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Tags: In-Flight Entertainment / Airlines / Airline News / In-Flight Comfort / In-Flight WiFi / Gogo / Row 44 / Air Canada / AirTran Airways / Alaska Airlines / American Airlines / Continental / Delta / Frontier / Jetblue / Southwest Airlines / Spirit Airlines / United / US Airways / Virgin America / → All Tags

2010 US Airline In-Flight Entertainment Guide

Ten years ago, back when JetBlue launched, In-Flight Entertainment was forever changed. Gone were the days when airline passengers expected screens to drop from the fuselage and play one movie followed by a couple episodes of "Everybody Loves Raymond." Instead, the norm became $99 flights each way between SFO and JFK and on each airplane, leather seats with personal music ports and seat-back TVs showing live satellite television.

Flash forward 10 years and while no airline this side of Virgin America has really been able to come close to JetBlue's LiveTV experience, the IFE gap between Jetblue and the rest of the pack widens, thanks to advances with in-flight wifi. Airlines who've been quick to join the Gogo WiFi party are working to now make internet-connected planes just as accepted and expected by passengers as in-flight TV.

All of this means that, in 2010, the IFE game is changing once again and the race is on to see who can provide the best domestic IFE package. We have packaged up the right now of IFE into a handy guide for you to look at on the web, or take with you.

Click Here to see a printable chart of IFE onboard the airlines

Air Canada
· Internet: Canadians can have in-flight wifi too, and Air Canada proved this when they introduced Gogo* WiFi service onboard flights between Montreal/Toronto and Los Angeles. Oh wait—the wifi only works over the United States. Bummer.
· TV: Like Jetblue, all of Air Canada's planes feature seat-back TVs throughout. You'll be able to tune into 300 hours of free entertainment including international movies and television shows in a range of languages with their enRoute system. There are 3 767s without TVs, but we doubt you'll end up on one of these.
· Music: Air Canada's systems mainly go by pre-loaded CDs for international travel, so be prepared to listen to "Devo's Greatest Hits" and "The Finnish Brass Ensemble." You will find Satellite XM radio on many other flights, such as in Executive and economy classes in North America.
· Games: Yes, there is a small variety of games available on the seat-back TVs, but they only seem to work about 70% of the time, so don't put all your hopes on playing in-flight trivia.
· Bottom Line: So long as you don't end up on a commuter Air Canada Jazz jet or one of the 3 767s without TVs, you'll be flying in style with some of the best international IFE out there. Their North America services aren't so bad either.

AirTran Airways
· Internet: AirTran is only one of two airlines with fleet-wide WiFi (Virgin America is the other), and they use Gogo* in-flight as well.
· TV: Nope. AirTran is a low-cost carrier through and through, and they've not done anything about television or movies.
· Music: Although there's nothing to watch, there's plenty to listen to. AirTran has 100 channels of digital commercial-free music, news, sports, talk and entertainment with XM Satellite Radio onboard every plane.
· Games: None aside from whatever crossword book you impulsively bought at the airport.
· Bottom Line: AirTran severely lacks on entertainment options, but they're hoping you'll overlook that since they've added WiFi. It also helps that many of their flyers are vacation-bound and not exactly thinking about watching CNN.

An Alaska Airlines "digEplayer."

Alaska Airlines
· Internet: Alaska dumped their original plans to go with Row 44 WiFi and now that they've signed up with Gogo* like almost everyone else, fleet-wide WiFi is just around the corner. You'll be able to log on onboard all 55 of their 737-800s, almost all 737-900s, and the rest of their 737s by the end of 2010.
· TV: The name of the game here is digEplayer, a little handheld device you can reserve and rent for $6-$12 before your flight. Note that you must reserve it at least 24 hours in advance to guarantee one (do so here) and it's only available on selected routes. When it is, you'll find around 11 movies, a slew of TV shows and destination guides loaded onto the device.
· Music: Music also comes from the digEplayer, and it has channels for Top 40, Pop, R & B, Alternative, Rock, Country, Jazz, Classical, and Broadway tunes.
· Games: None.
· Bottom Line: We're so not a fan of having to pay and worry about renting one of the digEplayer things, but having them is better than nothing. Plus, Alaska is moving with impressive speed on their WiFi installation, so soon your laptop is all you'll need anyway.

