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Browsing Tag: The Hobbit

Air New Zealand Unveils Special Hobbit Livery on Boeing 777-300

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Air New Zealand Boeing 777-300 (ZK-DKP) coming into LAX. Photo: Brandon Farris / AirlineReporter.com

Air New Zealand Boeing 777-300 (ZK-OKP) coming into LAX. Photo: Brandon Farris / AirlineReporter.com

Story and photos done by Brandon Farris for AirlineReporter.com:

On Saturday November 24th 2012, Air New Zealand unveiled it’s all new Hobbit themed 777-300. The aircraft will operate on the Auckland-Los Angeles-London Heathrow flight (ANZ 2) to showcase the plane that will make its way back to Auckland and onto Wellington in time for the world premier of The Hobbit: an Unexpected Journey on November 28th.

Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Rob Fyfe says the imagery, which extends the full length of the 239-foot long aircraft, is simply stunning. ’œThis aircraft is going to excite passengers and fans of Sir Peter Jackson’s award-winning cinema fantasies alike when it begins regular Air New Zealand services between Auckland, Los Angeles and London from this evening.’

BONUS: B-Roll Video Footage of ANZ’s The Hobbit 777-300

Hundreds of people stopped and stared as the aircraft landed and was pulled into the gate. The decal took approximately 400 hours to apply to the Boeing 777 jet. Besides the special All Black livery this becomes the world’s largest logo jet to date.

A detailed close up of Air New Zealand's special Hobbit 777. Photo: Brandon Farris / AirlineRepoter.com.

A detailed close up of Air New Zealand’s special Hobbit 777. Photo: Brandon Farris / AirlineReporter.com.

’œNew Zealand is the home of Middle-earth and The Hobbit movies will be hugely important to New Zealand’s tourism industry in the next couple of years as international tourists are inspired to come and see and experience for themselves the landscapes which have shaped the movies.’

Air New Zealand has a unique partnership with Warner Bros. and the Lord of the Rings series and this is not the first themed aircraft that the airline has done. Previously, the airline painted a Boeing 747 to promote the original trilogy and ANZ will launch a second flying billboard next year utilizing another of its long haul aircraft to celebrate the second movie in the trilogy, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

EXTRA: Flying in Air New Zealand’s Business Premiere Product

Earlier this month, Air New Zealand released its most popular in-flight safety video to date. An Unexpected Briefing, which was created by the Academy Award-winning Weta Workshop and starred cast and crew members from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, as well as fans and Air New Zealand’s own cabin crew and pilots, has become a global hit with nearly 10 million views on YouTube since its release on October 31st.

MORE PHOTOS OF AIR NEW ZEALAND’S HOBBIT 777:
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Air New Zealand’s The Hobbit Safety Video

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Air New Zealand is known for their high-quality product and a bit of quirkiness, and their unique safety videos. The have had some winners, but with their last one, I was not a huge fan. My favorite was their one featuring Richard Simmons, but I could see it getting annoying if you fly the airline often.

The airline’s newest safety video is inspired by the upcoming move, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. I am guessing that Air New Zealand did not do this out of the goodness of their hearts, but they have a deal with New Line and MGM to help promote the movie. I am okay with that, especially since the video is quite entertaining.

It is more than just your average safety video. Look closely… there are “secret Elvish codes,” and if you enter them on the airline’s special website, you can win a trip for two to New Zealand. I suggest paying attention to the safety video on-board the plane and search for the clues on the ground via this video.

So what do you think? How does this compare to the airline’s other videos? It seems to be popular with almost 3.7million views at the time of posting.