Skift Business Traveler: Where Airline Safety Videos Get Weird

What to Know Now

According to the Skift marketing department I’m officially defined as a “millennial,” which apparently means I should be wetting my pants over the new Delta inflight safety video. I’ll admit: it’s clever. The video features almost every popular meme from the last five years mashed into one six-minute video, which translated for the marketing department means another cool feather for the young people cap. You’ll note that Air New Zealand just launched their own new safety video (wait, didn’t they just do that?) with surfers last week.

I get it. Once droll and impossible to follow, today’s airline safety video is not only an opportunity to be creative but also an vehicle with which to reach out to your target market and make a few friends. It’s actually brilliant. But I also worry that we’re starting to lose focus on the real matters at hand. Call me old, but last time I got on a Virgin America flight I had to put on an ostrich pillow to drown out their safety video. How safe is that?

Social Quote of the Day

The real breakout star of @Delta’s new meme-tastic safety vid is this handsome charmer: https://t.co/rg68nVa1Pu

@johncolucci | John Colucci, Engagement Editor @ Engadget

Airlines

American Airlines’ CEO Says He’ll Match Low-Cost Carrier Prices to Compete: American Airlines Group Inc. will “compete aggressively” against discount carriers that are piling on added seats and then cutting fares to keep planes full, Chief Executive Officer Doug Parker said. Read more at Skift

A New Group of Startup Airlines Attracts Fancy Flyers With Subscription Fees: Long lines, delayed flights, lost baggage, crabby flight attendants. These are just some of the reasons to abhor commercial air travel, even for those who benefit from the endless, growing perks of flying business or first class. Read more at Skift

Delta Could Boost Its Stake in Aeromexico and Deepen Its Ties: Grupo Aeromexico SAB, Mexico’s largest airline, said Citigroup Inc. sold its remaining 16 percent stake in the carrier as Delta Air Lines Inc. may buy as much as 8 percent of outstanding shares. Read more at Skift

Airports

Over the Edge: How Safe Are La Guardia’s ‘Short’ Runways? There has been a lot of talk about an article that recently appeared in the New York Times that calls for the closing of La Guardia Airport. Many of the points the writer made were misleading and unsupported. Though many have responded on Twitter and in blogs, the part that bothered me most was early on in the article when the writer said “two runways… are surrounded on three sides by water, making landing difficult and hazardous.” Read more at NYCAviation

Poland’s New Airport is the Latest that Europe Doesn’t Need: It’s easy to understand why Szymany, a former military airstrip set amid dense forest in northeastern Poland, would have appealed to the CIA. Why an international airport is being built at Szymany is a little harder to fathom. Read more at Skift

Beacons land at UK airports to send out offers and rewards: Eight UK airports are to roll out a network of 200 Bluetooth Low Energy beacons that will deliver notifications such as offers and rewards to passengers while they wait for their flights. The service is expected to be extended to other airports across the country in the future. Read more at NFCWorld

Tech

Lyft Takes $100 Million Investment From Activist Investor Carl Icahn: Carl Icahn is joining the parade of investors in startups, hitching a $100 million ride with the ride-hailing service Lyft. Read more at Skift

The Hotel Smartphone App Will Control Room Service and Everything Else: No longer does it make sense to reach for a bedside phone to order breakfast; now, with a hotel smartphone app in each traveler’s pocket, most amenities once available through the wired hotel system can now be accessed through the cloud. Read more at Skift

Airlines Putting Safety Over Profits in Smartphone Battery Ban: Replacing your smartphone battery just got harder. Read more at Skift

All Mobile Bookers Aren’t Created Equal, Priceline Official Says: Some 70 percent of last-minute hotel bookings for Priceline.com come from mobile — app and site. But when you consider the habits of mobile bookers, they tend to be on polar ends of the spectrum. Read more at Skift

Hotels

The Technology Treats Found in Starwood Hotels’ Concept Lab: Hotel rooms are all the same, right? You have a bed, a bathroom, a TV, and a room service menu that entices you to order a grilled cheese sandwich at midnight. Read more at Skift

Robert De Niro Opens Nobu Hotel in Philippines as Part of Global Expansion: Robert de Niro and his business partners formally opened Asia’s first Nobu Hotel in Manila on Monday as the luxury brand gears up for global expansion. Read more at Skift

U.S. Cities With the Priciest Hotel Stays This Memorial Day Weekend: While gas prices are lower this Memorial Day weekend than in many previous years, hotel stays across the U.S. will come with higher price tags than last year. Read more at Skift

The New Hotel Design That Perfectly Combines Business and Leisure: Hotels are rethinking room design as guests’ work and play priorities merge creating the desire for a space that caters equally to both. Read more at Skift

Your Turn

Our old friend Steve Greenwood from The Verge and Gadling just officially started working at Reddit as their creative director for video. Welcome to the neighborhood Steve.

Tips and Comment

Can be sent to gm[at]skift[dot]com or to @grantkmartin

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