The Top 5 Movie-Themed Liveries At US Airlines

When it comes to airline liveries, many of the world’s carriers want to wow customers as soon as they see the aircraft, such as the Pixar-themed aircraft at Alaska Airlines
, or a Star Wars plane at United Airlines
.

While the world’s most famous may go to the striking Hobbit-themed fuselage once donned on many Air New Zealand aircraft, there are still many US carriers with pretty unique liveries in the sky.

Why do airlines have movie-themed liveries?

While the reasons for many airlines may differ, airlines can adopt special movie-themed liveries for a number of factors, including marketing agreements, brand awareness, and commercial partnerships.

Aircraft liveries usually incorporate imagery sourced from various movies or television shows in collaboration with the movie or program franchise.

One of the most widely known airline and movie franchise partnerships was that of Air New Zealand
, which became the ‘official airline of Middle-earth’ through the Lord of the Rings trilogy, produced by New Zealand native Sir Peter Jackson.

Not only did the movie franchise bring millions of dollars from tourism and production of the films in various locations both in New Zealand and abroad, but the studios benefited from the exposure that Air New Zealand provided by putting its aircraft and the movie trailers in the front of passengers whether seeing the aircraft from the outside or once onboard on their seatback entertainment.

According to Variety, every time an installment of The Hobbit was released, Air New Zealand reported a surge in online bookings between 10 and 15%, adding millions to the country’s tourism earnings.

On average, 8.5% of visitors to New Zealand alone cited that the Hobbit was a key reason for travel to New Zealand. The airline was so committed to The Hobbit that they even produced their version with an inflight safety video:

While the Hobbit trilogy has ended, Simple Flying looked at some of the most recent movie-themed aircraft liveries for US carriers that have once taken or still are in the skies. Can you name any others?

1

Hawaiian Airlines

Moana 2

Photo: Hawaiian Airlines

Walt Disney Animation Studios will release Moana 2 in cinemas on November 27. The hype for life in the Pacific is already gaining pace. Honolulu-based Hawaiian Airlines has designed its Airbus Airbus A330-200
with a design featuring Moana and a demigod Maui.

Hawaiian Airlines partnered with Moana’s first movie release and, after its initial success, has taken the step to partner again, with not just a livery applied to the A330 but also an Airbus A321neo and a Boeing 717 aircraft.

The A330 will be deployed on international and longer US-bound services, the Airbus A321neo
will serve the West Coast of the USA, and the 717 will be used for intra-island services.

The three aircraft chosen also have special names bestowed on the aircraft already, which include:

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2

United Airlines

Star Wars

Photo: Michael Gordon | Shutterstock

United Airlines ‘May the Force be with you’ is taking to the skies across the United States
. A key catchphrase from the movie series, United has a Boeing 737-800
(registration N36272), which was launched with its special livery in November 2019.

This coincided with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker launch the following month. This aircraft is unique because it has two different colors depending on which side of the aircraft you see: on the left side, it is red, while on the right, it is blue. It wore the livery until February 2022.

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3

Spirit Airlines

Spirit Untamed

Floridian ultra-low-cost-carrier Spirit Airlines
partnered with Universal Studios and Dreamworks Animation in 2021 to promote the animated adventure film Spirit Untamed.

On the fuselage of the Airbus A320neo
, saw several characters and a horse looking out into the distance.

While the A320 no longer sports the unique livery, the aircraft remains an integral part of the airline fleet:

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4

Alaska Airlines

The Incredibles

Photo: Alaska Airlines

In 2018, Alaska Airlines partnered with Pixar to celebrate the release of Incredibles 2; the special edition livery was unveiled to more than 2,000 students during Aviation Day at the airline hangar at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
.

On the fuselage, the Parr family, which includes Bob, Helen, Violet, Dash, and Jack-Jack, span the plane’s rear, with a special incredible logo near the door for everyone to see during boarding. An image of Jack-Jack’s nemesis, the raccoon, could be spotted by those in window seats over the wing.

The aircraft, which holds registration N519AS, remains in service today. However, the Incredibles livery is now long gone:

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5

Allegiant Air

Ron’s Gone Wrong

Photo: Allegiant Air

Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air
partnered in 2021 with the animated sci-fi film Rons Gone Wrong, adopting a special livery onboard one of its Airbus A320s.

The aircraft saw two of the movie’s protagonists applied to the rear. During the airline’s film promotion, Allegiant donated $1 from every Rons Gone Wrong kids snack pack to the Make-A-Wish foundation and added a competition for fans to win prizes related to the movie.

Bearing registration N220NV, the aircraft is now 24.4 years old and was second-hand to Allegiant after over 13 years with Spanish carrier Iberia
:

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