is a Japanese comedy film directed by

Shinobu Yaguchi is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He specializes in feel-good "zero to hero" films, where a group of people take up an unlikely activity, face a number of obstacles, but finally succeed. His film ''Waterboys'' was particularly succe ...

about pilots and flight attendants.

All Nippon Airways , also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had mo ...

(ANA) backed the creation of the film. The airline sponsored a giveaway of ''Happy Flight'' DVDs and other items to certain members of ANA's mileage club.Schilling, Mark.
Airplane flick tells only half the story
" ''

The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...

''. Friday November 14, 2008. Retrieved on February 19, 2010.

Plot

Kazuhiro Suzuki, a

copilot In aviation, the first officer (FO), also called co-pilot, is the pilot who is second-in-command of the aircraft to the captain, who is the legal commander. In the event of incapacitation of the captain, the first officer will assume command of ...

who is trying to qualify as a

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, and Etsuko Saitō, a young

flight attendant A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are prima ...

going on her first international flight, service an

747-400 The Boeing 747-400 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, an advanced variant of the initial Boeing 747. The "Advanced Series 300" was announced at the September 1984 Farnborough Airshow, targeting ...

as Flight 1980 from

Haneda Airport , officially , and sometimes called as Tokyo Haneda Airport or Haneda International Airport , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary ...

Honolulu International Airport Daniel K. Inouye International Airport , also known as Honolulu International Airport, is the main airport of Oahu, Hawaii.Chief Purser Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

Reiko Yamazaki. The 747 has been reported with malfunctioning heated

pitot tubes A pitot ( ) tube (pitot probe) measures fluid flow velocity. It was invented by a French engineer, Henri Pitot, in the early 18th century, and was modified to its modern form in the mid-19th century by a French scientist, Henry Darcy. It is ...

, but Noriyoshi decides to postpone repair to avoid delays, relying on redundant

instruments Instrument may refer to: Science and technology * Flight instruments, the devices used to measure the speed, altitude, and pertinent flight angles of various kinds of aircraft * Laboratory equipment, the measuring tools used in a scientific lab ...

. Immediately after takeoff, which involved bird patrol to fend off surrounding pigeons, an alarm prompts Noriyoshi to switch to the backup pitot tube as their primary indication. Inflight services commence shortly after. Due to the overbooked flight, not all passengers could receive their first choice of lunch between beef and fish; Reiko gives Saitō a lesson in dealing with demand imbalance: promoting the less wanted fish. She follows through with her first mishap, describing the beef as "plain and ordinary." She then fumbles orders for white wine, apple juice, and

motion sickness Motion sickness occurs due to a difference between actual and expected motion. Symptoms commonly include nausea, vomiting, cold sweat, headache, dizziness, tiredness, loss of appetite, and increased salivation. Complications may rarely include d ...

drugs. She corrects the drink orders, but the ill passenger vomits onto her uniform. Meanwhile, the plane behaves erratically under Noriyoshi's command. Kazuhiro responds to passenger Ground staff confirms that the 747 suffered a

bird strike A bird strike—sometimes called birdstrike, bird ingestion (for an engine), bird hit, or bird aircraft strike hazard (BASH)—is a collision between an airborne animal (usually a bird or bat) and a moving vehicle, usually an aircraft. The term ...

; the engines ingested a bird without failing, but the bird also disabled the remaining pitot tubes, freezing the plane at cruising altitude. The aircraft has lost all indication of airspeed until they descend to below 22,000 feet, where air temperature is above freezing point. The captain elects to return to Haneda, now suffering from severe weather conditions. The flight crew and ground controllers then have to work together to land the plane, win the cooperation of the ill passenger, and determine if the maintenance crew was at fault for the aircraft's failure.

Cast

Haruka Ayase is a Japanese actress, model and singer who started her career as a gravure idol in 2000. She has since become a leading actress in television and film. Life and career Early life and education Haruka Ayase was born as Aya Tademaru on March ...

() *

Tomoko Tabata is a Japanese actress. She won the best supporting actress award from the Mainichi in 2004 for ''The Hidden Blade'' and ''Blood and Bones'', and the best actress award at the Mainichi Film Awards for ''The Cowards Who Looked to the Sky'' in 2012. ...

() *

Seiichi Tanabe is a Japanese actor. He won the award for best actor at the 24th Yokohama Film Festival for '' Hush!'' and at the 27th Hochi Film Award for ''Hush!'' and ''Harmful Insect''. Filmography Film * ''Atashi wa juice'' (1996) * ''April Story'' (1998) ...

() *

Shinobu Terajima is a Japanese actress. Her feature films include '' Akame 48 Waterfalls'' (2003) and '' Vibrator'' (2003). For her role in ''Caterpillar'' (2010), Terajima won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 60th Berlin Film Festival while her performan ...

() *

Saburō Tokitō is a Japanese actor and singer. He won the award for best actor at the 9th Yokohama Film Festival for ''Eien no 1/2'' and at the 9th Hochi Film Award for '' The Miracle of Joe Petrel''. Filmography Film * '' The Miracle of Joe Petrel'' (1984) ...

() *

Kazue Fukiishi is a Japanese actress and former gravure idol. She won the award for best supporting actress at the 28th Yokohama Film Festival for ''What the Snow Brings'', ''Tegami'', and ''Memories of Tomorrow''. Career Fukiishi starred in Takuji Suzuki's '' ...

Ittoku Kishibe , born , is a Japanese actor and musician. Career He originally entered show business as the bassist for the Japanese rock bands, The Tigers and Pyg, but later switched to acting. The veteran of over 115 films, he won the Best Actor Japanese Ac ...

Reception

Mark Schilling of ''

'' reviewed the film, giving it three of five stars. Schilling said that he "felt somewhat like a convict watching a prison film whose heroes are the trustees and guards — and feeling the filmmakers aren't getting the whole story."

References

External links

''Happy Flight'' official website
* {{Shinobu Yaguchi 2008 films Films directed by Shinobu Yaguchi All Nippon Airways Japanese aviation films Films set on airplanes 2000s Japanese films