Rated
Jan 28 2007
•
1 review
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aerospace, video, aviation safety culture
• youtube.com
Airlines make less errors than hospitals; there are several reasons for this. An obvious one is that pilots' safety in flight is equally at stake as passengers'. Another reason is that aviators have long had a culture of talking frankly about critical incidents and learning from them. This is something that hospitals have increasingly tried to do.
In contrast, frankness about critical incidents does not seem to be high on the agenda in marketing -- whether it be the marketing divisions of airlines or pharmaceutical companies, or communications offices of hospitals. There is thus a tension between the face presented to the outside world and the reality behind the scenes. That is probably why Air NZ has not been totally thrilled by the dissemination of this clip.
So ask yourself -- would seeing this change your feelings about flying with Air NZ? On the one hand, scary things can happen on Air NZ flights. On the other hand, the pilots are professionals who face these possibilities and learn from them. These hard facts of life are out of step with the airline's advertising campaign, which wants you to think about Lord of the Rings Landscapes and legroom in the cabin. Personally I think Marketing, and its cousins Spin, and Propaganda, have got a lot to answer for in our world. The trouble is that when we want to make a point, we depend on someone with marketing skills to make it for us. So there is an ongoing battle between style and substance.
And the answer to my own question? Well, it probably is more information than I want. But at least it's out in the open.
