Revealed: Tigerair Taiwan’s First In-Flight Concert – Behind-the-Scenes Struggles Exposed

▲Concert process highlights.

Reported and photographed by You Tzu-Ju / Onboard Tigerair Taiwan

Taiwan’s first ever “sky concert” took place today (the 9th) on board a Tigerair Taiwan flight bound for Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport. At 3:30 PM, at an altitude of 35,000 feet, the in-flight concert officially kicked off. Hosts HowHow & Nine One One performed three songs in front of 150 passengers and danced along with everyone on board. ETtoday EBC News interviewed the behind-the-scenes production team of Tigerair Taiwan to analyze how they turned the cabin into a concert venue.


▲Tigerair Taiwan hosts its first in-flight concert.

It took about two months for Tigerair Taiwan to fully stage its first in-flight concert. “The hardest part was the communication process with the Civil Aeronautics Administration,” said Tiffany Tang, PR representative for Tigerair Taiwan. The series of application procedures began after the airline’s annual ambassadors, HowHow & Nine One One, expressed their wish to “hold an in-air concert” during the inaugural flight press conference. “From the very first proposal, the CAA expressed concerns over flight safety.” Taking into account the cabin space and safety details, Tigerair Taiwan and the CAA began meticulous planning and preparation.

“No detail can compromise flight safety.” Even the most basic issues regarding audio and lighting equipment were questioned by the CAA, which raised concerns about the security risks of using large-scale lighting and sound systems with liquid batteries. As a result, portable projection lights and speakers were designed — no lighting or speaker stands were installed. Additionally, the volume could not exceed that of airport announcements, so crew members had to wear backpacks equipped with the gear and walk down the aisles, coordinating with the stage movements of HowHow & Nine One One.


▲After abandoning various ideas, they finally opted for portable backpack speakers to pass the CAA inspection.


▲Flight attendants had to rehearse the related content multiple times.

In terms of crew movement, since Tigerair Taiwan currently operates only two A320 aircraft on routes to Singapore, Bangkok, and Chiang Mai, “we could only use early morning time slots for rehearsals.” With only a single aisle, many details had to be considered during the performance. Prior to this sky concert, the crew had officially rehearsed just twice, “and HowHow & Nine One One hadn’t practiced at all.”

For an in-flight concert held at 35,000 feet, the transportation and setup of hardware equipment were key factors. Tigerair Taiwan stated that to prepare for the concert, the flight considered weight distribution issues and only sold 90% of its seats to passengers. In actual operations, they also conducted multiple drills for handling scenarios such as turbulence or fires. “Safety was always the top priority.”

%Ensuring passenger comfort and proximity to the performance was also an important task.