Southwest Airlines tries to bring music concerts to the skies

By A.W.| WASHINGTON, DC

LAST week brought some good news for those who are fans of both flying and country music. Warner Music Nashville, a record label, and Southwest Airlines announced that they will be bringing concerts to the skies. The scheme is an expansion of the airline’s existing “Live at 35” series, in which bands surprise passengers by playing a few songs in the plane’s cabin. Devin Dawson (pictured), an artist on the label, marked the occasion with a performance on a flight from Nashville to Philadelphia. He toldBillboard, a music publication, that:

Some people don’t really enjoy flying; some people get very nervous and don’t like it. I hope that something like this [performance] is just a cool surprise for some [passengers] that helps them forget about their everyday woes, and I’ll just play a couple of songs to make them smile.

However, Mr Dawson’s enthusiasm was not shared by everyone. The reactions on social media were swift and brutal. The New York Daily Newstweeted that the carrier is forcing passengers to listen to in-flight music live “because air travel isn’t torture enough”. Viceran the headline: “Southwest Airlines will regularly inflict live music on trapped passengers”. Frequent flyers asked how there could possibly be space for a band to perform, when airlines are cramming seats into every available inch of their planes. Business travellers complained about the distraction. Some vowed never to fly Southwest again.

This is an example of airlines’ trying to make flying fun. (Other attempts include using ever-catchier safety videos or even making flight attendants perform dance numbers, as Gulliver has previously reported.) But the problem is that most travellers just want to get from one location to another with minimal hassle. Many business travellers reported in a recent survey that they prefer to avoid human interaction altogether when in transit. And although a concert is not an interaction, in some ways it is far worse. There is no way to cut off the conversation. Sleeping through it is a near-impossible challenge. Reading or working is harder still.

Though misguided, the airlines’ attempts to enliven flights are understandable. Travellers tend to choose their carriers on the basis of price and convenience, even if they complain about the food or service along the way. That forces airlines to find cheap ways to attract customers without denting profit margins. A live concert seems like an affordable and potentially enjoyable gimmick. After all, if videos of the performances go viral, Southwest could become known as the “fun” airline.

But most travellers do not want fun. They want quiet and they want reliability. Even though these qualities are harder for airlines to provide, they will make customers more satisfied—and perhaps more loyal too.