Top 10 Airlines with Exceptional In-Flight Entertainment Experience

In the olden days of travel, inflight entertainment options were pretty slim. Most airlines had a central screen that played movies, edited for content, and had audio channels that offered different genres of music. Moreover, passengers could only listen to this while wearing uncomfortable, tube-like headphones that wouldn’t win any awards for sound quality. If you were bored, reading magazines, newspapers, or your own leisure materials was often the only option.

Fast forward to today; depending on the airline, passengers enjoy hundreds of hours of entertainment options, including Wi-Fi, movies, television shows, games, and music. Some of these amenities are built into an airline’s fleet, while others allow you to bring your own devices to access in-flight entertainment options. Skytrax released its list of the World’s Best Airlines in 2017. One of the categories highlighted was the World’s Best Inflight Entertainment. Below we review the in-flight entertainment options on the top 10 winners in this category.

Emirates

Dubai’s flag carrier ranked number four on Skytrax’s list of best airlines, yet it secured the top spot for in-flight entertainment due to its Ice system. Emirates does not want you to be bored on its long-haul flights; hence, it offers over 2,500 channels of movies, TV shows, music, and games—all on demand and available in multiple languages. Ice’s digital widescreen even caters to those with hearing or visual impairments by offering movies with audio description and closed captions. Interestingly, there’s a dedicated channel for eSports enthusiasts and opportunities to enhance your language skills with uTalk videos featuring Arabic, French, German, Italian, and Spanish lessons. Additionally, it offers limited free Wi-Fi on its long-haul flights.

Qatar Airways

This Doha-based airline topped Skytrax’s list of the world’s best airlines. Its Oryx One inflight entertainment system came in second place, offering travelers over 3,000 viewing and listening options. The airline provides not only Hollywood films but also options for Arabic, Bollywood, Asian, Indian, and European films. The television show options include documentaries and TED Talks among diverse other genres. Audio options feature thousands of hours of music, and games range from checkers to casino games. Wi-Fi is also available on its modern Airbus and Boeing fleet.

Singapore Airlines

This esteemed airline, long considered a leader in in-flight entertainment, ranks second on the list for the world’s best airlines while its KrisWorld system holds strong in third position. The system boasts over 1,000 movies, TV shows, music, and games intended to keep passengers happily entertained throughout their long-haul flights. Additionally, Singapore Air provides in-flight Wi-Fi on its fleet of modern aircraft.

Turkish Airlines

The airline’s Planet entertainment system—Information, Entertainment, and Communications—is available on select routes across its fleet. It showcases classic and international films, along with children’s programming, a channel for short films, and music options ranging from Pop and Rock to Traditional Turkish Folk. For those interested in communication while flying, passengers can send and receive SMS/email, receive hourly weather updates, and get news updates every hour. The Information section covers the airline’s fleet, destinations guide, and flight maps, enhancing the travel experience.

Virgin Atlantic

Since its inception in 1991, this London-based carrier became the first to launch individual seat-back televisions offering entertainment choices in all cabin classes. The Vera in-flight entertainment system provides a diverse range of Hollywood and international films, series that can be binge-watched, a dedicated children’s channel, and hundreds of hours of music across numerous genres, as well as games. Virgin Atlantic also offers Wi-Fi on its fleet of A330, A340, 747, and 787 jets.

Lufthansa

The German flag carrier offers over 100 films in multiple languages, more than 200 television shows, and a wide selection of movies, audiobooks, and music that targets families and children. For binge-watchers, the airline provides entire seasons of TV series. In addition, there are over 50 playlists across various musical genres, along with 60 audiobooks in German and English. Lufthansa also provides Wi-Fi access via its FlyNet service.

Qantas

Australia’s flag carrier presents comprehensive in-flight entertainment on its long-haul flights, encompassing new release movies, TV programs, and a substantial CD library. On its A380, A330, and selected Boeing 747s, travelers have access to over 1,500 entertainment options. This includes more than 100 movies, 500 TV programs, 800 music selections, and channels specifically designed for children.

Etihad

The Abu Dhabi-based airline ranked eighth on the Skytrax best airline list and sixth for in-flight entertainment. It uses the E-Box system, offering a broad range of global movies, blockbuster films, and diverse television programming that allows passengers to create personal video playlists. On select flights, live news and sporting events may also be available. In terms of audio, more than 500 CDs can be accessed in the music library, along with over 60 Android-based games. Wi-Fi access is provided on select aircraft, ensuring connectivity during travel.

Delta Air Lines

Based in Atlanta, this airline claims to be the first U.S. carrier to provide all inflight entertainment for free. Under its Delta Studio product, passengers can indulge in over 1,000 hours of films, television, and music, available either on their devices or via the seatback screen. Notably, the Gogo Entertainment App is necessary to access Delta Studio programming. Additionally, Delta utilizes Gogo for its in-flight Wi-Fi access across its long-haul jet operations.

Thai Airways

This airline provides over 1,000 hours of movies, short films, games, music, news, and other information—all presented on a large personal seatback screen. There’s also a dedicated channel featuring family-friendly movies and shows. The World Cinema section contains programming with subtitles, ensuring a global viewing experience. Passengers can connect with in-flight Wi-Fi using Thai Sky Connect, offered across their advanced Airbus and A380 fleets, as well as select A330-300 flights.