The only actor who appeared in all four films is George Kennedy, in his recurring role of Joe Patroni, who progresses from a chief mechanic, to a vice president of operations, to a consultant, to an airline pilot.
[1] However, the movie's star, Burt Lancaster, said in a 1971 reaction to its ten Academy Award nominations that the film was "the biggest piece of junk ever made.
"[2][3] The New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael characterized Airport 1975 as "cut-rate swill", produced on a TV-movie budget by mercenary businessmen.
[5] In a review of Airport '77, a critic in The New York Times wrote that it "looks less like the work of a director and writers than like a corporate decision.
"[6] Variety′s review of The Concorde... Airport '79 called the film "Definitely not for sophisticates, 'Concorde' is a throwback to the old popcorn genre, and rather enjoyable at that" but noted that "unintentional comedy still seems the 'Airport' series' forte".