Paying for the rights to be the “official airline of Middle-earth,” Air New Zealand transformed a Boeing 777-300ER into a “flying billboard” for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first installment in Peter Jackson’s series adapted from the J.R.R. Tolkien book. The plane decal took six days and 400 hours of man power and features images of several characters — wizard, human, hobbit and dwarf — in the movie and covers the length of the plane. According to Jodi Williams, head of international marketing for Air New Zealand, the airline hopes its partnership with the makers of the film will bring more tourists from North America and Europe to New Zealand. “Its puts us out there and creates more awareness. It gives people more of a reason to actually select New Zealand to travel.”

Since the design’s unveiling, U.S. bookings for travel to New Zealand almost doubled the day before the film’s Nov. 28 world premiere in Wellington; when the carrier’s website featured its Hobbit marketing, bookings increased 95 percent. The airline also features a Hobbit-themed in-flight safety video, with characters from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit instructing passengers on flight safety. Several Middle-earth-inspired vacation packages are available on Air New Zealand’s website. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is scheduled for U.S. release Dec. 14.