Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour is set to be the biggest tour of all time and has quite an effect on not just Swifties but everyone in the vicinity. United Airlines is one of the many companies that greatly benefited from Swift’s tour, which kicked off in March 2023.

Feelin’ like it’s 25

The numbers behind Swift’s tours are incredible. The Eras Tour is credited with adding roughly $5.7 billion to the US economy alone. People from all over the world who are not lucky enough to be at one of the cities Taylor Swift
visits as part of the tour often flock to cities that do.

A photo of Taylor Swift singing.

Photo: Brian Friedman | Shutterstocl

According to Bloomberg, airlines see a massive increase in demand over concert weekends. United Airlines
(UA) is one such airline. Andrew Nocella, United’s Chief Commercial Officer (COO), said while speaking at the Skift Global Forum 2024:

“Quite frankly, we watch where Taylor goes because our demand booms. It is material to the destinations when she shows up. It is real, and it happens time after time again. It’s amazing.”

Specifically, the airline noticed a 25% increase in ticket sales when the concert was abroad. Levels would return to normal after Swift moved on. As a result, United tracks where the concert is heading to ensure the airline has enough capacity to fill the demand and take advantage of the influx of concertgoers.

Taylor tactics

United didn’t add more flights to cater to Swifties, but other airlines did. Southwest Airlines
will add more than 10 flights to its schedule to help meet demand when Taylor visits Miami and New Orleans in October this year. However, United did add more flights for the Superbowl Weekend, with flight numbers such as 1587, 2287, 1989, and 22, which reference Swift’s albums and songs.

Previously, United took advantage of the Swift effect by offering discounts on domestic flights coinciding with locations for Swift’s US leg, which featured 53 shows. United will surely bring the tactic back when Swift starts the second leg of her US tour, which features an additional 27 shows.

Teaming up with stars

United Airlines flyers will soon have access to free WiFi on flights, thanks to the airline’s partnership with Starlink, a subsidiary of Elon Musk’s SpaceX project. United is the second airline to make this move, with Delta Air Lines
(DAL) beating it to the punch earlier this year.

United Airlines at ORD

Photo: United Airlines

United’s first Starlink-equipped passenger flight is expected to take to the skies late next year. It has plans to equip the entire fleet with Starlink capabilities in the future. Nocella spoke about the addition, saying:

“Starlink just enables a living room life experience onboard. It will take a little while to get it out there, but this is a revolution in the air.”

The purchase of inflight WiFi is an additional source of income for airlines, so it’s unclear why both airlines are making moves that will result in foregoing some profits. The moves could be to attract more passengers and market the flights as all-inclusive.

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