As the official airline sponsor of the Academy Awards, United Airlines will roll out the red carpet today for the Oscar
statuettes and the passengers of Oscar Flight # 109. Transporting 50
Oscars from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to Los Angeles
International Airport this morning, United and the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences are partnering to transport the Oscars that will
be presented on February 29th at the 76th Annual Academy Awards Ceremony.
“For many years United has played an important role supporting the
entertainment industry, and we are excited to be involved in this
important event to recognize the achievements from the year past,” said
Martin White, United’s Senior Vice President of Marketing. “In addition to
carrying the Oscar statuettes, we will also provide transportation to many
Oscar nominees, presenters and special guests who will travel to Los
Angeles for the Awards ceremony.”

Upon arrival today at the Los Angeles International Airport, Terminal 7,
Gate 72 at 12:19 p.m. (PST), the flight will be met by Frank Pierson,
president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Martin White
will be arriving on Oscar Flight # 109 and media have been invited to
witness the arrival of the statuettes and attend a special reception in
United’s Red Carpet Club.

The flight will feature star treatment for its passengers, with champagne
provided by Gloria Ferrar. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
granted special permission to United Airlines to incorporate a 4 foot
high, 20 inch-wide image of the Oscar statuette onto the aircraft for the
Flight of the Oscars. Designed in San Francisco by a team of commissioned
engineers, the image of the Oscar was applied by a special process onto
both sides of the aircraft’s fuselage by a team of highly trained
technicians from United Operations.

As part of its partnership with United, the Academy will make four tickets
available for the Red Carpet Arrival bleacher seats on Oscar night,
through a sweepstakes on United’s 1K member website. The Sweepstakes began
earlier this week and winners will be selected by February 23th. The
winners will also receive an invitation to the exclusive event “The Night
Before,” benefiting the Motion Picture and Television Fund.

During the Oscar broadcast United will also debut a new global brand
campaign, introducing a new visual look created by Academy recognized
animation artists. The campaign debuted in print on February 18th and will
have its television premiere in key United cities during the Academy
Awards telecast on February 29th.

United, United Express and Ted operate more than 3,400 flights a day on a
route network that spans the globe. News releases and other information
about United can be found at the company’s web site at
http://www.united.com/ .
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