Titled “Care That Comes From The Heart”, Philippine Airlines’ (PAL) new in-flight safety video debuted on the airline’s first Airbus A350-1000, delivered Dec. 22, 2025, and was released online Dec. 31, raking up over 200,000 views on YouTube in just four days. The actors speak Filipino, and the cabin crew speaks English, with the entire video subtitled in English.
Drama and flight safety combined (Spoilers ahead)
It starts with a simple greeting from the cabin crew, but viewers are immediately taken aback by the curated hacienda-style setting where they are – a type of large Philippine estate with Spanish-colonial influence.
From there, we are introduced to a forbidden love between a poor, lower-class male worker (Anton) and a rich, upper-class young woman (Luisa), who is immediately proposed to by a wealthy gentleman (Diego) with her family’s support. Are you hooked yet?
As the drama develops, viewers are reminded of the in-flight safety instructions. Upset by Luisa’s sadness towards their arranged marriage, Diego rejects her father’s cigar and says, “I’ll vape instead,” but is quickly interrupted by the flight attendant, who reminds them it’s forbidden to smoke or vape.
Later on, when Anton barges into the church to stop Luisa and Diego’s wedding, the cabin crew voiceover says, “Should there be a rapid change in cabin pressure, oxygen masks will automatically drop in front of you,” and Luisa’s shocked family puts them on.
These anachronisms and surrealisms run throughout PAL‘s video and are described by viewers as one of its greatest sources of humour.
In an article published in Esquire Magazine, the Palanca Award-winning writer Christa I. De La Cruz declared: “I Finally Watched an In-Flight Safety Video All the Way to the End.” And if the comments section on YouTube proves anything, it is that she wasn’t the only one: one user (Turbo9987) referenced the 4:57 timestamp, writing, “The fact that there is such a dramatic scene but everyone is wearing life vests is hysterical.”
The 6-minute 25-second video is co-presented by Mastercard, produced in collaboration with BBDO Guerrero, produced by Arcade Film Factory, and directed by Marius Talumpas.
Necessary entertainment
PAL’s soap opera comes as airlines are struggling to draw passengers’ attention to their in-flight safety videos.
A 2015 study published in Safety Science found that
“approximately 37% of participants report that they failed to attend to the pre-flight safety briefing video on their last commercial flight.”
The survey results also suggested that humour in those videos was an effective way of maintaining individuals’ attention throughout.
As the lack of awareness of safety procedures can increase the risk for passengers during emergencies, airlines have been increasingly investing in creative, high-production-value in-flight videos.
In 2024, a British Airways safety video caused unprecedented summer hype. Featuring in a “Pride and ”Prejudice”-style setting, the characters follow the cabin crew’s instructions as they socialise, dance, flirt, and prepare for battle.
Keep forgetting the brace position? You won’t forget after watching five Scotsmen demonstrating it on top of their horses, where they also fastened their seatbelts. This video has now accumulated over 2 million views on YouTube.
Do you have a favourite in-flight safety video? What did you think of the Philippine Airlines “safety novela”? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
