For frazzled travelers, airports offer live music respite
The last thing Joel Malizia, a co-founder of the video production company Pilot Moon Films, expected when he arrived at the airport in Austin, Texas, for the recent South by Southwest festival was the sound of live music.
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is among more than a half-dozen airports in the United States that offer travelers frazzled by bottlenecks on security lines and cramped seating on planes (not to mention pressured airport employees) a bit of a respite in the form of music.
San Francisco International Airport said it is planning on bringing back its Summer Sessions program, which features live musical performances at all its terminals.
Houston Airport System created a performance series, Harmony in the Air, with rotating soloists, including classical music and jazz, at William P. Hobby Airport beginning in 2015 and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in 2016.
After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Portland International Airport in Oregon began hosting musical performances by volunteer musicians and now has 65 performances a week.
An airport authority may join forces with a corporate partner or a state or municipal arts commission.
While passengers say they appreciate the unexpected interludes, and musicians’ earnings and fan bases may receive a lift from the programs, airports’ decisions to offer performing arts are largely for their own benefit, said Steven A. Carvell, a professor at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration.
In airports where entertainment is offered in areas past security lines, the music gives passengers a reason to linger near shops and food and beverage concessions, and to make purchases.
“Music provides a better passenger experience and encourages people to arrive earlier,” said Darren Perry, a managing director in the aviation and travel practice at L.E.K. Consulting.
Some passengers, like Donna Seymour, an assistant vice president and account executive at a title insurance company who lives in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., agree.
Sharjeel Ahsan, a certified public accountant in Houston who said he traveled about six times a year for business, was walking through Hobby Airport in February when he heard strains of classical music.
Matthew J. Detrick, a violinist and artistic director for the Apollo Chamber Players, said the airport gig had helped improve the group’s performances.
Maricela Kruseman, the performing arts program manager for the Houston Airport System, said the audition process was competitive.