Qantas has unveiled a new safety video featuring 80s mullets and 70s moustaches, right through to 1940s flying boats and 1920s propeller aircraft, to celebrate 100 years of the national carrier’s history.
The safety briefing is delivered by current Qantas crew in carefully recreated historical settings, including on board aircraft and in airport terminals.
The video features iconic aircraft, fashion and aviation milestones to create a 100-year time-lapse from the 1920s to present day.
Some of the scenes were recreated in real life, while others such as the original Avro 504 and the 1930s De Havilland 86 were bought back to life using computer-generated imagery.
According to Qantas, the production team spent months researching information from the national archives, aviation museums.
They also used photographs and artefacts from the extensive Qantas Heritage collection to perfect the details of each scene, from original life jackets to the wall panels from retired aircraft that were retrieved from the Mojave Desert.
With a soundtrack featuring Australian jazz legend James Morrison playing numerous brass instruments, the video is set to instrumental versions of the iconic Peter Allen anthem “I Still Call Australia Home” and tailored to the musical style of each era.
Current Qantas staff appear in historical versions of their present-day roles, with Alastair Fysh – the grandson of Qantas co-founder Sir Hudson Fysh – also making a cameo appearance.
Various crew uniforms from throughout the decades were sourced from Qantas’s own collection and retired Qantas crew. The clothing for extras came from a combination of personal wardrobes and op shops in regional communities.
Check out the video in all its retro glory below:
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said safety videos are an important tool to communicate vital safety messages to the 55 million people who travel with Qantas every year, and that making it interesting helps keep their attention even after they’ve seen it multiple times.
“This safety video is a look back at the different styles of aircraft, service and uniforms that have been part of our long history,” he said.
“And it calls out the contribution Qantas and its people have made to aviation, like the invention of the slide raft, as well as the national carrier’s role in connecting Australia to the world.”
“It’s really a tribute to a century of our people, the changing styles and our innovation. The one thing that has never changed is our commitment to safety.”
The new safety video will screen on board all Qantas international and domestic flights from 1 March 2020.
Details revealed for centenary exhibition
In other news, a fully immersive exhibition showcasing the past, present and future of Qantas will tour four capital cities from this June.
First announced last year, Qantas today revealed the exhibition, titled ‘Qantas Centenary – 100 Years of the Spirit of Australia’, will start in the same state as the national carrier – opening on 27 June at Brisbane’s Queensland Museum until 16 November 2020, the date of the national carrier’s 100-year anniversary.
The touring exhibition will be at the State Library of NSW in Sydney from December 2020 to April 2021 and at Scienceworks Museum in Melbourne from June to August 2021, before its final display in Perth in December 2021 to February 2022.
The all-ages exhibition brings to life the story of Qantas through previously unseen artefacts, life-sized replicas and interactive installations.
Visitors will also experience a behind-the-scenes look into Qantas’s present-day operations and a sneak preview of the future of aviation, all with free entry.
The design of the exhibition has been crafted around six themes – ‘Origins’, ‘Wings to the World’, ‘Social Spirit’, ‘Challenges’, ‘Innovation’ and ‘People of Qantas’ – and retells the biggest stories in the history of the airline through multimedia displays.
