Retro fitness guru Richard Simmons gives former Breakfast host Paul Henry a telling-off in Air New Zealand's latest safety video.



As Simmons turns the safety demonstration into a manic workout, replete with neon lycra and sequins, Henry surreptitiously says into his mobile phone: "I'm on a plane full of crazies".



"Stop broadcasting, Buddy!" scolds Simmons, closing Henry's laptop.



"I don't think it's the first time anyone's said that to me," Henry sighs, referencing his exit from Breakfast. The pair then sit side by side not speaking before the unbearable tension is broken when Simmons kisses Henry on the cheek.



Henry last year quit the TV1 show under intense pressure over racist remarks he made about Governor General Sir Anand Satyanand and his mocking of the name of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit during the Commonwealth Games.



On the video stowing luggage becomes an exercise with Simmons: "Stretch and slide, yeah! You're a giraffe." It also features Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan, who performs some freestyle aerobics.



The Simmon-hosted Mile High Madness video is the latest in a series of fun safety videos from Air New Zealand, including one where the staff are naked apart from body paint, and another featuring top All Blacks and coach Graham Henry.



More recently, rapper Snoop Dogg duetted with Air New Zealand mascot Rico in an advertisement.



Simmons has been in New Zealand to take a fitness class to raise funds for the Christchurch Earthquake Red Cross appeal.



Simmons was a pioneer of fitness TV in the eighties, with his high energy and slightly unhinged The Richard Simmons Show.