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 succ ...

about pilots and flight attendants.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) is a Japanese airline headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. ANA operates services to both domestic and international destinations and is Japan's largest airline, ahead of its main rival flag carrier Japan Airlines. the airline has approximate ...

(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 a Aircraft pilot, pilot in addition to the Pilot in command, captain, who is the legal commander. In the event of incapacitation of the captain, the first officer will assume command ...

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 or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, and Etsuko Saitō, a young

flight attendant A flight attendant is a member of the aircrew whose primary responsibility is ensure the safety of passengers in the cabin of an aircraft across all stages of flight. Their secondary duty is to see to the comfort of passengers. Flight attenda ...

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, target ...

as Flight 1980 from

Haneda Airport , also known as and sometimes abbreviated to ''Tokyo-Haneda'', is the busier of the two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary domestic base of J ...

Honolulu International Airport Daniel K. Inouye International Airport , also known as Honolulu International Airport, is the main and largest airport in Hawaii.

. Suzuki feels stressed when Captain Noriyoshi Harada becomes his evaluator, while Saitō under Chief Purser Reiko Yamazaki. The 747 has been reported with malfunctioning heated

pitot tubes A pitot tube ( ; also pitot probe) measures fluid flow velocity. It was invented by French engineer Henri Pitot during his work with aqueducts and published in 1732, and modified to its modern form in 1858 by Henry Darcy. It is widely used t ...

, 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 ...

drugs. She accidentally gives the wrong person the drinks and the ill passenger vomits onto her uniform because she forgets to give the drugs. 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 better known by the stage name , is a Japanese actress who started her career as a model in the year 2000. She has since become a leading actress in television and film. Career 2000–2004: Early career Ayase was invited by a friend to parti ...

() *

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 perform ...

() * Saburō Tokitō () *

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 ...

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