Finnair believes music should be as important as in-flight snacks

Think back to the last time you boarded an aircraft: what do you remember? Food, drink, service and your seat might come to mind but do you recall the music? Sound doesn’t typically make lists of travel necessities but Finnair believes that music should be a part of a trip – the company even thinks that it can spark affection for an airline. The brand has introduced a new soundscape, composed by famed Finnish composer Lauri Porra, which threads through the Finnish national carrier’s in-flight experience. Unlike typical playlists or borrowed tracks, this original work was recorded with a symphony orchestra and designed to accompany different stages of travel rather than just fill the silence.

This approach contrasts with the industry norm. Airlines have long obsessed over how flying looks and smells, with cabin lighting following circadian rhythms and signature scents wafting through premium lounges. The travel soundtrack has often been generic and interchangeable, treated as background noise rather than an intentional part of the customer experience. “One component of the brand that should always be thought about, certainly in terms of customer experience, is sound,” says Finnair’s chief customer officer, Simon Large, at the company’s headquarters near the Helsinki-Vantaa airport. “It’s often underappreciated but it can be enormously influential on how people feel.” 

Numerous studies have proven that sound – music in particular – can subconsciously affect our anxiety levels and the way that we perceive space and time. Slower tempos can lower heart rate and steady breathing. Certain tonal patterns can make waiting times feel shorter. Even the perceived size of an area can shift depending on the acoustic environment. Translated into an aviation context, this means that music can change how we experience delays, how spacious a cabin feels or how we react to turbulence. In an aircraft, these subtle cues become even more important as passengers surrender a degree of control once the doors close. Yet many airlines fail to view music as an essential element of customer-experience design. The standard practice is to purchase music through licensed catalogues. Commissioning a full composition, as Finnair has done, is extremely rare. Owning the music allows the company to control not only the mood but its sonic identity, ensuring that what passengers hear onboard cannot be heard anywhere else.

Beyond the psychological benefits, this new soundscape also supports Finnair’s brand. For an air carrier positioning itself as a link between Europe and Asia, national identity is a valuable commercial asset. “As part of our brand refresh, we want to double down on our Finnish heritage,” says Large. “And Porra’s composition is Finnish to the core; I’ve seen it evoke deep emotions among my colleagues.” This emotional response is not accidental. The brief was clear: authenticity first, reassurance second and inspiration throughout. Music gives Finnair better control over passenger mood and can help boost their feelings about flying with the company. “As we embarked on this project, one priority was to provide passengers a certain sense of wonder about travel,” adds Large.

Porra’s composition consists of 12 tracks that total about 45 minutes. Each segment is carefully matched to a phase in the journey, creating an emotional arc: boarding brings anticipation, take-off builds excitement, and cues for descent and arrival reflect a sense of resolution and welcome. Porra even composed music for the crew to listen to before passengers board. The tracks include traditional Finnish instruments such as kantele and jouhikko, with some even featuring a symphony orchestra.

Porra, who in his native Finland is considered music royalty as the great-grandson of the national composer Jean Sibelius, says that the project felt deeply personal to him. “As a musician who has spent decades touring the world, airplanes are like a second home to me,” he says, speaking to Monocle at his home in Helsinki’s Ullanlinna district. “I have often thought about what music for an airplane would sound like.” Porra drew on his Finnair journeys – from childhood holidays to business trips – to consider how emotions can fluctuate during a flight. “In the end, it’s about making the passengers feel comfortable in various situations, while incorporating a certain Finnish feeling to it all,” says Porra.

Finnair is so confident in its new soundscape that it has released the full composition on streaming platforms. It is an unusual step in airline branding, allowing passengers to carry the company’s atmosphere with them. This, of course, requires a strong emotional connection with the brand – something that Finnish nationals have with the carrier. Porra recalls when stepping onto its aircraft after long periods abroad felt like arriving home. Now, Finnair bets that its new soundtrack will evoke the same sense of occasion among international travellers. 

In an industry focused on metrics, investing in a unique auditory environment might seem redundant. But an airline’s customer loyalty is shaped by how a journey feels, from beginning to end. Finnair’s experiment shows that sound could be an untapped frontier in aviation. Whether or not passengers recall the music, they will remember how it made them feel.