On an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to New York JFK Saturday, passengers pulled out their violins and played for the cabin as St. Patrick’s Day quickly approaches.
The music is excellent, but this isn’t what everyone had signed up for. There’s no “no music” section of the aircraft. It’s been described as ‘Aches On A Plane’ and we’re all just waiting for Samuel L. Jackson.
We’re lucky that no one decided “that’s what emergency evacuation slides are for” since it looks like this may have been happening as the aircraft was getting ready to deplane. If true, at least escape was near. On the other hand, most passengers probably already put away their noise cancelling headphones.
Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to JFK yesterday. I mean, I understand it's done from a good place, but also feel like you don't play music (or much worse, sing) in an enclosed space there's no escape from pic.twitter.com/UlqmHAqj03
— Adam Singer (@AdamSinger) March 12, 2023
I might have coaxed some Brits on the flight into a competing round of ‘God Save The King’ and then whatever happens, happens.
We’ve seen involuntary musical flash mobs on aircraft far more recently. For instance, here’s a violinist performing on Southwest Airlines earlier this month. Though I suppose if that’s the only gig you can get, you take it.
Imagine getting serenaded at 30,000 feet by a professional violinist 😍 pic.twitter.com/RlszyWTzXJ
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) March 2, 2023
Meanwhile, last fall Southwest Airlines took money from another company to subject passengers to a cruel torture experiment an advertisement for their musical instruments.
We teamed up with @guitarcenter to surprise a flight full of Customers flying out of Long Beach with a ukulele and a lesson. By the time they arrived in Honolulu they were pros. pic.twitter.com/XsEx10sRJK
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) September 20, 2022
It seems to me that when then-Senator Ted Kennedy successful secured passage of the Airline Deregulation Act, which created a dedicated regulator for the industry in order to ensure safe and efficient air travel, stopping this was precisely what the drafters had in mind.
Again, the music is lovely, but when you’re inside a metal tube and it wasn’t advertised with your ticket, it’s precisely what I imagine CIA rendition to be like.
(HT: Hans)
I suffer from noise sensitivity. Being 8n a jet cabin with active noise cancelling headphones would put me at my limit. Hearing those instruments at an even louder volume at the high end of the spectrum would have caused me to become violent in self defence. Ya know fight or flight mode? It is not something I would have control over, it would just happen, then I would be arrested and spend the next year or two defending myself in both the legal court, but the court of social media as well. I would end up sueing the service provider for pain and suffering.
C J McIntosh- You mean The Lion King?
Slow newsday huh?
You’ve got to be kidding, I would have started blasting Rap, Hip Hop, and singing really loudly and off key. That’s ridiculous to have to put up with that on a plane.
Imagine complaining about a professional musician giving you a free concert. I guess this is what entitled looks like
The real offender here is the person who can’t see decide if he’s taking vertical video or horizontal video so mixes the two.
So sorry for people that don’t enjoy music and togetherness. It’s got to be hard to be that soft.
What is wrong with you Gary……get over your self. Not reading any more of your so called articles …. geeze
Seriously… this is a problem? In those videos I saw a lot of happy, smiling people and people recording the moment on their phones. In the majority of any airplane you are packed in with many people. You should expect “noise”. What do you do when there are crying babies and screaming children? If noises bother you on a plane, you should have noise canceling headphones. So use them and let others enjoy the music.
Congratulations, you have perfectly embodied the problem with the world. Talented people provided Entertainment and merriment free of charge and you are complaining? If I were the musicians in question I’d be sending you a bill for my services, and I can tell you, I don’t come cheap… Get off your high horse and learn to enjoy life a little bit…
Don’t hold me hostage while playing any sort of music. Would have turned that “concert” into a moshpit real quick.
Nails on a blackboard to someone like myself with sound sensitivity. It’s too much, not pleasant, and a form of torture for narcissists looking for social media “likes”.
You must be the fun guy at the party
Musicians and Artists always think they’re owed more
This is delightful compared to being stuck in a subway car in NYC being forced to listen to awful music and then being scolded to give money after performance.
Jeeez!!! the title of the article!!! seriously! is it necessary????. (Drama at its best)
I’m sorry, but all people seems to be having fun on that picture!
this is why people in other countries are not fan of people in US, we complicate simple things in life that are meant to be enjoyed! like, “stop and smell the roses:…..(people: omg no-no-no! I can’t I’ll end up in a hospital if I do, Do not force me or I’ll sue you…lol )
Talk about a captive audience yuk yuk yuk
The original poster of this video clarified that this was after landing and everyone was already getting off the plane. Nobody was forced to endure anything- stop making drama where there is none.
But they can sell their credit cards to a an unwilling, captive audience, that’s perfectly fine.
What a shiite take. Live a little! Enjoy music, celebration, and culture.
So it was probably a fiddle, not a violin. There’s a penny whistle in the back. You’re in an Irish airplane going to Ireland, before St. Patrick’s. How would a session NOT happen??
People are havin a good craic and yourselves are a bunch dour wankers. Live a little.
Never reading this guy’s miserable take on life again
Maybe those live performers need to ask the jet engines how to avoid the wrath of people with noise sensitivity…
Waaay bigger things in the world to worry about. Music is not one of them. Especially played well even.
You have taken trolling to a new level, sir. It’s so nice to see people being joyous and celebrating community together. And you would take this precious few moments from them because you’re an entitled ticket holder? Have some patience, compassion for others, and seek joy. Stop the hateful rhetoric and use your creative powers for good. Please.
I would absolutely love this if I were in a pub or on the street or even at the airport itself, but NOT ON THE PLANE. I can understand both sides of this argument. But it comes down to this: those who do not want to be disturbed or who don’t like the music have no recourse. They cannot leave. Play your music, enjoy mirth and merriment, but do not do it on a slender metal tube where people are literally prisoners until those who have the power to do so open the doors! If you think that this was a good idea, would you also think it is a good idea for someone on the plane to blast music from their phone as loud as possible? It really comes down to being considerate and understanding that not everyone wants the same thing.
Jesus what the world needs less off is mostly just the author and people like him. There’s an acronym perfect for you and it starts with K, ends with S and there might be a Y in there.
10 seconds of that gave me a headache. Imagine having to listen to that for hours on end in an aluminum tube. Yeah, so entitled? because we thought that BUYING an airline ticket actually ENTITLED us to a choice of music selection on a headset, or just good old fashioned peace and quiet. I know the Irish appropriated their folk music for nationalistic aims but I’m pretty sure this crosses the line into Guantanamo style torture tactics! At the very least I can walk out of my local Irish pub when I’ve had enough. Oh, those Poor Bastard passengers!
What’s the difference between Irish folk music and a jet engine. Eventually the jet engine runs out of fuel and stops!!!
I’m shocked at how many people on here thought this was okay; then, belittle others if they did
not agree. I’m a very outgoing happy person but would have hated that someone thought it was a good idea to impose this on an entire plane of people. Its actually thoughtless of others; just like wearing fragrances on a plane. I don’t want to hear your music nor smell your toxic fragrance. Its just common courtesy. Something we humans seem to no longer have. What I now see in human’s (esp the west) is entitlement.