American Airlines
· Internet: American runs with Gogo* in-flight WiFi, and all of their 767-200 planes are equipped. Some of their MD-80s are as well, and American is working their way across the fleet, with 737s coming up next.
· TV: The biggest difference between American and other airlines is that they offer handheld personal media players with 7" screens—like DVD players—to premium class flyers (aka everyone above coach) on 767s. Loaded onto it are 28 feature films and 15 hours of pre-loaded TV and news. 777s are lucky enough to have seat-back TVs in all classes and 757s have seat-back TVs in business class but fly anything else and you'd be wise to prepare for dreaded mainscreen movies.
· Music: On most flights, you'll find 12 channels of music, but this is bumped up to 16 American Airlines-curated audio channels on 767s and 777s. Travel in First or Business with the personal TV system and enjoy 30-50 preloaded CDs in addition to the 16 AA channels.
· Games: A small and unimpressive selection, only available with the personal entertainment system found on select flights, in First and Business classes.
· Bottom Line: If you want to have entertainment options, you better either have a business or first class ticket or be sure you're traveling on a 777.

Continental Airlines
· Internet: Continental finally abandoned LiveTV to go with Gogo* In-Flight Internet. They've only got it on 21 Boeing 757-300 aircraft for now.
· TV: TV on Continental totally depends on what plane you're flying. For 777s: All classes enjoy 150 movies and 300 TV shows, but BizFirst has a 10.6" screen while economy makes do with a 9-incher. For 767s: BizFirst gets 16 channels of video programming while economy gets only 8. For 757 and 737s: DirectTV with 100 channels has been installed on most of the planes, which will be free for BizFirst and $6 for economy. Check out what's on during your flight here.
· Music: For 777s: 3,000 songs with jukebox function. For 767s: 20 channels of audio programming. For 757s: 2000 songs.
· Games: For 777s: 25 games plus Berlitz WordTraveler. For 767s: 10 games. For 757s: 20 games with Berlitz and others like blackjack, solitaire, hangman and chess.
· Bottom Line: One of the most confusing IFE offerings ever. We don't even want to think about how their continued DirectTV installation and channel upgrades will go once Continental's fleet folds in with United thanks to their merger.

Mainscreen movies on a Delta flight from New York to Europe

Delta Airlines
· Internet: Delta's WiFi, though not fleet-wide, is extremely impressive with over 1,800 flights outfitted and 500+ planes, a huge feat for the world's largest airline. You'll find Gogo* In-Flight WiFi on all of their A319s, MD88s, MD90s, 737s, 757s, and 767s and almost all of their A320s. They're only lagging behind on installing WiFi on DC9s, so pray you don't fly one of those.
· TV: Mostly mainscreen entertainment, but occasional flights have "Delta on Demand" with 18 satellite networks, HBO series, and 28 films. This seat-back system with a 7" display can be found on most domestic flights 4+ hours in length and always on main international routes.
· Music: On most flights, Delta offers 16 channels of audio entertainment, including KCRW picks, a dance music channel called "Delta Pride," and even Sesame Street's top picks. If you're lucky enough to get the Delta on Demand system, you'll have your choice of 4100 songs across 14 music categories.
· Games: Only available with the Delta on Demand system, but when you've got it, you've got it: Bejeweled, Bookworm, Chess, Poker, Solitaire, Galaktor, interactive trivia, and more.
· Bottom Line: If you can get yourself booked on a Delta on Demand flight, you should be fairly entertained. And huge props goes to Delta for forging ahead with the WiFi; use it!

Frontier Airlines
· Internet: Frontier has recently joined the Gogo* in-flight WiFi bandwagon, and they plan to have 32 E170 and E190 aircraft logged on by the end of 2010.
· TV: If you're flying on an Airbus plane, you'll have a seat-back TV. The bad news is that, if you're flying in coach class, you'll have to pay $6 to get the 24 channels of DirecTV access on it.
· Music: Music comes from the pay-to-play seat-back system as well, so maybe just stick with your own iPod.
· Games: Nope, sorry Charlie.
· Bottom Line: Frontier may now hand out free warm chocolate chip cookies thanks to the recent merger with Midwest airlines, but their in-flight entertainment is still nothing to write home about. The extra charge to use the TV in front of you is extra annoying, too.

