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Southwest Adds Pixie Dust In Deal With Disney

Photo courtesy of Southwest Airlines

Disney and Southwest collaborated on a DVD promotion with a specially-marked plane flying into Tampa on Friday. The flight attendants sported Tink-like wings.

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By TED JACKOVICS

tjackovics@tampatrib.com

Published: November 1, 2008

Updated:

TAMPA - Airlines have been seeking new sources fuel to cut costs for some time, but leave it to fun-loving Southwest Airlines to test the power of pixie dust.

Tinker Bell One, a specially decorated Boeing 737, was scheduled Friday to start flights to Tampa International Airport and other airports during the next month and beyond.

Flight attendants will wear wings a la Tinker Bell and award prizes to passengers who can answer trivia questions about Disney's classic character from the animated film "Peter Pan."

While it's not really about powering airliners, the collaboration between Southwest and Walt Disney Co. is designed to promote the "Tinker Bell" DVD released Monday by Disney. U.S. and Canadian Disney fans bought 668,000 copies of the computer-animated film on its first day of release, about 22 percent above projections, The New York Times reported.

Sales at many Target stores were double the forecast, and the movie easily moved 1 million copies by Wednesday, The New York Times said.

The DVD release is a Disney effort to push its "Fairies" business into a franchise similar to its "Princesses" franchise built around Snow White and Cinderella videos and merchandise.

A surge in Disney merchandising based on the "Tinker Bell" DVD release is in the works.

As for Southwest, spokeswoman Ashley Rogers said Tinker Bell is not permanent livery on the aircraft, which will be assigned various routes throughout the system.

Southwest already paints some of its planes to commemorate various states and have three with Shamu the whale's image because Southwest is SeaWorld's official airline. But the Tinker Bell decor was applied with decals, Rogers said.

Reporter Ted Jackovics can be reached at (813) 259-7817.

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