Summary:
- Southwest Airlines has celebrated 15 years of its ‘Live at 35’ onboard music programme with a surprise inflight performance by the Plain White T’s.
- The initiative brings live pop-up concerts to passengers at 35,000 feet, transforming flights into immersive entertainment experiences.
- The programme continues to highlight Southwest’s focus on hospitality, crew-led engagement and creating memorable passenger moments onboard.
Southwest Airlines – a Headline Partner of FTE Global, Dallas, Texas, 8 to 10 September 2026 and a Corporate Partner of the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub – is celebrating its signature ‘Live at 35’ programme that brings live pop-up performances to customers onboard flights at 35,000 feet. To mark the occasion, the Plain White T’s took to the skies and surprised Southwest travellers by singing their hit song, ‘Hey There Delilah’, which continues to draw crowds and resurface on TikTok with billions of plays. The Plain White T’s were one of the first artists to perform onboard a Southwest flight when the airline launched the programme 15 years ago.
“At Southwest, we’re proud to deliver our signature hospitality in unexpected ways with surprise performances at 35,000 feet,” said Sabrina Callahan, Senior Vice President and Chief Digital and Marketing Officer. “Through Live at 35 and the personality of our incredible crew, we’ve created moments that turn flights into lasting memories from the minute our customers step onboard.”
Past ‘Live at 35’ performances have featured independent artists and mainstream musicians, and the airline plans to dial up the experiences in the coming months, with more artists performing at new heights.
“We’ve played a lot of venues over time, and I speak for all of us when I say there is nothing like hearing a plane full of people singing along with your music at 35,000 feet,” said Tom Higgenson of the Plain White T’s. “We had the opportunity to perform inflight with Southwest over a decade ago, and while that can feel like it was a million years ago, not much has changed. We loved making history with Southwest and their welcoming team.”
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