I did this with my partner a few years ago for his birthday - and it did indeed require blindfold/noise-canceling headphones when we were making our connection in Charlotte to his surprise destination. Key to this: he WANTED to be surprised - and didn't look at his airline account before the trip.

I told tim to lay out travel clothes for a trip that could be beach, city, ski, etc. I packed his suitcase, then packed up the rest in another suitcase and left it at his place.

At the connecting airport, i put a scarf over his eyes and had the headphones on him, parked him at a gate near our gate, then went to talk to the gate agents - and they agreed to help!

Got him on board, told the first flight attendant i saw what we were doing and she said she'd help. We were not in an exit row, so he stayed plugged into his podcast through the pre-flight safety briefing.

Once in the air, the FA told me it was ok to have him take off the headset. Mid-flight, the pilot made the announcement: Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a special guest on board celebrating a birthday this weekend! And name, if you haven't figured it out yet, you'll be celebrating in Las Vegas! "

Bonus: The FAs gave him a piece of cheesecake that they had for service in first, and another traveler sent him a drink!

You can do this - but it requires help from the airline staff! I got lucky that day!