• Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Live and Let's Fly
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Home » United Airlines » United Airlines Refreshes Boarding Music
United Airlines

United Airlines Refreshes Boarding Music

Matthew Klint Posted onMay 29, 2021November 14, 2023 11 Comments

a woman sleeping on an airplane

In order to “enhance the cabin environment and elevate the customer experience,” United Airlines has refreshed its onboard music for boarding and deplaning on widebody aircraft as well as select Boeing 757s.

United Airlines Boarding Music Refreshed

United will feature refreshed music on the following Boeing aircraft:

  • 757-200
  • 767-300/400
  • 777-200/300
  • 787-8/9/10

Music automatically starts when the IFE system is engaged during boarding and again when the aircraft door is opened upon landing. Special playlists for flights to Hawaii and Africa have been added as well.

I asked United for further details on the playlists and a spokesperson told me:

“We don’t have any route specific information to share but boarding music is currently active on about 30% of our fleet. Our brand playlist is updated on a bi-monthly basis.”  

Apparently I’ll need to have Shazam open next time I step onto a United wide bodyaircraft…

Boarding music is a great way to put a signature touch on an airline. United’s theme song for decades has been George Gershwin’s Rhapsody In Blue and I think starting every flight with a unique rendition of this popular classic further ingrains the United brand, creating positive associations.

Wherever I am in the world, when I hear Rhapsody In Blue I think of United. That does not just happen, but has to be cultivated. Think about Rhapsody In Blue on a ukulele on Hawaii flights or using the kologo lute and the gonjey fiddle on flights to Ghana.

Check out this United flight attendant playing Rhapsody In Blue at LAX:

My favorite boarding music is what is Etihad’s exotic boarding music, forever linked to my journeys on the new-retired Airbus A380.

CONCLUSION

Boarding and deplaning music is an important tool of airline marketing. Personally, I never get bored of Rhapsody in Blue and think that United using several variations of it could really work well. But music of any kind is generally better than none at all, so I am happy to see United introduce it on more aircraft.

Have you heard United’s new boarding music yet? What was it like?


image: United Airlines

Get Daily Updates

Join our mailing list for a daily summary of posts! We never sell your info.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Previous Article Denmark Debuts Digital Coronavirus Passport
Next Article Southwest Airlines Won’t Serve Alcohol: Good Or Bad?

About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

Related Posts

  • DFW United Intoxicated Passenger

    United Passenger Claims She’s Sober, Then Tries To Bite Police Officer At DFW

    May 26, 2025
  • United Airlines Memorial Day 2025

    United Airlines CEO Calls United States “The Greatest Country In The History Of The Planet”

    May 26, 2025
  • United Flight Attendants Tentative Deal

    At Long Last, United Airlines Reaches Tentative Labor Deal With Flight Attendants

    May 24, 2025

11 Comments

  1. Stuart Reply
    May 29, 2021 at 10:03 am

    Given all that’s going on these days on flights they may want to consider Guns n Roses, Welcome to the Jungle.

  2. Jennifer Reply
    May 29, 2021 at 1:39 pm

    I was pretty amused to hear, upon boarding last week, “Take A Chance on Me.” Not exactly the right mood (unless one is just listening to the bouncy tune) that an airline might want to instill.

  3. david Reply
    May 29, 2021 at 1:51 pm

    Of all the things they could do to elevate the customer experience, this?

  4. Mark Reply
    May 29, 2021 at 2:11 pm

    @David – Can they only choose one thing? The boarding music can be in conjunction with other initiatives. For example, I’ve read positive reviews of the process for holding for customers they wouldn’t necessarily have held for in the past. I’m guessing there are other pro-customer changes too.

  5. GS Guy Reply
    May 29, 2021 at 7:06 pm

    remember the last time they tweaked the boarding music and added a “boarding scent?” They turned it up so loud that you couldn’t talk to the FAs or make a last-minute phone call.

    Clearly some worthless marketing people need to be fired and their salaries put to good use actually providing something that matters to customers instead of stupid fluff.

  6. David Reply
    May 30, 2021 at 5:55 am

    ” I’m guessing there are other pro-customer changes too.”
    Great! Tell us more. I’d like to hear about them as a frequent UA flyer.

  7. John Thacker Reply
    May 30, 2021 at 9:57 am

    “Rhapsody in Blue” just became public domain now, right? I wonder how that will affect United’s use of the tune since their exclusive rights are expired. It is hard to think of United without it.

  8. Marik Reply
    May 30, 2021 at 10:17 am

    Oh I whole heartedly disagree with you Matthew. Everytime I hear that horrible composition . I want to punch someone. United paid Millions for the right to play that terrible thing and as background in the safety video. Why because it shows you UNITEDs past and craps all over Continental .

  9. JM Reply
    May 30, 2021 at 1:04 pm

    Rhapsody in Blue has become my least favorite piece of music ever. I used to find it mildly irritating, like nails on a chalkboard, but now that I’ve listened to hours and hours of it, endlessly, as a United employee, I truly hate it. It makes me want to stab someone. I suspect the forced listening to Rhapsody in Blue is more likely to cause air rage amongst passengers and crew than all the onboard alcohol consumption in the world.

  10. LS Reply
    May 30, 2021 at 6:24 pm

    Rhapsody in Blue is beautiful, iconic and recognized the world over as a masterpiece of classical and jazz integration. *You* don’t like it? Who cares?

    So, United’s classic theme
    music “craps on Continental?” So does that mean the Continental logo on the tail of every United aircraft crap on United?
    You’re ridiculous.

  11. Pingback: Life Lesson: Don't Call The Cops To Your Hotel When You're Committing Crimes - View from the Wing

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Search

Hot Deals for May

Note: Please see my Advertiser Disclosure

Capital One Venture X Business Card
Earn 150,000 Miles Sign Up Bonus
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Earn 100,000 Points
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles!
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles
Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
Earn $750 Cash Back
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Earn 120,000 Membership Reward® Points

Recent Posts

  • a inside of a plane with lights
    Review: Korean Air 747-8 First Class May 27, 2025
  • a screen on a plane
    My Highly Productive Daytime Flight To London On JetBlue May 27, 2025
  • Southwest Airlines Checked Bags
    Suicide: Southwest Airlines Eliminates Free Checked Baggage May 27, 2025
  • Spring Break JetBlue SAS
    Booked! A Transatlantic Getaway On JetBlue + SAS May 26, 2025

Categories

Popular Posts

  • United Airlines Polaris Lounge Chicago Review
    Review: United Polaris Lounge Chicago (ORD) May 1, 2025
  • United Airlines Refresh Polaris Lounge Chicago
    First Look: United Airlines Reopens Renovated Polaris Lounge In Chicago (ORD) April 29, 2025
  • a hand holding a blue card
    Chase Sapphire Preferred 100K Bonus Offer Ending Soon May 2, 2025
  • Aegean Airlines Feast
    A Feast Fit For A King On Aegean Airlines May 23, 2025

Archives

May 2025
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
« Apr    

As seen on:

facebook twitter instagram rss
Privacy Policy © Live and Let's Fly All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Live and Let's Fly with appropriate and specific directions to the original content.