Following a Los Angeles premiere at the Mann Village Theater in November, Paramount Pictures gave Up in the Air a wide release on December 23, 2009.

Ryan raises concerns that the new system is impersonal and undignified, arguing that Natalie lacks understanding about the firing process and how to handle emotionally vulnerable people.

On a video termination test run, Ryan's earlier concerns prove valid; when one laid-off person breaks down on camera, Natalie is unable to properly console him and another employee threatens suicide.

Natalie castigates Ryan for his inability to commit to Alex, despite their obvious compatibility; he dismisses her criticisms and chastises her for lacking empathy and never appreciating her surroundings.

When Jim, the groom, gets cold feet just prior to the ceremony, Ryan's older sister, Kara, asks him to intervene.

In Las Vegas for a prestigious speaking engagement, he abruptly walks offstage mid-presentation and impulsively flies to Chicago to see Alex.

The film concludes with Ryan at the airport, standing in front of a vast destination board, contemplating where he should travel next (something Natalie encouraged him to do earlier).

Walter Kirn wrote Up in the Air, the book on which the film is based, during a snowbound winter on a ranch in rural Montana, while thinking about airports, airplanes and first-class passengers he had met who would strongly resemble Ryan Bingham.

Director Jason Reitman later came upon the novel (initially attracted by the Christopher Buckley blurb on the cover) while browsing in the Los Angeles bookstore Book Soup.

"[10] Reitman repeatedly stated that he wrote parts specifically for George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Danny McBride, Melanie Lynskey, Amy Morton, Sam Elliott, and Zach Galifianakis.

[34][35][36] Some of the scenes were shot inside the Visitor's Bureau and in a condo in the Old Market area of downtown Omaha and at the south end of the main terminal at Eppley Airfield.

However, the brands did not pay for the exposure; rather, they waived the fees for the producers to shoot on location, such as at AA's airport areas and inside Hilton hotels.

[48] There was strong Oscar buzz for "Help Yourself,"[49] the original song by Sad Brad Smith, which featured in a pivotal scene of the film, but it was pulled from consideration by Paramount Pictures due to technicalities required by the Academy, which some deemed arbitrary.

[52] Kevin Renick wrote the song "Up in the Air" two years prior to knowing that Reitman was working on a film adaptation to the book.

[95][96] Reitman received Aspen Film's first New Directions Award and participated in a question and answer session following a screening of Up in the Air on Friday October 2, 2009 at the Wheeler Opera House.

[65][97][98] It was shown twice at the Tinker Street Cinema on the closing day of the Tenth Annual Woodstock Film Festival 2009 on October 4, 2009.

Vera Farmiga and Lucy Liu participated in a question and answer session moderated by entertainment journalist Martha Frankel after the film and in the Sunday noontime WFF Actor's Dialogue panel.

[113] On November 6, 2009 The New York Times critic Janet Maslin interviewed Reitman and Kirn during a Q&A session held at the Jacob Burns Film Center after a screening of Up in the Air.

The film was shown November 14, 2009 at the Tivoli Theater in University City, Missouri with Jason Reitman and Michael Beugg in attendance.

[115] Kevin Renick, the St. Louis musician who wrote the song Up in the Air, performed half an hour prior to the screening.

[70][116] On November 14, 2009, Paramount flew 50 members of the press to New York with Anna Kendrick, Sad Brad Smith and representatives of American Airlines to promote Up in the Air.

The site's critical consensus reads, "Led by charismatic performances by its three leads, director Jason Reitman delivers a smart blend of humor and emotion with just enough edge for mainstream audiences.

Not just in its casual and apparently effortless excellence, but in its ability to blend entertainment and insight, comedy and poignancy, even drama and reality, things that are difficult by themselves but a whole lot harder in combination.

"[131] Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman agreed, rating the film an A as a "rare and sparkling gem of a movie, directed by Jason Reitman with the polish of a master.

But ultimately, it's really an expertly done character study that's a dramatic change of pace from director Jason Reitman's previous two films.

"[134] Jonathan Romney of The Independent wrote, "Its cynical wit almost places it in the Billy Wilder bracket: Up In The Air is as eloquent about today's executive culture as The Apartment was about that of 1960.

"[137] The New York Times' Manohla Dargis especially appreciated the film's strong female roles, noting that "the ferocious Ms. Kendrick, her ponytail swinging like an ax, grabs every scene she's in," but wrote that the film "is an assertively, and unapologetically, tidy package, from its use of romance to instill some drama ... and the mope rock tunes that Mr. Reitman needlessly overuses.

But the stakes remain frustratingly low and it's one of those contemporary middlebrow projects that asks us to root for a genial, shallow individual as he learns to be a little less the man he was.

As a moviegoer, this film provides a satisfying experience where one can take a step back to ponder some of the finer points in our daily lives, but don't expect to find all the answers here.

"[142] Up in the Air earned various awards and nominations, in categories ranging from recognition of the film itself to its screenplay, direction and editing, to the performance of the three primary actors – George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, and Anna Kendrick.