Passengers flying to Hawaii surprised with free ukulele lessons mid-flight
Are you a nervous flyer? Some ukulele strumming 30,000 feet in the air might help.
Image: Guitar Center
Music retailer Guitar Center recently surprised passengers on a flight to Hawaii with a free ukulele and some free ukulele lessons mid-flight.
Passengers flying from Long Beach to Honolulu last Friday (16 September) were treated to history’s first-ever in-flight ukulele class, organised by the American music chain in partnership with Southwest Airlines.
Each passenger onboard the Boeing 737-800 aircraft was given a Mitchell MU40 Soprano ukulele, along with some in-flight instructions of the musical variety. Over the course of the near six-hour flight, they were taught how to play the song Hello, Aloha. How are you? in its entirety on the ukulele.
“I’ve taught students through Guitar Center Lessons since 2014, but never in an airplane,” said instructor Alexandra Windsor.
“It was inspiring to see how quickly passengers of all ages picked up the ukulele – many with no musical background. The ukulele is the perfect instrument for beginners, and it shows just how fun and easy learning something new can be.”
“We offer Guitar Center lessons in almost any instrument online and in our stores across the country and for this one-time special flight, above the clouds! Not many people can say they learned to play a song on a Southwest flight to Hawaii!” Guitar Center’s VP of music education Donny Gruendler added.
Memories of the once-in-a-lifetime lesson aside, flyers also got to keep their new instrument (which came with a Road Runner carrying case) at the end of the flight.
To celebrate the partnership, Southwest Airlines and Guitar Center have also launched a contest for a chance to win round trip air travel on Southwest for a winner and a guest, and two Mitchel MU40 Soprano ukuleles.
Visit Southwest.fm/ukuleleflight to learn more.