Oceanic Airlines
Oceanic Airlines and less frequently Oceanic Airways are names of fictional airlines used in several films, television programs, and comic books; typically works that feature plane crashes and other aviation disasters, with which a real airline would prefer not to be associated.
The most famous use of this brand is in the TV show Lost, where Oceanic Airlines is featured branded with a highly stylized logo depicting an Aboriginal dot painting that resembles a nazar, a bullseye, an island, or an "O". The show's fictional storyline begins with the crash of an airline flight called Oceanic Flight 815.
Airlines with this name have also been featured in many other media, starting as early as the 1960s. Before Lost, the most prominent use of Oceanic Airways was in the 1996 film Executive Decision. The film's producers shot extensive footage of two actual Boeing 747s with Oceanic Airways logo and livery (but not the same logo used later on Lost). This stock footage has been reused in several films and television programs, spreading the Oceanic Airlines brand across various otherwise unrelated fictional universes.
Occurrences of Oceanic Airlines
The following sources feature an airline called Oceanic Airlines:
Original
- Executive Decision: Oceanic Flight 343 from Athens to Washington, D.C. was hijacked by an Islamic terrorist.
Lost
Oceanic Airlines' most repeated appearances are in the TV series Lost. The show explores the aftermath of the crash of Oceanic Flight 815 (a Lockheed 1011 was used to create the crash, but the plane in-universe is stated as a Boeing 777) from Sydney to Los Angeles. The producers of Lost also created a now defunct website[1] for the fictional airline, including clues and references to the show's plot. In flashforwards, a group of the characters that survive the crash are nicknamed the "Oceanic Six" (Hurley, Kate, Jack, Sayid, Sun, and Aaron). In January 2008, viral marketing billboards for Oceanic Airlines were placed by ABC in various large cities around the world as part of the Find 815 alternate reality game. Fictitious TV advertisements for the company also aired on ABC and the internet, including one advertisement that apparently airs in an alternate universe where flight 815 did not crash and Oceanic has a "perfect safety record".
Other media
- Alex: Bankers Alex Masterley and Clive Reed appear as the only survivors of an Oceanic Airlines aircrash in the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil.
- Alias: Oceanic's flight to Sydney is briefly mentioned in an announcement when the show's lead character Sydney Bristow is at Los Angeles International Airport. Alias and Lost were both created by J. J. Abrams.
- Apple iPhone OS 3.0 launch (17 March 2009): While demonstrating cut and paste features on the iPhone 3G, Scott Forstall is seen creating an email which shows the times of a flight he has booked on Oceanic Flight 815.
- Buffy Season 8 had an Oceanic flight lose a wing and almost crash before being saved by one of the major protagonists.
- Cabin Pressure: In the Christmas special Molokai (broadcast 25 December 2010), first officer Richardson accidentally wishes a Shinto-Buddhist captain of an Oceanic flight a merry Christmas.
- Castle: 07.21 "In Plane Sight" (27 April 2015): The entire episode takes place as Richard flies on an Oceanic flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport to London Heathrow Airport.
- Chuck: 01.02 "Chuck versus the Helicopter" (1 October 2007): Chuck is viewing a series of photographs when one prompts him to recall the secret information to which he had been exposed by Bryce Larkin. He begins revealing apparently unconnected secrets, including, "Oceanic Flight 815 was shot down by a surface-to-air..."
- Code 11–14: an FBI agent searches for a murderer aboard Oceanic Flight 816, a Boeing 747SP, bound for Los Angeles from Sydney.
- Crossing Jordan (S02E16): Jordan and a detective chase down Henry Ross, a man who framed his wife for his faked death, to an airport just before he attempts to use a $30,000 Oceanic Airline open-ended, multi-stop ticket to escape the country. Damon Lindelof, who co-produced this episode, was often a writer and/or producer for this series, as well as Lost.
- Daredevil: Oceanic Airlines advertises on a cab in the opening page of issue 104.
- Dead Island: After the first boss fight, the player hears a radio dispatch from Oceanic Flight 1012 stating that the plane will land in the jungle. When the player gets to the roof of the building, they can actually see the plane pass by the coast as it prepares to crash in the jungle. The plane has also broken into 3 parts (cockpit, midsection and tail), as did Oceanic 815.
- FlashForward: When the FBI agents Mark Benford and Demetri Noh are staking out taking photos of a woman, a billboard with the Oceanic Airlines logo can be seen. The tagline states "Perfect Safety Record".
- Flipper: In the two part season two episode "The Ditching", Sandy and Flipper's plane Oceanic Flight 17 crashes in the sea.
- For Love of the Game: An Oceanic flight is announced over the PA system in the airport lounge near the end of the movie.
- Fringe: 01.09 "The Dreamscape" (25 November 2008): When the FBI was checking the apartment of a murdered Massive Dynamic employee, Special Agent Olivia Dunham found an airline ticket from Oceanic Airlines. The flight destination printed on the ticket was Omaha, Nebraska, and the date of the flight, 22 December. Fringe and Lost were both created by J.J. Abrams.
- Futurama: on the episode Möbius Dick, where the aircraft tail, which couldn't be initially found in Lost, is shown to be placed in the fictional Bermuda Tetrahedron.
