United Airlines expects to have its busiest-ever holiday season this year and has made a short, Christmas rom-com movie shot at Denver International Airport to entertain the large surge of travelers.
The 5:45-minute short, “Love in Plane Sight,” features a couple of cameos by Santa Claus and a budding onboard romance that starts with a meet-not-so-cute. Character Sam K. Young, rushing to catch his plane, smacks into Elle Towe and splashes her gingerbread latte all over her white sweater.
Of course the two end up being on the same flight, riding comfortably in a United Boeing 777-200. Where the relationship goes from there is up in the air.
The romantic comedy is on United social channels, the airline’s website and will debut on flights Dec. 1. United spokesman Russell Carlton said in an email that the short film will be among the holiday movies and TV shows available for free through the airline’s inflight entertainment.
“This holiday season, United anticipates an influx of travelers, which means busy airports and people looking for ways to simplify and enjoy the journey,” Carlton said.
United anticipates flying 5.9 million passengers during the Thanksgiving holiday, Nov. 17-29. A little over three-quarters of a million of those are expected to fly out of Denver. United said it averages more than 450 departures daily from DIA.
United is DIA’s largest carrier.
Denver airport officials are forecasting that more than 785,000 passengers, up 13% from 2022, will travel through the airport Nov. 17-27.
With remote work continuing to be an option for people, Carlton said United has noticed the holiday travel period is getting longer and the demand is less concentrated on peak days. “The days right after Thanksgiving are still the busiest, but flights on off-peak days are booking fuller compared to 2019.”
Carlton said shooting the holiday movie in Denver was an opportunity for United to feature on of its fastest growing hubs, where it has invested nearly $1 billon. In the past few years, United has opened new gates, new clubs and a new check-in lobby in Denver, he added.
The holiday video shows one of the actors using United’s bag drop shortcut, where customers using the United app can skip the check-in line and drop their bags at a separate location. The movie also shows United’s new gates on the B concourse.
While the lead actors, Jessie Cannizzaro and Samer Salem, aren’t from Denver, the United employees in the movie are airline employees, Carlton said.
The movie was produced by United Airlines with Hidden Content and shot in May at DIA.
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