Airlines with the Best In-Flight Entertainment

Whether you love commercial airline travel or find it a little nerve-racking, there’s no question it’s a bit of a chore. Early arrival at the airport is often met with delayed flights, security hassles, and other travelers who mean well when they want to share their vacation photos with you.

In-flight, however, is where some respite can be found. Earphones are available, movies are played, and in many instances a wide range of other in-flight activities can whisk away the time from liftoff to touchdown.

Here’s a look at the top five in-flight entertainment experiences available to all travelers, from first class all the way to the last row.

5. Lufthansa
The German Airline has always been one of the most comfortable and reliable airlines in the world. Even travelers with the least expensive tickets have been treated to quality food, comfortable seats, and courteous staff.

In the modern technological era, Lufthansa has kept pace, offering free in-flight systems with up to 18 movies, nearly 40 different television programs, menus in 10 languages, and plenty of music with 100 CDs and 30 radio channels. There’s even entertainment for the kids, called “KidsFun,” offering age-appropriate programming including movies, music, and audio books.

4. Air Canada
When it comes to in-flight entertainment, one of the things that can separate similar experiences is price. The top-notch entertainment on every Air Canada flight is free, which makes an excellent experience just a touch better than the competition.

The seatback entertainment systems include 100s of CDs, satellite radio, flight-path information, more than 72 movies on every international flight, and hundreds of hours of television programming for every member of the family. In addition to all this at no additional cost, it’s available gate-to-gate, meaning no waiting to ascend to flight altitude before it’s available. It’s the perfect touch and makes Air Canada a top choice for in-flight entertainment.

3. Emirates
Headquartered in Dubai, Emirates is the epitome of style, class, and luxury. Their in-flight entertainment system has something for everyone and lives up to the high standards Emirates has set in every other aspect of its operation.

Travelers enjoy more than 100 movies, dozens of games, 100s of hours of music, and flight-path information that’s second to none. It actually includes a view from the aircraft-mounted cameras, giving passengers a view seldom seen by anyone but the pilots. A real treat for curious travelers of all ages, and great way to teach the youngsters about geography and how to identify ground structures and other objects from 35,000 feet!

2. JetBlue
JetBlue may bill itself as a discount airline, but a blindfolded passenger would have a hard time believing that once they were comfortably seated and allowed to open their eyes.

Each seat has a dedicated screen, complete with 36 channels of DIRECTV programming. Also included are more than 100 channels of SiriusXM radio, a huge selection of movies, including first-run movies for an additional $5.99 (free on international flights). The airline will also be introducing high-speed wireless internet in 2013, with new technology that is up to eight times faster than internet offered on other airlines.

No other “discount” airline comes close to offering the in-flight entertainment experience offered aboard every JetBlue flight, which easily puts it at number two on our list.

1. Virgin America
The hands-down winner of the most satisfying in-flight entertainment experience is Virgin America. It’s very helpful when you’re an airline owned by an entertainment company because a premium is placed on creating a valuable and meaningful experience for all of your customers.

Each seat has a nine-inch touch-screen system that includes a seat-to-seat chat system! How’s that for things passengers might find useful seven miles above the landscape? Additional features include 18 television channels from DISH Network, 25 on-demand movies that can be controlled just like a DVR, interactive games, music videos, Google Maps, and even eBooks for the avid reader.

Passengers can also run a food and beverage tab from the in-seat systems, which, by the way, also include electrical outlets useful for laptop computers and other devices that might need a charge or otherwise benefit from a direct electrical source. It’s truly the best in-flight entertainment system in the airways today, and has Virgin America head and shoulders above any other airline.

No matter where you’re traveling, or which airline you choose, in-flight entertainment is becoming a big part of the traveling experience. Many air travelers use in-flight entertainment options to comparison shop airlines and flights that are otherwise the same. The next time you book a flight don’t hesitate to ask the booking agent about the in-flight entertainment options available to you. They’ll be all too happy to tell you what they’ve got on-board your next flight.

Dwayne Thomas works for cabletv.com. He frequently writes about various subjects, including travel and technology.  He welcomes your feedback on Twitter @DwayneThomas15.

Airlines with the Best In-Flight Entertainment is a post from: Aviation news – Planegrazy

Planegrazy – Aviation News