Asian airlines continue to push innovative marketing and customer service strategies and practices that surprise and delight travelers, especially those from western countries, who sadly have become expectant of encountering to crabby flight attendants in their own lands. Late last year, we here at WoWasis reported that PC Air, flying out of Bangkok, was now flying with ladyboy crews. Not to be outdone, the Philippines’ Cebu Pacific Airlines occasionally flies with dancing flight attendants, who parade and spin while delivering their air safety message.  Two compelling dancing flight attendant videos have surfaced on YouTube, one of which was filmed as the airliner was taxiing, the other during a studio rehearsal. The girls and the passengers seem to be having an awful lot of fun.

Everyone seems to agree that it will be a cold day in hell before airlines based in western countries will ever do anything this edgy. Unions and conservative management will see to that. In defense of airlines operating out of the west, their curmudgeonly attitude tends to place top value on safety, whereas Cebu Pacific’s has been spotty.

Vietnam Airlines, not to be outdone tried both a bikini video and calendar, but was rebuffed and fined by the government. Southeast Asia, however, has done a lot to put the fun back in flying, something found sadly lacking on western airlines. One hopes that eventually, they’ll get the point.