From IMDB trivia: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080339/trivia
The film is mostly a parody of Zero Hour! (1957), a film that had a main character named Ted Stryker and such famous "not meant to be funny" lines like "We have to find someone who can not only fly this plane, but who didn't have fish for dinner."
The producers bought the rights to the movie Zero Hour! (1957), the film that this movie is based on.
To get inspiration for the ZAZ Kentucky Fried Theatre skits, the Zucker brothers and Jim Abrahams would leave a videotape running all night, recording late night television with the aim of spoofing the commercials. One night they recorded the film Zero Hour! (1957), which ultimately acted as the main inspiration for Airplane! (1980).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080339/trivia
The film is mostly a parody of Zero Hour! (1957), a film that had a main character named Ted Stryker and such famous "not meant to be funny" lines like "We have to find someone who can not only fly this plane, but who didn't have fish for dinner."
The producers bought the rights to the movie Zero Hour! (1957), the film that this movie is based on.
To get inspiration for the ZAZ Kentucky Fried Theatre skits, the Zucker brothers and Jim Abrahams would leave a videotape running all night, recording late night television with the aim of spoofing the commercials. One night they recorded the film Zero Hour! (1957), which ultimately acted as the main inspiration for Airplane! (1980).