Dr. Dre: Coming Soon to a Southwest Flight Near You

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Airlines know that flyers have forsaken the tinny sounds of waiting-room jazz for their own personal devices and playlists. With more flyers relying on smartphones and Spotify for in-flight entertainment, what’s a major airline to do?

If you’re Southwest, you bring in Dr. Dre.

Today, Southwest launches the first-ever Beats Music service in the air. Through in-flight Wi-Fi, passengers will have access to some 150 curated playlists via their mobile devices (the service is iOS- and Android-compatible). The playlists feature fresh new artists and likely favorites in a number of genres, including pop, rock, country, hip-hop, and more. Beats Music also offers personalized playlists based on a quick survey of flyers’ tastes and locations. This gives Beats a leg up on similar service Spotify; for young customers, after all, personalization is key.

The service itself is free of charge but requires Wi-Fi access, for which Southwest currently charges $8 per day. But Southwest is banking on a fair amount of customer overlap: The flyer who is willing to pay for Wi-Fi in order to access email, social networks, and Internet is likely the same customer who would be wowed by the trendy Beats service.

Beats, the super-successful music-streaming and electronics company cofounded by rapper Dr. Dre, was acquired by Apple earlier this year, giving even more cachet to a brand popular with celebrities and NFL stars.

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Add Southwest flyers to that list.

In fact, Southwest seems to be seeking a fresh new look and feel, given its recent bright, vibrant rebranding and record-setting profits. Those add-ons make the low-cost line a favorite among younger flyers—count this writer among them. 

Readers, would you use the Beats Music streaming service?

(Photos: Southwest)

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