A series of bizarre photos and videos of uniformed Air New Zealand staff partaking in some questionable behaviour have been posted online on Wednesday, sparking the company to investigate the incidents.
One Snapchat video shows a flight attendant from the airline spitting water out of her mouth, with the caption 'Wish I could spit on passengers like this'. Another photo, initially shared to Facebook and Instagram, features a pilot kissing a blow-up doll in the cockpit. The latter is even more questionable, as it's not advisable to bring anything into the cockpit that could possibly cause someone to utter the word "blow-up".
An Air New Zealand spokeswoman made a statement today, revealing they believe the video was produced four years ago, and the photos more than a year ago – but they hadn’t been brought to their attention until 48 hours ago.
The spokeswoman said Air New Zealand are “shocked and appalled” by the posts, and the behaviour of the staff members is not in line with the high standards of behaviour and respect they expect.
"One of the staff members concerned no longer works for Air New Zealand and the other two have been removed from duties pending the outcome of our investigation,” she said.
The investigation will take into consideration the context of the images and how widely they were dispersed. Social media didn't seem to give a damn, however, and supported the staff wholeheartedly:
It's understandable that the airline has reacted the way they have from a public relations standpoint, but it doesn't seem too different from what you'd expect to be going on behind the scenes. Hopefully for these guys, there isn't any other dirt stashed in their overhead compartments.