- The Goldbergs: on its 19th episode's ending with Barry outside of the airport.
- LAX: 01.13 "Senator's Daughter" (first aired 16 April 2006): Advertisements and computers in airport terminals in LAX read "Oceanic Airlines."
- Nowhere to Land: A Boeing 747–200 from Sydney to LAX flying with a bomb programmed to detonate one hour prior to landing.
- Once Upon A Time: A plane with the Oceanic logo is seen flying overhead in Series 1 Episode 20.
- The Pretender In the episode 'Flyer' (Broadcast Oct.19, 1996), When Jarod returns to the junk yard where the retired planes are, you see an Oceanic airplane in the background.
- Pushing Daisies: 01.01 "Pie-lette" (2 October 2007): An Oceanic Airlines advertisement is displayed in the travel agency.
- Up All Night In the episode 'Travel Day' (Broadcast 16 February 2012), Reagan and Chris travel with Amy for the first time. At the airport check-in, the camera pans to Oceanic Airlines, the counter next to the fictitious Pathway Air that the couple was heading to.
- White Collar: In the penultimate episode "Whack-A-Mole" (aired Dec. 11, 2014), the plane targeted by the Pink Panthers is Oceanic Flight 1097 scheduled to land at JFK 3 days later.
- The Wolf Among Us An Oceanic Airlines advertisement is displayed on the roof of a taxi.
- Transformers: Cybertron: In the 2nd episode "Inferno", the pilot of a military jet fighter identifies himself as "Oceanic Flight 815, requesting clearance for landing."
- The X-Files: 04.19 "Synchrony" (13 April 1997): On a note in the future guy's hotel room.
- Zero Hour: In promotional material of a magazine named Modern Skeptic -published by a main character- a cover asks, "What really happened to Oceanic Flight 815?" and features a photo of the Island just before it moves.
- Gmail Inbox: The mobile and web app Gmail Inbox displayed Oceanic Flight 22, SFO-JFK for December 4, 8:00 AM as an example reminder on first use for web app users.
Reused footage
Stock footage from Executive Decision was also reused in the following:
- After the Sunset: In the trailer, Max and Lola fly on Oceanic Airlines to their retreat in The Bahamas. The footage does not appear in the film's final cut.
- Category 6: Day of Destruction: Oceanic Flight 762 was forced to make an emergency landing at O'Hare International Airport after being struck by lightning. During landing, the hole in the aircraft's fuselage from Executive Decision is visible.
- Diagnosis: Murder: 04.23 "Murder in The Air" (24 April 1997): Flying between Los Angeles International Airport and Switzerland on Oceanic Flight 456, Dr Mark Sloan and Amanda Bentley carry out an airborne investigation after the first officer is murdered and several aircrew personnel are incapacitated by a mysterious illness.[2]
- JAG: 03.06 "Vanished" (28 October 1997): an Oceanic Airlines flight to Washington, D.C. carrying a delegation from the Palestine Liberation Organization is the target of a terrorist plot involving a missing United States Navy F-14 Tomcat.[3]
- JAG: 05.18 "The Bridge at Kang So Ri" (29 February 2000): Oceanic Flight 343 is skyjacked by North Korean extremists who accuse a passenger of ordering a massacre during the Korean War.[4]
- Nowhere to Land (2000 television movie): A man suffering from mental illness brings a deadly nerve agent on board Oceanic Flight 762, also from Sydney to Los Angeles, in the run-up to the 2000 Summer Olympics. At takeoff, the hole in the aircraft's fuselage from Executive Decision is visible.[5]
- Panic in the Skies! (1996): A Royce Air International Boeing 747 is struck by lightning shortly after takeoff in America, en route for Europe. In some scenes, the Royce Air International logo is not visible, with Oceanic Airline markings in their place.[6]
- The War at Home: 01.20 "The West Palm Beach Story" (16 April 2006), which featured a gag about a Middle Eastern man and the threat of airborne terrorism on board an Oceanic Airlines flight.[7]
List of fictional Oceanic Airlines flights
See also
References
- ^ Home Oceanic Airlines
- ^ Murder in the Air at TV.com. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
- ^ Vanished at TV.com. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
- ^ The Bridge at Kang So Ri at TV.com. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
- ^ Nowhere to Land at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Retrieved 1 May 2008.
- ^ Panic in the Skies! at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Retrieved 1 May 2008.
- ^ The West Palm Beach Story at TV.com. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
- ^ http://www.widebodyaircraft.nl/l1011.htm
- ^ Out to Sea at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Retrieved 6 June 2008.
External links
- Boeing 747–121 at Airliners.net. A photographic history of the Boeing 747 used for ground scenes in the film Executive Decision.
- Boeing 747–269B at Airliners.net. A photographic history of the Boeing 747 used for surface to air scenes in the film Executive Decision.
- Boeing 747-SP at Airliners.net. A photographic history of the Boeing 747 used during the filming of Code 11–14.
- Lockheed L-1011-385-1 TriStar 1 at Airliners.net. A photographic history of the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar dismantled for the set of Lost.
