Examining the Effectiveness of Pre-Flight Cabin Safety Announcements in Commercial Aviation

Abstract

The aim of this study was to test 3 different pre-flight safety videos (no humor, with humor, and use of a celebrity) in terms of their memorability for the key safety messages. A secondary aim was to test changes in participants’ mood as a result of being exposed to different safety videos. Sixty-one participants completed the study and were tested at 2 different intervals for recall of key safety messages (postvideo exposure and 2-hr follow-up), and at 3 different intervals for their mood (pre-exposure to video, postvideo, and 2-hr follow-up). The use of a celebrity or humor in the pre-flight safety video proved effective in terms of memory for key safety messages, and the video containing humor was the only video to positively influence individuals’ mood.