt is low and tight – QF
My shoes are on – SQ
In the event of an emergency landing loosening tie and collar and removing sharp objects from my pockets – TK

Equally if things go wrong the following phrases are programmed in:
Pull one mask downwards and place it over your nose and mouth – SQ

Doors are opened by pulling the handle inwards and upwards and windows by pulling the handle inwards and downwards – LH A320 series but any A320 will be the same.

Life jackets are almost always identical with straps to attach to a clip which is easy and obvious apart from BA who tell you to ‘pass the tapes around your waist and tie them securely in a double bow at the side’ – can you imagine trying to do that while seated in an economy class seat, with the clip you would have a chance, the BA jacket is a failure and was out of date thirty years ago.

In general I still prefer the crew to do the demo, videos are not generally very well made and they get very stale. If they are made of cartoon characters they are a turn off immediately as is the scenario of the crew gossiping in the galley while it is played – surely it is for their safety too!

This video is probably the one that is most programmed into me and although long, I watched it so many times I can almost recite it which I think is no bad thing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXbN5H7KBLA

Also when they are in two languages, I prefer the messages to be given comprehensively in one language and then the other as done by LH rather than segment by segment as done by AF although I do think their current one is rather good!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzsH67F4Dt4

Equally it might be better if only the relevant things are covered for example if you fly between TXL-MUC with LH, they will not take up time telling you about life jackets for obvious reasons.

All told, I think most airlines have room for improvement in their safety demonstrations but then of course things like new videos cost money and while NZ invest regularly and produce some amazing videos BA and their cartoons are so out of date that it’s difficult to take seriously.

[LuganoPirate]

If oxygen makes are deployed, put yours on first then assist your children. But they never say why. Most mothers will of course first ensure their children’s mask is on before attending to themselves. Assuming they haven’t passed out that is! Crew really ought to explain this.

[AnthonyDunn]

Out of a sense of self-preservation, I always pay attention and read the safety card to familiarise myself with the plane. Notwithstanding how many times I have been on an A320/321 or B777, there is always a variant.

But if all pre-flight safety videos were as good as these, we’d all watch them avidly:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji65WI5QLZI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r9rIrRt-sk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOw44VFNk8Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBlRbrB_Gnc

And I was delighted to hear that QF were flying all in black after the final enthralling game of a scintillating rugby world cup. I had a superb time at Twickenham watching the ‘Boks versus Wales. We’ll gloss over why it was Wales and not the hosts…

[FDOS_UK]

LuganoPirate – 11/09/2015 20:08 GMT

IIRC (from my high performance aircraft training, in 1996) the reason they want you to don masks is that in the event of an explosive decompression (just means the pressure drops rapidly), the pax will lose consciousness in seconds, rather than minutes, but brain damage comes later, so it is important that the parents/guardians are on O2 first and then they can look after their kids.

I’m not sure how you explain that without causing a lot of angst/stress with some pax.

There is a comprehensive article about the topic, here

http://www.avweb.com/news/aeromed/181893-1.html

[DontTurnRight]

Very simply. If you did not have one you would be negligent! Would hate to be an airline which had an accident, without offering such!

[PeterCoultas]

Excellent recent comments from JohnHarper, FDOS & ADunn.

Even (an advertising approach) maybe obligatory videos before you can watch your chosen program

[sandtrekker]

Having worked offshore for many years, it has always been mandatory for rig crews to view a safety video in the departure area before boarding a helicopter. I have known people to be dismissed from their jobs because they did not pay attention. Obviously this would be impractical and downright impossible to enforce in today’s airports.

I am sure the airlines have to show the safety videos/demonstrations for insurance and government regulation purposes. (Also known as Cover Your A*se).

[MartynSinclair]

A great piece of marketing… how EMIRATES managed to get 65,000 people’s attention for a safety briefing

https://www.youtube.com/embed/jAF2hZxdFRE

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