MANILA -- Cebu Pacific’s dancing male crew was not spared from criticism as the country’s biggest group of flight attendants called on the airline to stop the gimmick for alleged sexist undertones.
Roberto Anduiza, president of the 1,600-strong Flight Attendants and Stewards’ Association of the Philippines (Fasap), reiterated its position hitting the innovative safety demonstration, which was done earlier by female flight attendants who danced to Lady Gaga and Katy Perry tunes.
“Having male flight attendants perform a dancing safety demonstration in a flight does not make the gimmick less cheap or demeaning. It is nothing but a futile attempt to cover up the sexist packaging of flight crews who are safety professionals,” he said.
Fasap, the union for the country’s flag carrier and rival Philippine Airlines (PAL), earlier referred the demonstration featuring women as “gender insensitive.”
In Cebu Pacific’s second version launched on Friday, three men performed “Safety Dance” from the Australian-based group Men without Hats while giving in-flight instructions on how to use oxygen masks, lifejackets, among others.
The demonstration was made while on a morning flight (5J 936) from Manila to Davao City, which lasted two and a half minutes. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)