Taylor Swift’s enthusiastic fan base has proven that it can collectively shift the U.S. economy and even cause actual earthquakes. Is it so hard to believe that they could alter commercial flight plans?
That’s exactly what one superfan asked for when she managed to get her birthday wish during a Southwest flight to Los Angeles: A fly-by over T-Swift’s arena concert in Inglewood, California.
In the video posted to Samantha Meany’s TikTok account (@idkitssammy) on Aug. 4, you can see her cashing in early on a little birthday goodwill. (She would turn 29 the day after).
@idkitssammy Not the pilot insulting me Did you guys know you can just walk up here???? #southwestairlines #taylorswift #flying #pilot ⬠original sound – Sams
During a layover, she casually asks a flight attendant if she can go into the cockpit to speak with the pilot. She then asks whether the plane will be flying over Inglewood during their approach to LAX Airport, because, “the Taylor Swift concert is happening right there right now, and I’d think that would be super cool if we fly over it.”
The flyover was a long-shot backup plan for Meany, who wanted to be in SoFi Stadium for her birthday but couldn’t score a seat for one of Swift’s six sold-out concerts between Aug. 3 and Aug. 9. She later lamented to Insider, “A trip to Hawaii for my friend and I was less expensive than ONE ticket for her concert!”
With a laugh, the pilot told her, “We fly right over it.” He then gave Meany an extra treat, allowing her to sit in one of the pilot seats for a photo.
The video has gone viral, racking up 8.1 million views to date. Meany’s own view, however, wasn’t all she hoped for. The plane did indeed fly almost directly over the venue for Swift’s concert, but in a subsequent video, she posts a photo of the fly-by that reveals a minor flaw in her plan: the roof on SoFi Stadium.
@idkitssammy Replying to @TikTokker #greenscreen flight update, concert view!! #taylorswift #southwestairlines #pilot ⬠original sound – Sams
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“All we really got to see of the concert was all of the traffic,” she says in the update.
Still, Meany noted it was still cool to see the view. And she seems amused by her 15 minutes of TikTok fame.
“Ask for things that you want,” she advises. “The worst thing people are going to do is say no.”
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