Airlines turn to YouTube to stay relevant

Asiana Airlines’s new pandemic-themed storytelling ad (Asiana Airlines)

SEOUL — South Korean airlines are betting on YouTube content to maintain their connections with customers amid the ongoing pandemic that has brought the aviation industry to a near-halt.

Asiana Airlines released a minute-long advertisement on its channel earlier this month titled “‘Travel’ has left us,” touching on people’s desire to leave (travel) amid the pandemic.

“For the first time, travel has left us (instead of us leaving for travel),” the narration starts. The nostalgic and soft-toned content went viral, attracting 960,000 views as of last week.

“I resonate with this ad so much. I hope that the pandemic ends soon and we can start to enjoy traveling with Asiana like before,” one of the comments reads.

Despite a drastic drop in international flights, the airline has continued to roll out content online, such as travel tips for popular holiday destinations in recent months.

T’way Air, a low-cost carrier, has also been making YouTube videos on a regular basis featuring its staff and cabin crew.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the airline released a video on Monday interviewing a number of staff members as well as a pilot who shared his story of saving a kid’s life.

Another LCC, Air Busan, uploaded a video sharing the story of one of its pilots taking home a newly ordered plane from an Airbus factory in Germany.

The video which gives a rare glimpse behind the scenes of the industry had racked up over 300,000 views as of Tuesday.