Who could forget the music video for Britney Spears’ 2003 hit “Toxic”?
The American pop star plays a flight attendant in the video, directed by award-winning music video director Joseph Kahn. The racy track remains one of Spears’ best-loved hits.
Real-life flight attendants might be more used to serving difficult passengers than working as undercover spies – as Spears does in the video – but when the passengers are gone, it’s another story.
Four flight attendants from the low-cost Thai carrier Nok Air recently took advantage of an empty plane to recreate Spears’ iconic music video in honor of the pop star’s arrival in Thailand, the latest in a series of viral “Toxic” videos.
The singer was scheduled to perform two concerts in Bangkok on Friday, June 23, and Saturday, June 24. According to her Facebook page, Spears’ next two concerts are scheduled for Tuesday, June 27, in Hong Kong and Friday, June 30, in Singapore.
“We are really excited to see our crew’s initiatives to make this incredible video,” says Pinyot Pibulsongkram, Nok Air’s vice president of marketing and sales.
“Not only that they are excited about Britney landing in Bangkok and love the song Toxic, but they also had a lot of fun representing our brand.”
Toxic appreciation
The Nok Air team isn’t alone in its “Toxic” appreciation.
Only a few weeks ago, El Al Airlines air stewards introduced Spears to Israel with their own cover of the pop hit, also filmed on an empty plane.
In March, AirAsia air steward Assraf Nasir took advantage of an empty plane to perform his enthusiastic take on Spears’ dance routine – which reworks traditional air steward activities such as pushing a food trolley and answering a cabin phone call.
The video went viral and is still doing the rounds on social media. Even AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes posted about it.
“Classic. AirAsia version of Toxic. The talent in AirAsia never fails to amaze me. @assrafnasir is the best. Love it that staff can just have fun and be themselves,” he wrote on Instagram.
“The video was an impromptu thing that me and my colleagues did during a transit after we have completed the cabin cleaning,” Nasir tells CNN. “I was dancing around and my colleague recorded it using my phone. We did in less than 15 minutes so it was a big surprise to me that so many liked the video!
“I have always love Britney the pop princess! As a dancer myself, my dream is to be her dancer one day.”
AirAsia was recently named the World’s Best Low-Cost Airline.
Viral airline videos
This isn’t the first time air stewards’ escapades have gone viral. Clips of a Ryanair flight attendant entertaining Glasgow fliers with his bad puns went viral in March.
Meanwhile Air New Zealand have had a slew of viral safety videos. In 2015, the airline got All Blacks rugby stars to rap in an Air New Zealand safety video parodying “Men in Black.”
Air New Zealand also released the Hobbit-inspired “Most Epic Safety Video Ever Made,” featuring cameos from Sir Peter Jackson and Elijah Wood.
