Entertainment

Opera performed by airline and airport employees in Munich

Entertainment

This New Ocean image

This sounds like fun.

On May 30 and 31 employees of Munich Airport and flight crew members from four different international airlines will appear on stage at Munich’s Cuvilliés Theater to perform the global opera “This New Ocean.”

The three-act opera, which has a narrative arc described as stretching “from the earliest beginnings of humanity to the age of globalization,” starts with a video prologue filmed at Munich Airport. The roles will be sung by pilots and flight attendants from South African Airways, Lufthansa, All Nippon Airways, S7 Airlines and employees of Munich Airport and its subsidiaries.

The “Golden Record” sent out into interstellar space about 40 years ago with the Voyager probe also has a role in the opera. And, according to Munich Airport officials, the soprano soloist, Yoko Yamaguchi, is a flight attendant with All Nippon Airways when she is not singing. The solo bass role will be sung by Claus Schippan, a real estate manager with FMG. The third soloist with the cast recruited from across the aviation industry is countertenor Jan Kollmar, who works as a purser with Lufthansa. These soloists will be backed by 15 professional musicians conducted by Anton Zapf and alongside the strings led by concert master Vladimir Lakatos, the ensemble will include winds, a piano, percussion and an electric guitar.

Nélida Béjar and Björn Potulski (who works at Munich Airport) created this new opera and two years ago they also created a musical theater project called “Heavier Than Air” that featured the airport’s baggage handling employees.

Two performances of the opera will take place in Munich and all ticket proceeds will be donated to a fund to help people in need near the airport. In July the opera will be performed at the Soweto Theater. Backing the singers in the African shows for selected numbers will be a 100-voice children’s choir from Soweto.

Connected fliers get movies on their gadgets

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Courtesy United Airlines

United Airlines is joining the ranks of carriers that can bypass seatback screens and deliver on-demand, in-flight entertainment directly to gadgets brought on board by passengers.

“We’ve noticed more and more customers have their own personal electronic devices when they fly, so it just makes sense to provide this service,” said United Airlines spokeswoman Karen May.

The service, provided by Panasonic, will allow passengers with Wi-Fi enabled devices to access over 150 movies and TV shows stored in on-board servers.

Apple users will access the content through United’s new iOS app; laptop users will just need to open a browser. An app for Android devices is still under construction.

United will begin testing the new service this week on a Boeing 777 flying between the mainland and Hawaii. “We’ll then gradually expand the personal device entertainment system to other 777s flying to Hawaii and then to other fleet types that currently don’t have on-demand seatback entertainment systems,” said May.

Programming will be different than that offered via the on-demand seatback system and will be changed quarterly at first and eventually refreshed monthly. During roll-out, the service will be offered to passengers for free, “but I can’t say it will always be that way,” said May.

United is not the first to begin offering on-demand programming to passengers’ personal devices. “Many airlines are rolling out this ‘from the Netflix server on the plane to your device via Wi-Fi’ option for passengers,” said John Walton, direct of date for Routehappy. Fliers get a wide range of content “often for no more than the price of downloading it from iTunes and, for airlines, it’s a lot cheaper and lighter than installing a seatback entertainment system,” he said.

For a fee, passengers on many American Airlines, Delta and US Airways flights can stream on-demand movies and TV shows via Gogo Vision. Other airlines streaming to passenger devices include Air Canada, El Al, Norwegian, Scoot and Virgin Australia. “Southwest offers streaming video plus streaming live TV, while Qantas offers streaming to the airline’s own iPads, which are rigged to the seat in front of you in a kind of sling,” said Walton.

It seems like a trend, but experts say Hollywood is making sure seatback in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems aren’t going away just yet.“Major airlines are still making significant investments in fixed IFE systems and backseat screens on wide-body aircraft because they want to offer the latest Hollywood blockbusters to passengers on long-haul flights,” said Raymond Kollau, founder of airlinetrends.com, an industry and consumer trends research agency.

“This so-called early-window content is restricted to fixed seat-back systems and select airline-owned tablets because of the perceived risk by Hollywood that their latest releases will get copied when streamed to passenger devices,” said Kollau.

But that barrier may not last long.

“Many airlines would like nothing better than to rip out embedded systems,” said Mary Kirby, founder of the Runway Girl Network, “and the moment Hollywood relents on early window to personal electronic devices, or connectivity can support streaming over the pipe, is the moment that embedded IFE will go the way of the dodo bird.”

(My story about changes in in-flight entertainment first appeared on NBC News Travel).

Chicago airports get their own radio stations

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Farmer listening to radio - courtesy U.S. National Archives

Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports now have their own radio stations.

