The power of airline boarding music
If you didn’t realise by the very fact I have a travel blog, I am very much an AvGeek.
For those who aren't aware it's a combination of aviation and geek i.e. people who love planes and travelling. Most people will select the best time for their flight or the most convenient airport, but often you'll find anybody who enjoys flying going out of their way for a better flying experience e.g. picking a widebody plane like the Boeing 777 or Airbus A350 over a narrowbody such as the Boeing 737 or Airbus A320 if you can.
Something many normal travellers may not consider as part of flying is boarding music, the sometimes annoying or pointless music that is playing when you are taking your seat on a plane or disembarking the aircraft. There are numerous reasons for airlines investing in boarding music such as:
making passengers more relaxed
represent the sounds of a country or region
or creating a signature, recognisable sound for the airline
I've curated a selection below of my favourites...yes I did warn you this would be very geeky. I'd like to go back to that point of "making passengers more relaxed". Why should a piece of music only be suitable for boarding a plane? If I am having a busy or stressful day whilst working, I will often play this music in the background to create a more relaxing environment or to make me think of travelling. I would recommend this to anybody, so I've curated a short list below of my favourites.
Qatar Airways
Etihad Airways
Both I can listen to time and again, however the bottom left is the older one which sounds more regal and interesting. For the 20th Anniversary, the airline’s media agency created a remixed version which cleverly combined elements of the current and legacy boarding music.
Turkish Airlines
Three (!) pieces of music this time, with the first being the current and in my view most relaxing.
Air France
Two editions - the first being their previous boarding music and then the newer version. The latter is probably a bit better for the use of boarding music due to its more relaxing energy.
Singapore Airlines
A beautiful piece of music which, admittedly, is only used during their safety video.
Finnair
Why have just one piece of music when you can have a whole album? That’s what Finnair did last year with their boarding music by creating an album called ‘Journey’ - I think it’s relaxing and I really noticed the new music when I first heard it last year. This is my favourite out of the lot but it’s good for keeping you focussed while working
As I promised at the beginning, extremely geeky but hopefully you can get some of the same relaxation benefits or productivity boost I get from listening to these tracks. What is your favourite? And do you have any other recommendations?
To listen to all the music, be sure to save this playlist to your YouTube.