Airline easyJet has today announced the launch of ‘AirCraft’, a new arts and craft initiative designed to encourage children to get creative on board flights during their Autumn school holidays.
Creative kits including pencils and drawing sheets will be onboard over 160 planes, on thousands of flights from the UK across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, from now until the end of October.
The new campaign is being spearheaded by Art Attack presenter and co-creator Neil Buchanan who has been announced as easyJet’s ‘Artist in Residence’.
As part of his residency, Buchanan has also recorded how-to video tutorials for children, providing top tips on how to draw and use their imagination to create their own travel-inspired artwork.
The children’s TV presenter is also hosting live art classes for families flying with easyJet in the easyJet ‘Gateway’ lounge at London Gatwick, in partnership with No1 Lounges, on October 24th
which will be free to attend for easyJet customers travelling with children aged 12 and under.*
The ‘AirCraft’ initiative has been launched following new research from the airline, which shows that British children crave more opportunity to get creative in their free time.
A poll of 2,000 British school-aged children and their parents reveals only 36% of children say they draw or paint for fun outside of school hours.
Of those children surveyed, only 47% regularly pick up a pen and pencil to draw in their free time and on average, children said they spend only 1-2 hours in a whole week drawing, colouring in or painting.
Despite this, over half of kids (54%) would rather choose artistic and creative activities over extra screen time, according to the study and 82% would like to spend more time drawing together with their family or friends.
A recent study from University of Durham’s Commission on Creativity and Education Studies has shown that drawing, colouring and painting not only have numerous developmental benefits such as supporting communications skills and managing emotional states, but also encourages children to develop and explore their imagination.**
77% of children surveyed for the airline’s study said that art is one of their favourite subjects at school and over three quarters (76%) said they want to do something creative for a job when they are older.
And, while 59% of children crave the ability to be more arty, they say they lack confidence to know how to draw.
According to recent data from the Fabian Society, more than two-thirds (68%) of primary teachers say there is less arts education now than in 2010. The 2019 report also found that almost half (49%) of primary teachers felt the quality of arts provision had worsened since 2010.***
easyJet’s research also revealed almost nine in 10 children (89%) would love the opportunity to try out arts and crafts to stay entertained onboard a plane when they fly on holiday.
Almost all (92%) parents surveyed say they would love the opportunity to engage more in artistic activities with their kids, with a further 72% admitting they would like their children to be more creative but don’t know how to teach them.
Over half (54%) of parents spend between 30 minutes to two hours a week drawing with children, whereas 25% are not able to find the time at all to engage in arts and crafts with their children during the week.
The poll also revealed 81% of parents worry over how much screen time their children get, with 97% of parents wanting their children to spend more time being creative than looking at a screen.
‘AirCraft’ will encourage kids to put away the tablets on flights and get creative on board.
Speaking about taking part in the campaign, Neil Buchanan said:
“It’s been a blast getting my sweater back on to be easyJet’s artist in residence for this campaign! Art is fundamental for kids, and what better way to get your creative juices flowing than when you’re jetting off on holiday? I can’t wait to see the amazing art that everyone creates on board!”