The 24-hour “AIR Chicago” was created for the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) by Clear Chanel Airports, a division of Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc., and features smooth jazz music interspersed with airport traffic and weather reports, business news, information about the airports and advertising.

Clear Channel has the indoor advertising contract at the Chicago airports “and this was an opportunity to start a different kind of branding, get more people interested in what we do at the airport, and reach out to a lot more people,” said Karen Pride, CDA spokeswoman.

Pride said the CDA has already recorded “vignettes” about holiday travel that will begin running on AIR Chicago in December and is working on others that might cover everything from sustainability efforts underway at the airports to the art and live music programs offered. There might also be opportunities for airline partners to record messages.

“There are a lot of applications that could be integrated into AIR Chicago,” said Pride. “The possibilities are endless.”

The AIR Chicago programming can be found on iHeartRadio.com and the iHeartRadio app, on the CDA’s website, and on Clear Channel’s local HD2 digital station, WKSC-FM/103.5 KISS FM.

While AIR Chicago is the first 24-hour radio station dedicated to information about the Chicago airports, it is not the first airport radio station. Some airports, such as Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International, have low-power AM radio stations broadcasting airport parking and traffic information, with the audio also available online. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport offers a web radio player showcasing northwest music.

Airplane-shaped piano at Pittsburgh Int’l Airport

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Chicago’s O’Hare and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International are among the airports with piano bars on-site. But through the first week in January 2014, travelers passing through Pittsburgh International Airport will hear tunes played on this airplane-shaped piano:

PIT Airplane Piano

The airplane piano is 13 feet 6 inches long and is valued at $160,000. It was created by Story & Clark/QRS Music Technologies in Seneca, Pa. and an Italian design firm and is controlled via an iPhone or iPad app and plays from a catalog of more than 6,000 songs.

The piano can also be played the old-fashioned way: by people. And it will used during live performances and during the airport’s holiday choral and concert series featuring local schools.

Look and listen for the piano on the Ticketing Level, Landside Terminal, near the US Airways ticket counter through the first week of January.

In-flight stand-up coming to Virgin Atlantic’s Little Red

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Airlines spend millions of dollars trying to outdo each other with in-flight entertainment that includes movies, games, network shows and other canned or streaming options. Yet beyond satellite TV feeds, the only live in-flight entertainment passengers often get might be the antics of a drunk in first class or the sound of a talented flight attendant singing or rapping their way through the safety instructions.

But later this month passengers may be in for a surprise when flying between London and Manchester or Edinburgh on some Virgin Atlantic flights operated by Little Red, the airline’s domestic carrier which launched earlier this year.  The airline has booked live, pop-up performances by comedians also scheduled to appear at the popular Edinburgh Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which runs through August 26th.

And next month the airline plans to offer a series of in-flight acoustic music concerts with artists from Scotland and Manchester.

The program, called Little Red LIVE, hasn’t started yet and will be only be on a handful of flights, said airline spokeswoman Nadia Basil, but when show dates and the entertainers are confirmed the airline promises to share details via Facebook and Twitter.

While somewhat unusual, live in-flight events are not unheard of.

“We’re seeing everything from in-flight concerts to fashion shows,” said Mary Kirby, editor-in-chief of the Airline Passenger Experience magazine. “Wizz Air’s ‘mile high’ fashion show immediately springs to mind.”

Kirby notes that beyond the in-flight entertainment value these events offer to passengers, the performances will have added corporate value because of their ability to generate “talkability” about the airline brand.

The performances will no doubt be captured on mobile devices by tech-savvy passengers and uploaded to YouTube, Vine and other video sharing sites. “With the added benefit of inspiring news stories and conversation about Little Red on social media. I see it as a win/win for both the airline and its passenger,” said Kirby.

Whenever they begin, whichever flights they’re on and however they will be captured, the in-flight comedy and music performances will have to be brief. Little Red flights between London and Edinburgh are 90 minutes and between London and Manchester, just 70 minutes.

(My story about Virgin Atlantic’s Little Red LIVE events first appeared on CNBC’s Road Warrior.)

 

 

More holiday events at airports

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Orlando International Airport is ready for the holidays, with giant wreaths on the walls, a 40-foot tree and displays celebrating not just Christmas, but Chanukah and Kwanzaa.

From December 10 through December 22, entertainment at Orlando Int’l Airport will include performances by the Orlando Ballet, Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra Ensembles, The Dickens Carolers and other treats.

Alabama’s Mobile Regional Airport has a holiday tree decorating contest, a full schedule of school choirs lined up to perform and a red and white carved hand-made wooden sleigh on display, which was made by an airport employee.


Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport offers its holiday music series of jazz, gospel, rock and holiday classics in the Atrium area of the domestic and international terminal buildings, December 10 – 14 and December 17 -21, from 5 to 7 p.m. Carolers will also perform on these same dates on concourses T through D, from 2 to 6 p.m. Here’s the schedule.

At San Jose International Airport, this holiday scene greets arriving travelers on the roadway:

Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) begins a three week schedule of holiday music on December 8th and the Food & Shops at New York’s LaGuardia Airport Terminal B host a coloring station for kids in the the center food court, between Gates B & C and welcome Kuddles the holiday elf, on Fridays (December 7, 14 and 21st), who will be handing out balloons and stickers. If you need to do some shopping, be sure to clip this coupon good for 20% off one item.

And on December 8th and 22nd at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), you can get your picture taken with Santa for free at the Starbucks in Terminal C (between C2 & C3 checkpoints) from 3 to 6 pm. They will also be handing out candy canes and complimentary Starbucks drink samples.

Stay tuned for more holiday events at airports.

Holiday events at airports

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Many airports are rolling out their holiday entertainment schedules this week, so beware of elves when you head out for your next trip.

Here’s a sampling of what’s in store.

Music of all sorts – from student choirs to professional carolers and combos will be on duty in airports in Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Austin, Reno, Washington, D.C. and many other airports.

At the Reno-Tahoe International Airport, the food class from a local school is once again displaying gingerbread houses in the main lobby and asking passengers to “vote” for their favorite creation by dropping money in the appropriate slot. Funds raised go to a local charity and this year the funds will go to the Nevada Humane Society.


In Oregon, the annual Holidays Take Flight celebration is underway at Portland International Airport, with live entertainment, food and beverage sampling in many shops, and the opportunity to enter a contest to win a $1,000 Alaska Airlines travel certificate for travel from PDX.

From December 15th through the 24th, travelers passing through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) will find carolers, elves, Frosty the Snowman, a comedy stilt walker, jugglers, a one-man band and other musicians roving the terminals and the concourses.

At Detroit Metro Airport (DTW) the fourth-annual Sing Because You Care karaoke event to benefit the local Salvation Army is scheduled for December 19 to the 22nd near the Water Feature in the Center of Concourse A. Passengers can cut their own Motown single (and entertain other passengers) with a $5 donation.

And from Friday December 7 through Monday December 10th, Miami International Airport (MIA) is hosting a wide variety of free holiday activities ranging from pictures with Santa and a chance to mingle with elves, to a craft table for kids, a North Pole mailbox, giveaways and music.

More holiday events at airports tomorrow…

 

 

Thanksgiving Travel Tibits: food, music & smoke

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If you’re traveling through an airport during this week’s Thanksgiving travel madness, here are some travel tidbits to keep in mind.

Worried about second-hand smoke?

Then don’t stand near airport smoking lounges  – and consider holding your breath when you walk by.

According to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average air pollution levels from secondhand smoke directly outside designated smoking areas in airports are five times higher than levels in smoke-free airports.

The CDC studied five large hub U.S. airports with designated smoking areas accessible to the public (Denver International, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Las Vegas’ McCarran International, Salt Lake City International, and Washington Dulles International) and also found that air pollution levels inside designated smoking areas were 23 times higher than levels in smoke-free airports. In the study, designated smoking areas in airports included restaurants, bars, and ventilated smoking rooms.


Turkey dinner in the sky and at airports

Virgin America has a holiday turkey sandwich on the buy-on-board menu

If you end up spending your Thanksgiving Day in an airport or on an airplane, you may not have to give up on Turkey Dinner.

In Florida, the Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport, inside Orlando International Airport, is serving a mid-day Thanksgiving buffet and several restaurants inside Miami International Airport, including the Ice Box Café (Turkey Special with all the works, pecan pie and a glass of vino for $ 20, all week) and the Top of the Port restaurant in the Miami International Airport Hotel, are also planning to serve traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

At JFK International Airport in New York, passengers flying out of the JetBlue’s Terminal 5 (T5) will be able to load up on turkey dinner in the Food Court Hot Bar. (Price is by the weight of your plate.)

In the air, Southwest Airlines is offering passengers a complimentary alcohol drink on Thanksgiving Day, Virgin America has a holiday-style turkey sandwich on its buy-on-board menu, but no other domestic airline I contacted is making any special note of the holiday.

But several international airlines are:

Etihad Airways, Air Berlin and Singapore Air are among those offering special Thanksgiving meals to passengers flying to and from US gateways.

