If you’ve ever flown on an Airbus A320 airplane, you’ve probably heard the infamous whining noise coming from underneath the aircraft that sounds like a dog is barking in the cargo hold.
The sound is best described as annoying, but one airline has taken this iconic sound and somehow turned it into a dance track.
Malaysian budget airline, AirAsia, has been having a lot of fun with its new dance track, which it released on its social media channels at the end of July. On TikTok, one of those videos has been viewed nearly half a million times, and there have been several follow-up posts.
AirAsia hasn’t given much explanation for its move into dance music, although the airline did reply to one bemused commentator on TikTok, who asked: “Why are we doing these now?”
In response, the airline quipped: “This dance is now company policy.”
While AirAsia has made heavy use of the Airbus barking dog sound, the dance track is actually based on the Budots remix of Gloria Estefan’s Dr. Beat which went viral on TikTok a couple of months ago.
For those not in the know, Budots is an electronic dance music genre that originated in Davao City, Philippines. The Dr. Beat remix is known as Emergency Budots, and like so many trends on TikTok, it comes with its own dance moves.
As for that barking sound, well, that’s down to the fact that the Airbus A320 series of aircraft has two main hydraulic systems. When the aircraft is taxiing for departure or just after landing, only one of these hydraulic systems is pressurised, so Airbus built in a Power Transfer Unit to equalise the pressure between the two systems.
The PTU is a mechanical system that runs intermittently, causing that distinctive barking sound. You’re most likely to hear this noise if you are sitting close to the wings, and it normally occurs just after engine start-up or when the plane is taxiing on just one engine.
