channel one is the cockpit, channel thirteen is hawaiian melodies...

I had to pull out my passport to book a trip this fall, and I got all excited. I started planning my in-flight playlist months in advance. It reminded me of long flights when I was a kid and I would listen to the United Airlines pop "radio" station (Channel 9), which would play the same 12 songs over and over.

Some of my favorite songs are these random United Airlines selections, when United planes still had red, orange, and blue stripes. Red, Orange, and Blue United was my heyday. Every time I hear these songs, I can remember the specific flight I was on. So here are my Top 5 songs from United Pop Radio, Audio Channel 9:

"Heart and Soul" by T'Pau
"Just Another Day" by Jon Secada
"Return of the Mack" by Mark Morrison
"Hands to Heaven" by Breathe
"Pleasure Principal" by Janet Jackson

Runner up:
"Back for Good" by Take That

It now occurs to me that some of these could be British Airways "radio" songs, but based on my father's loyalty to United's Frequent Flier Program, I assume they're affiliated. Thus, still counts.

I'm sure there's some marketing team behind each channel's selections, but I like to imagine there's one guy who tries to think of the best songs to play for people stuck on an airplane in the days before TVs on the backs of seats, or Discmans...