A NEW Qantas safety video introduced by Hollywood actor John Travolta has been labelled "cringeworthy" by the airline's flight attendants and pilots, who are annoyed he calls them a "team" instead of a crew.

The three-minute demonstration video, played before take-off on every domestic and long-haul Qantas flight, has angered cabin crew who say a "real pilot" - like Captain Richard de Crespigny, credited with saving 466 lives on the failed QF32 flight from Singapore - should front the message.

The video opens with Travolta, named the airline's ambassador in 2010, dressed in a pilot's uniform and hat, announcing: "This is your captain speaking - well, maybe not today.

"But I can guarantee that the guys on the flight deck and the greater team care just as much about aircraft safety as I do.

"I've been flying over 40 years as a pilot and I can tell you, there's no one I'd rather have at the controls than a Qantas pilot."

Staff have taken to anonymous posts on online chat forums to discuss their dislike of the Travolta video.

They called on Qantas to use Captain de Crespigny.

"Who better than the genuine aviation professionals who saved QF32?," said one Qantas staff member.

One Qantas flight attendant, who did not wish to be named, described the video as "corny" and "tacky".

Flight attendants say they also have a problem with being repeatedly referred to as "the team " - not flight attendants or cabin crew members - in the video.

"We feel it's demeaning to be called "the team", one said. "It makes us feel like we work at McDonald's."

Another staff member said he had expected more from the video in the wake of recent safety disasters.

"The whole thing seems to make the safety message seem trite," he said.

A Qantas spokeswoman said they had received only positive feedback from staff and customers.

"We're really happy with the video and we think it's really engaging," she said.



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