And many airports have their holiday entertainment schedule underway:

On Wednesday, Nov 21 Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport will have a costumed character to read to children near the Red Balloon Bookshop across from Gate C12 between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on the hour and half-hour.

At Miami International Airport, there’s a whole bunch of activities going on Wednesday Nov 21 and again on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 24th and 25th, including a caricaturist, opportunities to get your photos taken in a harvest background, craft projects for kids and giveaways.

San Francisco’s You Are Hear concert series is underway, with performers scheduled in various spots throughout the airport on Wednesday, Dec. 21.

There’s live music scheduled for several spots in Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports on Wednesday as well. Find details about those airport concerts here.

And the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, which has 19 (or is it 100?) live concerts each week, has several performances scheduled for Wednesday as well.

The future of in-flight entertainment? Sort of up in the air…

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While a short promotional movie called Howdy Chicago was shown to passengers on an plane that flew over the Chicago World’s Fair in 1921, there were no regular in-flight movies until 1961, when Trans World Airlines (TWA) began offering that novel perk to its first-class customers.

Video games (1975), seat-back video (1991) and live in-flight television (2000) followed, and today passengers in all classes, on both long and short haul flights, have come to expect some sort of airline-provided, in-flight entertainment.

And they get it. Often on personal, seat-back multi-channel systems that deliver everything from creatively produced safety videos to movies, games, live television, shopping opportunities and, increasingly, access to the internet.

But tech-savvy passengers toting tablets, laptops, smartphones, e-readers, and other portable electronic devices are giving airlines and the traditional in-flight entertainment systems a run for their money. This has forced providers to re-think how they use technology to entertain and interact with passengers in the sky.

I got a good look at how that process is evolving earlier this month in Long Beach, Calif., when I served as one of the judges for an award given out by the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) at its annual expo. The event also featured educational sessions about the wide variety of technological changes coming to in-flight entertainment systems, plus a giant hall filled with exhibitors representing products, services and content you may experience on a future flight.

Breaking down all the tech-talk , the good news is that from the latest movies and games to documentaries, kids programming and health and wellness videos, there will be no shortage of in-flight entertainment options. Seat-back screens and systems are unlikely to go away, and in fact they may soon get even snazzier, with high definition, 3-D movies and games, and even holographic offerings on the horizon. But airlines are also scrambling to work out how to deliver that same programming, plus Wi-Fi, streaming and internet-delivered content, to travelers on their own or airline-provided devices.

For example, JetBlue just announced that in early 2013, it plans to offer free in-flight Wi-Fi, with plans to equip 30 planes with what it promises will be super-fast service. After that, checking e-mail and touring the internet should remain free, but there will be a fee for watching films.

Delta Air Lines also recently announced plans to upgrade its Wi-Fi equipped airplanes and offer passengers the ability to stream programming directly to their personal devices using a service called Gogo Vision. Fees for that programming will start at $.99 for TV shows and $3.99 for full-length movies. And here’s a nice touch: If you don’t finish watching something on the plane or want to download another program to watch at home or in your hotel later, you’ll have access to that material on that same device (if you’ve got access to the internet) after your flight for 24 hours. Look for that on 800 of Delta’s two-class domestic aircraft by the end of 2013.

Of course, accessing all this programming on your personal electronic devices means you’ll be asking your batteries to give it their all, unless you’re lucky enough to have a (working) USB port or power outlet at your seat. And that brings up another issue: Will airlines add the juice to power devices to the menu of items for sale in-flight?

Don’t be surprised if it comes down to that. The airline industry already earns more than $32 billion a year in ancillary revenue from ‘unbundled’ services such as baggage fees, change fees, in-flight meals and Wi-Fi, and in one of the expo workshops a presenter pointed out that airlines have a “prime opportunity to monetize the onboard experience” because passengers are easily influenced on board and “have a higher propensity to spend.” So if you’re going to spring for the movie, perhaps you’ll won’t mind paying a bit more to make sure you’ll be able to watch that movie the entire way through.

Not everything on view in the Expo exhibition hall was super high-tech.

Recognizing that so many passengers now travel with their own tablets, e-readers and other portable electronic devices, Smart Tray International was there to introduce a tray table with what seemed to be a common-sense, built-in groove for holding those devices upright.

And while Uplifted, a fitness company from Perth, Australia, had rented a booth in hopes of selling airlines a nicely-produced exercise video that mixed in moves from yoga, Pilates and Tai Chi that passengers can do at their seats, company founder Sally Dollas also had a stash of instructional workout pamphlets on heavy paper that were a snap to hang on the latch of an upright tray table.