Popular Northland safety video returns to Air NZ fleet for fourth season

The hugely successful Summer of Safety, filmed in the Bay of Islands and Hokianga, featured Rachel Hunter, a Game of Thrones star and a host of local faces. Photo / supplied

An inflight safety video filmed in Northland and which has already racked up millions of views is being shown for a fourth season on Air New Zealand's fleet.

Summer of Safety, filmed in 2016 the Bay of Islands and Hokianga, is one of the airline's most successful safety videos to date.

It has been seen by millions of airline passengers and was viewed 7.1 million times online in its first month alone.

It returned in 2018 when the airline pulled a widely panned rap-style safety video, and now Summer of Safety is once again informing passengers — to an idyllic Northland backdrop — where to find the emergency exits and how to put on oxygen masks.

It was brought back in December for a record fourth run to coincide with the Kiwi summer.

The clip's return is part of a campaign with the Bay of Islands Marketing Group and Northland Inc, which includes stories in the inflight magazine Kia Ora and scenes in the airline's Where to Next? TV advertisements.

Air New Zealand head of tourism and regional affairs Reuben Levermore said Northland had become increasingly popular with leisure travellers.

''Since 2015 seats on our services to and from Kerikeri and Whangārei have increased by almost 30 per cent. The new Kerikeri airport terminal opened last year also provides a fantastic welcome to visitors travelling to the Bay of Islands and Far North," he said.

Bay of Islands Marketing Group chairman Charles Parker said he was thrilled to see the partnership with Air New Zealand continue for a fourth summer. The campaign also aimed to encourage visitors to head to the Bay in autumn, when crowds had thinned but the weather was still good, he said.

The marketing group and the Far North District Council contributed to the cost of making the video.

As well as stars such as Kiwi supermodel Rachel Hunter, actors Joe Naufahu (Game of Thrones) and Jayden Daniels (Shortland Street) and Olympic pole vaulter Eliza McCartney, it features locals such as Waitangi kuia Ngaire Apiata, kaumatua Wiremu Cash and Treaty Grounds cultural manager Mori Rapana. The soundtrack is by Kiwi singer Ladyhawke.

Air New Zealand also has a partnership with Queenstown Resort College's Te Tai Tokerau campus in Paihia, which trains youth for careers in tourism and hospitality.