Ultra-low-cost carrier Allegiant Air is lending a hand to the upcoming animated movie Ron's Gone Wrong. The Las-Vegas based budget airline is using one of its aircraft to act as an airborne billboard for the new film, and has painted the rear of its fuselage in a promotional livery. This marks part of an extensive partnership between Allegiant and the movie.

A special livery

Here at Simple Flying we love a special livery, and you often find that the release of a new film is a prime opportunity for such artistic expression. With this in mind, US ULCC Allegiant Air has tapped into the zeitgeist of upcoming animated sci-fi film Ron's Gone Wrong by decorating the rear of one of its Airbus A320s with the movie's two protagonists.

The film has a star-studded cast, including the voice of Peep Show's Olivia Colman, alongside The Hangover heroes Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms. It premiered at today's BFI London Film Festival, where the Daily Mail reports that stars such as Jack Whitehall were in attendance. The film hits the big screen in the UK on October 15th, and the US on the 22nd.

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Allegiant Air A320
The A320 is Allegiant's most common aircraft type. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

An extensive partnership

As it happens, the partnership between Allegiant and Ron's Gone Wrong comprises much more than just the special livery. Allegiant revealed several other initiatives earlier this week, including an exclusive interview with filmmaker Sarah Smith in its onboard magazine.

Furthermore, from September 9th to today, Allegiant has been donating $1 from every Ron's Gone Wrong kids' snack pack that it has sold inflight to Make-A-Wish. From October 4th-22nd, it is running a competition for fans to win prizes including, of course, tickets to the movie. Scott DeAngelo, Allegiant's Executive VP and Chief Marketing Officer stated:

"We're excited to team up with the fantastic new movie Ron's Gone Wrong and share in the adventure, as well as its resonant themes of valuing friendship and finding true connection in an increasingly wired world."

Iberia Airbus A320
The specially-liveried A320 began its career at Iberia in 2000. Photo: Aero Icarus via Flickr

The aircraft in question

The aircraft that now features Ron's Gone Wrong's protagonists Barney and the eponymous Ron bears the registration N220NV. According to data from ch-aviation.com, it is one of 81 Airbus A320-200s in Allegiant Air's fleet. These aircraft are 14.2 years old on average. However, N220NV is at the older end of the spectrum, clocking in at 21.35 years old.

It first flew in June 2000, and entered service the following month with Spanish flag carrier Iberia as EC-HKI. Its registration changed to EC-HYC in July 2001, and it stayed this way until it left the Madrid-based oneworld member in September 2013.

It joined Allegiant in the same month, after which the airline re-registered it as N220NV. It seats 177 passengers in an all-economy configuration. The plane has a reported market value, as per ch-aviation's data, of $7 million. RadarBox.com shows that, in recent days, Allegiant has deployed it on flights from its Knoxville base to Houston, Newark, and Orlando.

What do you make of this livery? What other films have you seen advertised in aircraft paint schemes? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments.