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CelebAir To Launch On ITV2

Twelve celebrities are to take on the roles of cabin crew and baggage handlers in a new ITV2 series in which real passengers pay to fly to destinations including Ibiza.

The eight-part reality series will see a plane chartered from an established airline and rebranded CelebAir, the name of the ITV2 series. CelebAir will have its own ticketing website and backroom operation.

Celebrities are currently in the process of being signed up, although none have been confirmed.

Those who agree to take part will have to perform all the duties of regular airline staff, including check-in, cabin crew and sales, although passengers will be relieved to know they will not be piloting the plane.

Each celebrity will be fully trained in accordance with the regular airline's guidelines, as well as having to pass the Civil Aviation Authority'straining requirements.

Members of the public will be encouraged to buy tickets to a range of European destinations, including Ibiza and Barcelona, which the plane will fly to.

waveguide.co.uk

CelebAir Takes Off

As reported last month by Waveguide, ITV2 will be launching a new reality show, CelebAir - with a real aircraft, flying to real places, staffed by 'celebrities'.

In the new eight-part series, ten celebrities will take on a range of jobs on the ground and in the air to battle it out ultimately to become CelebAir’s star employee and win thousands of pounds for the charity of their choice.

CelebAir flights will operate to destinations such as Faro, Alicante, Malaga, Ibiza, Menorca, Tenerife and Cyprus. A Monarch airbus has been rebranded and will operate in CelebAir colours until the end of the series

Overseeing the action and presenting the show will be former CBBC presenter Angellica Bell, who previously worked on the BBC travel series Departure Lounge.

Speaking about hosting the show, she said: “I am very excited to be a part of CelebAir. It will be great fun to watch as the celebrities are put under pressure and taken out of their comfort zone. Let’s see how they handle it!”

Functioning as a regular airline, members of the public can book to fly with CelebAir to a number of destinations as the celebrity crew take on roles from check-in clerks to air stewards.

At every stage of the journey the famous faces will be judged and rated by their own passengers, and each week the worst performing celebrity gets given the boot.

However, before any of the famous faces are allowed to start their new jobs, they will have to undertake a rigorous six week training programme run by Monarch, and they will be required to adhere to Monarch’s standards whilst working for CelebAir.

Members of the public can book CelebAir flights from July 14 via the Monarch Airlines website.

Zai Bennett, Controller of ITV2 said: "CelebAir promises to be a huge reality event this autumn on ITV2. It is an incredibly ambitious project on a scale not seen before in reality TV. This definitely isn't a show for work-shy celebrities, we're taking on a real plane, with real passengers with real holidays to go on - it promises to be an amazing trip."

waveguide.co.uk

ITV2 has revealed the "famous" faces taking part in CelebAir: singer and presenter, Mica Paris; singer and former Steps band member, Lisa Scott-Lee; star of The X-Factor, singer Chico; writer and presenter, Tamara Beckwith; presenter and comedienne Amy Lamé; star of Australian Idol and Neighbours, Dan O'Connor; singer and former member of Blazin' Squad, Kenzie; ex-Hear'Say member and husband of Lisa Scott-Lee, Johnny Shentall; musician and one-time member of So Solid Crew, Lisa Maffia; model Michelle Marsh and comedian and actor, Phil Cornwell.
waveguide

Mica Paris: My millionaire lover made my life hell
TV presenter Mica Paris thought she'd struck gold when she met a rich Italian boyfriend. But then it all went disastrously wrong - and the nightmare began



CelebAir starts on ITV2 on 2 September at 9pm.
Mail

I'm on CelebAir ... get me out of here!
Nicole Mowbray finds herself an unwitting participant in the latest reality TV show
Tuesday, 26 August 2008


Presenter Angelica Bell, hosts the reality show CelebAir





Take 200 passengers, a bank holiday weekend, a Spanish airport not overly generous with its provision of air conditioning and a delay nearing seven hours and what do you have?

Many would think just cause for putting the riot police on standby.

Not so Monarch Airlines, seemingly, who felt the small hours of Bank Holiday Monday to be the perfect time to inflict their latest wheeze upon weary and dejected passengers (including me): "celebrity" cabin crew.

Yes, you read correctly. "Famous" air stewards and stewardesses.

We're not talking Robert De Niro or Cameron Diaz here but former pop stars – Lisa Scott Lee from Steps, The X Factor's Chico and someone called Johnny from Hear'Say – trained to secure the doors, demonstrate the lifejackets, and showcase the delights of the hot trolley. For eight weeks, the celebrities will battle it out to become the star employee, the winner gaining a sum of money to donate to charity.

Perhaps it's Monarch's way of adding what they see as a touch of glitz to the now completely unglamorous grind of flying. Perhaps it's ITV2's last-ditch attempt at creating a must-watch reality TV format. Whatever CelebAir is, it's certainly not about creating a better standard of service for the passenger.

At first, I thought my eyes deceived me. After being trapped in Alicante airport for eight hours, eyes tend to do that, simply to preserve one's sanity.

But when the 18.50 ZB264 for Gatwick was ready for boarding – at 00.30 – the sight of a small man clad in trousers not dissimilar to those worn by a bad strippergram (ill-fitting with wide fluorescent stripes) sent my best friend Jane into spasms of hilarity.

"No kidding," she exclaimed, "I think our flight is part of that new reality TV show, CelebAir." That came as some surprise to us and doubtlessly all the other unwitting passengers. The small man, it turned out, was a "celebrity" called Kenzie. If he's not on your radar – and he wasn't on mine – he dated "glamour" model Jodie Marsh, was in a boy band called Blazin' Squad and was on Celebrity Big Brother. So, just the kind of guy you want in charge of your in-flight experience.

He was joined by "R&B star Lisa Maffia" (nope, me neither), also kitted out in a part-luminous uniform. Perhaps they have to wear it so people realise they are famous.

As few of the passengers had been told the reason for our delay, I hoped Kenzie could help. "I haven't got a clue," he replied. "You've been in there waiting for eight hours? Sorry, nope. I've got no idea ... not a clue." Which was just as helpful as I'd expected.

Before long, the captain took to the loudspeaker to introduce our "celebrity" crew. And nothing happened. No gasps, or mad fans fainting. The looks of utter incomprehension on the passengers' faces can't have done much for Kenzie and Lisa's egos.

No matter, by this time, Lisa was performing the safety demonstration – "I always get this bit wrong," she giggled, worryingly, while explaining how to do up the lifejacket – and we were off. Lisa served us complimentary drinks from the trolley by way of apologising for the delay, Kenzie collected the empties, looking forlorn. They were just like real cabin crew, only much, much less competent.

And for the rest of the flight, the pair stood around "being celebrities" by the kitchen, only talking to the crew.

I hear that the next CelebAir flight out was later yesterday morning, when Lisa from Steps and the bloke from Hear'Say take to the skies. For anyone reading this who was on board, I feel your pain.
Independent