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  • Non Sequitur Scene: The naked woman who bounces her naked breasts (in a PG film!) in front of the camera as the passengers are panicking.
  • Crosses the Line Twice: Several gags, but particularly the "hysterical woman gets slapped" one, not to mention stewardess Randy's disastrous attempt to cheer up the Littlest Cancer Patient; both are played as Dead Baby Comedy.
  • Crowning Music of Awesome: The Zuckers and Abrahams were actually disappointed when the film ended up with a genuinely good score, rather than a cheesy one that would add to the parody. They probably shouldn't have hired Elmer Bernstein.
  • Crowning Music Of Funny: When Rumack (Nielson) tells Striker the end of the "George Zipp" story. Whether or not one's a fan of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the moment is hilarious.
  • Funny Aneurysm Moment: The tag line "...and able to hit tall buildings at a single bound", and the plane running into and destroying a radio tower on a building.
    • A Roman Catholic nun reading a magazine called Boys Life.
    • The full-body scanners that can see through clothing (and are obviously being used to ogle the women). Ugh...
    • An Indian man (either a Hindu or a Sikh) douses himself in gasoline and lights a match, in a desperate attempt to get away from one of Ted's anecdotes. Granted, significantly different from an Arab/Muslim, but the fact that he ends up blowing up...
      • This was likely a reference to the protestors who deliberately set themselves on fire during the Vietnam War, many of whom where Indian or Tibetan.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight: It's funny enough on its own, but the moment where Kareem Abdul-Jabbar finally breaks down and starts talking basketball is even funnier since Jabbar himself misidentified the line on Celebrity Jeopardy.
    • The film itself has inevitably had this effect on Zero Hour, the major inspiration for its plot and many of its lines. It's downright surreal watching that film now and seeing lines like "I picked the wrong week to quit smoking" played completely straight.
  • Memetic Mutation: Every punchline has entered the cultural consciousness.
    • "Surely you can't be serious." "I am serious. And don't call me Shirley."
  • Retroactive Recognition: David Leisure (Empty Nest, Joe Isuzu) is one of the Hare Krishna.
  • Seinfeld Is Unfunny: At the time, the entire joke with Leslie Nielson's character was seeing a serious actor bringing every bit of his usual gravitas to such ridiculous material. Nielson proceeded to make this kind of material his bread and butter, so that viewers these days will likely just be surprised that he's not playing the lead role.
  • Sequelitis: Neither Jim Abrahams nor the Zuckers were involved; most of the jokes and plot were recycled.
    • In the commentary for the first film, they admit they have never even seen this one.
  • This Is Your Premise on Drugs: Monty Python plus Mel Brooks on speed.
    • To get the film made, Zucker and company told film executives it was Animal House on a plane. It wasn't.
  • Weird Al Effect: Zero Hour, the movie it was based on.
    • The film also parodies many of the subplots from the Airport film series.