Hans Zimmer wrote Qatar Airways’ new onboard music, and its five-track album, Burgundy Symphony, is free on the airline’s YouTube channel. Qatar Airways unveiled it at Zimmer’s concert in Doha on 6 November 2026.
From 6 November, passengers on the Doha-based national carrier can hear the new music onboard. According to One Mile at a Time, it plays during boarding and landing. Everyone else can hear the full album on YouTube without buying a ticket.
Qatar Airways says the music is “inspired by Qatar and its culture” and calls Burgundy Symphony “a bespoke five-track album that encapsulates the airline’s wider sound identity”. The five tracks, and what each reflects:
| Track | What it reflects |
|---|---|
| Dawn | Anticipation and new horizons |
| Dusk | The calm of flight as daylight fades, above the clouds under the stars |
| The Orchard | A restorative pause, inspired by the ORCHARD, the indoor tropical garden at Hamad International Airport |
| Homecoming | Returning home, and the memories after touchdown |
| An Ode to Qatar | A tribute to the country’s heritage and its forward-looking vision |
The Orchard draws on a place passengers can see for themselves. It’s the ORCHARD, the indoor tropical garden at Hamad International Airport, which the airline calls “one of Hamad International Airport’s most distinctive passenger experiences”. At the Doha launch, the concert audience also saw a specially made film on how the music came together, along with a preview of the tracks.
According to One Mile at a Time, Zimmer’s score replaces the airline’s earlier boarding music by Qatari composer Dana Al Fardan. Those were “The Awakening”, “The Dawn” and “The Ascent”. One Mile at a Time’s writer wasn’t thrilled about losing them:
I’m sad to hear that these will no longer be played
One Mile at a Time
The partnership itself isn’t new. Qatar Airways first announced the collaboration in July 2025, and the music debuted at Zimmer’s Doha concert. Zimmer is also playing the region elsewhere, as Abu Dhabi Festival’s lineup shows. The soundtrack is also the latest onboard upgrade for an airline that flies to over 170 destinations this winter, after it brought Starlink to more than 150 widebody aircraft.
Travel PR News notes that the announcement doesn’t set out a release schedule for streaming services. Qatar Airways hasn’t said whether Burgundy Symphony will reach Spotify or Apple Music. It’s also unclear which tracks play at which point onboard. For now, the full album is on YouTube.
