After the unmatched boldness of The Contest, it's back to basics for Seinfeld's fifty-first episode, The Airport, which, much like The Subway in the third season, makes good use of locations that stray from the show's traditions (apartments and diner).
The plot involves Jerry and Elaine coming home after a comedy gig in St. Louis, with the unfortunate consequence that their flight is rerouted from JFK to Laguardia. While in the air, Elaine has to suffer the effects of coach, while Jerry gets bumped up to first class and sits next to an attractive model. Back on the ground, George and Kramer have their own problems as they have to go through last-minute airport changes (the flight is rerouted again) to come and pick up their friends.
Reverting to "formula" would be considered a cheap move in the case of most sitcoms, but since this is Seinfeld, where formula is the least formulaic of its elements, the classic structure is a perfect excuse for 20 minutes of sharp jokes: not only do we get some social satire in the form of the contrast between Jerry and Elaine's plane accommodations, there's also one of the best George scenes ever, as the unrivaled lord of the idiots pulls off one of the program's most unexpected and insane movie references. Let's just put it this way: Costanza ain't no Bette Davis...