Editing Rain Man (section)

===Qantas and airline controversy===
In June 1989, at least fifteen major airlines showed edited versions of ''Rain Man'' that omitted the scene involving Raymond's refusal to fly, mentioning the crashes of [[American Airlines Flight 625]], [[Delta Air Lines Flight 191]], and [[Continental Airlines Flight 1713]], except on Australia-based [[Qantas]]. Those criticizing this decision included film director Barry Levinson, co-screenwriter Ronald Bass, and [[George Kirgo]] (at the time, the President of the [[Writers Guild of America, West]]). "I think it's a key scene to the entire movie", Levinson said in a telephone interview. "That's why it's in there. It launches their entire odyssey across country – because they couldn't fly." Although some of those airlines cited as justification avoiding having airplane passengers feel uncomfortable in sympathy with Raymond during the in-flight entertainment, the scene was shown intact on flights of Qantas, and commentators noted that Raymond mentions ''it'' as the only airline whose planes have "never crashed".<ref name=ny>{{cite news|title=Airlines Cut Scene From 'Rain Man'|date=June 29, 1989|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/29/movies/airlines-cut-scene-from-rain-man.html|access-date=June 6, 2015|archive-date=June 13, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613035239/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/29/movies/airlines-cut-scene-from-rain-man.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=la>{{cite news|last=Weinstein|first=Steve|title=Uneasy Airlines Get Final Cut on 'Rain Man'|date=June 29, 1989|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-06-29-ca-3726-story.html|access-date=June 6, 2015|archive-date=June 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150616024746/http://articles.latimes.com/1989-06-29/entertainment/ca-3726_1_airlines-plane-rain-man|url-status=live}}</ref>

The film is credited with introducing Qantas's safety record to U.S. consumers.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Kamenev|first=Marina|title=Qantas: Airline Safety's Golden Child No More?|date=November 24, 2010|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|url=http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2032492,00.html|access-date=June 6, 2015|archive-date=May 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524233906/http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2032492,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=January 7, 2014 |title=Is Qantas still the world's safest airline? |url=http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/is-qantas-still-the-worlds-safest-airline/story-e6frfq80-1226796848267 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107130955/http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/is-qantas-still-the-worlds-safest-airline/story-e6frfq80-1226796848267 |archive-date=January 7, 2014 |access-date=June 6, 2015 |publisher=[[News.com.au]]}}</ref> However, contrary to the claims made in the film, Qantas aircraft have been involved in [[List of Qantas fatal accidents|a number of fatal accidents]] since the airline's founding in 1920 (although none involving jet aircraft, with the last incident taking place in December 1951).<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Palmer|first=Brian|title=Is Qantas The World's Safest Airline?|date=1 November 2011|magazine=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2011/11/airline_safety_does_qantas_airlines_crash_free_record_make_it_th.html|access-date=5 May 2022|archive-date=24 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524232929/http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2011/11/airline_safety_does_qantas_airlines_crash_free_record_make_it_th.html|url-status=live}}</ref>