An Unexpected Journey with Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand, the official airline of Middle-earth, unveiled its “stunning” 777-300 aircraft which is set to become a flying billboard for the soon-to-be-released movie The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Unveiled in Auckland, New Zealand recently, the aircraft’s exterior depicts characters from the upcoming fantasy adventure The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, a New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM) production, which is the first in a trilogy of films from Kiwi director Sir Peter Jackson. Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe says the imagery, which extends the full length of the 73 metre long aircraft, is simply stunning. “This 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. (NZT). New 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.We are thrilled to see so many international visitors booked to travel to Wellington for the world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey; we want them to experience the magic of Middle-earth as soon as they set foot on this aircraft.” Air New Zealand will launch a second flying billboard next year utilising another of its long haul aircraft to celebrate the second movie in the trilogy, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Earlier in the 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 almost 10 million views on YouTube since its release on Nov. 1.