June 6, 2005 at 9:08 pm
http://www.apple.com/trailers/touchstone/flightplan/
I don’t know if I’d let this movie be the launch tool for the A380 as a cultural icon. Some crazy woman running around in hidden compartments wrecking havoc on the planes systems?
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome on board an aircraft so large that we’ll lose a few passengers within it’s hull by the flights end.”
I wonder how close the mock up is that they used for this movie. I’m sure we’ll be treated to 10-15 minutes of “ooh and ahh” images of the giant A380 taxiing around and flying over the NYC skyline. Of course I’ll probably wait for it to show up on cable.
By: Whiskey Delta - 7th June 2005 at 15:00
If you search online you can find a review of this movie already and it sucks. Actually “sucks” it putting it politely. I can see why Airbus isn’t thrilled with them using an A380 type aircraft.
By: Hand87_5 - 7th June 2005 at 12:57
An other Hollywood crap full of rubbish …. :rolleyes:
A474 ….. I don’t believe it …
By: Tigerotor77W - 7th June 2005 at 12:41
Seems like a rather… unimpressive lovie at this point. However, if Sandy’s rumor proves correct, hopefully it won’t turn out quite to be an anti-A380 movie. At any rate, should be interesting to see just how realistic the action turns out to be.
By: Dantheman77 - 7th June 2005 at 11:01
I don’t know, it looks a lot like the A380 to me. Not to mention, since there is only 1 double deck aircraft of this configuration it is clearly meant to imply it’s the A380.
edit: I’ve read online that the makers of the film didn’t bother consulting Airbus (probably knowing that Airbus wouldn’t be thrilled about a hijacking on their new product) so they created an aircraft very, very similar to the A380 and call it the A-474. Wow, no one will see through that vague reference. I guess Airbus is a bit miffed by the whole thing. Can’t imagine why. 🙂
A474????
[B] some creative consultant is probably payed £60,000 a year and he comes up with that? :rolleyes:
By: Whiskey Delta - 7th June 2005 at 03:34
Here’s a similar article:
http://www.itvx.com/ppnews.asp
In a curious instance of high-profile product placement that apparently isn’t, Buena Vista’s new Jodie Foster thriller, Flight Plan, features a plane that is a dead ringer for the soon-to-be-released new Airbus A380. Both Airbus and Buena Vista deny that the release of the movie just before the delivery of the first A380 jets in March 2006 are coordinated events. Deny placement deal A spokeswoman at Airbus North America said Flight Plan’s producers, including Touchstone Pictures and Imagine Entertainment, never contacted the company for support. A Buena Vista representative said the massive airliner used as the main set of the movie is a fictional craft. The actual Airbus A380, which made its first test flight last week, is a spectacular new product that goes into the record books as the world’s largest airliner. A double-decker jet that can seat 555 passengers but has room for more than 800 eclipses rival Boeing’s 747 as the world’s largest airliner. Days before the test flight, Buena Vista released the first trailer for Flight Plan featuring an amazingly similar craft. A Buena Vista representative, however, said that timing was also “coincidental.” But the fictional jet’s details are very similar to the real thing: Two full decks of passenger seating with large spiral staircases, seven galleys, a full bar and a cockpit with bunks for the crew. “It’s brand new,” Ms. Foster’s character says in the film’s trailer. “It’s the biggest.” Airbus is counting on the A380 to appeal to international airlines as it battles rival Boeing and its aging 747 fleet. Air France, Virgin Atlantic, Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Emirates, Lufthansa, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Etihad Airways, Thai Airways, Qatar Airways, FedEx and UPS have ordered 154 A380 jets, as of January. The plane has a list price of $285 million. Airbus needs to sell 250 of the planes to break even, the company said. Given steep development costs, however, analysts say that number is much larger. ‘They have to sell the planes’ “They have to sell the planes to the airlines,” said Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst with the Teal Group, a Virginia-based consultancy. “It’s all about getting out there and promoting a positive image of the aircraft. It’s all about making the numbers. You can make an argument that all publicity is good publicity.” Airbus has been promoting the A380 “as the cruise ship of the sky with tanning salons and duty-free shopping,” Mr. Aboulafia said. “But if you’re going to promote an unrealistic image of air transportation, you might find yourself facing the flipside of that and affected by other unrealistic images, too.” “Ultimately to airlines,” he said, “it comes down to economics and not whether people enjoy the experience. Studies have shown that people don’t pay a whole lot of attention to the kind of plane they’ll be flying in when booking a flight.” Buena Vista said the film’s producers needed a large airplane to make the plot believable. It just wouldn’t have worked on a traditional single-deck jet. In the film, Ms. Foster’s character is an aviation engineer who mysteriously loses her 6-year-old daughter during a flight from Germany to the U.S. Viewers mistake it for real thing The airplane designs and interiors in the film are so strikingly similar to the A380 that early viewers of the film have mistaken Flight Plan’s set for the real jet, according to several test-screen reviews that have been posted on the Internet. “The plane is probably just as much of an important character to the movie, and it was kinda cool/unique that it was that new Airbus plane,” wrote one reviewer. According to another: “The plane itself is by far the most conspicuous character in the film. Looking suspiciously like Airbus’ new dreadnaught of the skies, the plane in this movie is, in a word, enormous.”
By: Whiskey Delta - 7th June 2005 at 03:24
I’ve seen the trailer on the big screen…. other than having 2 decks the plane looks not much like an A380.
I don’t know, it looks a lot like the A380 to me. Not to mention, since there is only 1 double deck aircraft of this configuration it is clearly meant to imply it’s the A380.
edit: I’ve read online that the makers of the film didn’t bother consulting Airbus (probably knowing that Airbus wouldn’t be thrilled about a hijacking on their new product) so they created an aircraft very, very similar to the A380 and call it the A-474. Wow, no one will see through that vague reference. I guess Airbus is a bit miffed by the whole thing. Can’t imagine why. 🙂
By: fightingirish - 6th June 2005 at 22:22
[…]
I’ve seen the trailer on the big screen…. other than having 2 decks the plane looks not much like an A380.[…)
Yes, even the cockpit the MFD’s are differrent than on the A380:
By: T5 - 6th June 2005 at 21:25
Theres a twist to the movie I’m told. Not as clear cut as a child going missing.
I’ve seen the trailer on the big screen…. other than having 2 decks the plane looks not much like an A380.I think the filmmakers didn’t like the idea of vast swathes of aviation fans writing in and complaining about small mistakes. lol
Very much like Mile High, not that many of you watch it. Its amazing how many mistakes they make with the aircraft they use. The earliest 737 version that the airline uses is the -400, but you’ll often stumble across -200s, BAC 1-11s and even 767s being used instead!
By: Bmused55 - 6th June 2005 at 21:16
Theres a twist to the movie I’m told. Not as clear cut as a child going missing.
I’ve seen the trailer on the big screen…. other than having 2 decks the plane looks not much like an A380.
I think the filmmakers didn’t like the idea of vast swathes of aviation fans writing in and complaining about small mistakes. lol
By: Ren Frew - 6th June 2005 at 21:13
Well you know how it goes…? 😉
If you’re too heavy and sinking you need to throw some ballast overboard. 😀 Take your kids onboard an A380 at your peril.
It’s a public safety film released by anxious B shareholders (lol). :rolleyes:
By: coanda - 6th June 2005 at 21:10
sounds like pr crapola………………ohh mummy looook at the space, arent the overhead compartments so luxurious in their trim and size………………etc etc……..