Air New Zealand Snags A Golden Girl; Betty White Films Safety Video For Airline [VIDEO]
Betty White is helping Air New Zealand disseminate safety instructions on air. The beloved nonagenarian filmed an in-flight safety video for the airline, with help from fellow U.S. entertainers Gavin MacLeod and Jimmy Weldon.
The over four minute-video has since become viral since it was uploaded on YouTube on Wednesday. To date, it has over 270,000 views, and has been mentioned by international media outlets, such as the BBC and the New York Times.
In the “Safety Old School Style” video, Betty has brought a couple of staff members from the airline to the fictional Second Wind Retirement Resort to teach them about safety inside an airplane.
“If you wanna know about survival, talk to us because you’re gonna want some advice from folks who have been there and done that,” White, 91, told her retirement home friends.
“Gavin MacLeod, what’s in the box?” White asked the 82-year-old comedian in the clip after the latter followed instructions to put belongings under the seat.
“This is a priceless antique... your sense of humour.
Weldon, 90, also has a funny bit in the video, in which he turned off his hearing aid when asked to turn off all electronics onboard.
“In Betty, we found the perfect partner – she is renowned for being a little bit cheeky and with a career spanning 74 years, who better to learn survival tips from than the award-winning show business veteran?” Air New Zealand’s head of global brand development, Jodi Williams, said.
For the former “Golden Girls” star, shooting the video was fun.
“I think we’ve shown that it doesn’t matter what age you are, it’s important to live life to the full,” she said.
Watch it here:
Air New Zealand, which was named Australasia’s best airline in 2012 for the fifth year in a row, is known for its quirky and funny safety instructional videos. It has featured videos with survivalist Bear Grylls and even capitalised on the “Lord of the Rings” fame with a “The Hobbit”-themed clip.