Jetblue's only plane with (hardly any) WiFi: BetaBlue

Jetblue
· Internet: Sad Face. Jetblue hasn't progressed with their in-flight WiFi (or rather, lack of) in years. Utilizing their own LiveTV system, Jetblue has had one plane flying the connected skies: BetaBlue, launched in December 2007. We've used it once and it took some time to get up and running, and even then the free service was prohibitive with many restrictions: access to the web is limited to Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Messenger, Gmail, AOL, Hotmail, Windows Live Mail and Amazon. Nonetheless, Jetblue has hinted that in-flight WiFi is still coming.
· TV: Here is where JetBlue really shines. Seat-back TVs on all flights show 36 channels of live, DirectTV programming, a Broadway channel, "Times on Air" content from the New York Times, and free movies on international routes ($6 per movie on domestic).
· Music: Plug into 100 channels of XM satellite radio, but bring your own headphones or be prepared to pay a couple bucks to buy some.
· Games: Nope; it's back to the crossword puzzles for you.
· Bottom Line: What Jetblue lacks in in-flight WiFi, they make up for in TV. We've even been on a flight where some TVs malfunctioned and although no one fussed, everyone was emailed a $15 certificate for future travel. Still, we're constantly shocked at how slow Jetblue has been with the WiFi thing.

Southwest Airlines
· Internet: Six of the airline's plane are up and running with WiFI from the company Row 44. Cost for using it is between $2 and $12, depending on flight time and what device is used to access the internet. Eventually Southwest wants to have fleet-wide WiFi, but they've got a long way to go with that.
· TV: Nada. Guess you'll just have to hope that the rapping flight attendant makes a cameo.
· Music: No way, Jose.
· Games: Nothing here. Bring a book onboard like the olden days.
· Bottom Line: Southwest is known more for their cheap fares and cattle-call boarding than for in-flight entertainment, and with good reason. They've barely got any! Still, they're positive about their in-flight WiFi plans, so that's a plus.

Spirit Airlines
· Internet: Nope! And no plans for it, either.
· TV: Also no, but if they did you can bet that you'd be paying extra to use it.
· Music: Negatory.
· Games: You're kidding, right?
· Bottom Line: Spirit Airlines, known for their long list of extra fees including charging for carry-on and checked bags, offer nothing. If you expect nothing from your flight or have low expectations in general, then Spirit is the airline for you.

United Airlines
· Internet: Very rare, but they have some Gogo* WiFi installed on 757s. All of their "p.s. premium service" transcontinental flights between New York (JFK) and both Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO) have it.
· TV: All classes enjoy pre-programmed shows on select flights with seat-back systems, but in these cases, lucky First and Business class get additional access to an expanded movie selection plus HBO, Showtime and AMC series like Entourage and Mad Men.
· Music: Plug into 18 channels of XM radio brought to you by Microsoft Zune, although it's pre-programmed and not satellite. Even children can tune into XM Kids, which features tunes from kid-approved bands like the Wiggles, Tom Chapin and They Might Be Giants.
· Games: Sorry, charlie.
· Bottom Line: We're not excited for United's IFE and not we're not underwhelmed. Basically it's exactly what we'd expect from United. You'll get the bare minimum entertainment in coach and slightly more in better classes on more popular routes.

US Airways
· Internet: Believe it or not, US Airways has all of their A321 aircraft hooked up with Gogo* in-flight WiFi, but they aren't any plans we know of that go beyond that. Check out the routes with WiFi on a map here.
· TV: Mainscreen movies on transatlantic and Hawaii flights. If you're flying overseas on an A330 in any class, you'll find yourself with a rare seat-back TV. Seat-back TVs are also found in the upper classes onboard international flights using 757s and 767s.
· Music: Plug into 10 channels. That's all, folks.
· Games: You wish. Time to invest in a travel Scrabble kit?
· Bottom Line: The most entertaining part of a US Airways flight could be the tray-table advertising. Otherwise try not to let your eyes wander around the plane much—they're not know for the being the cleanest or newest jets, so perhaps just bring a thrilling read the plot of which you've already been sucked into.

Comparing Jetblue's seat-back screen (left) to Virgin America's (right)

Virgin America
· Internet: Yes, all planes have been equipped with Gogo* WiFi since May 2009. In addition, all seats have a 110V power outlet, ethernet and USB plugs.
· TV: Virgin's RED system equips each seat with a 9-inch touchscreen. Programming is satellite TV with the DISH network. 25 Pay-per-view movies are also available for $8 each, food can even be ordered from the screens, fellow passengers can chat with you over the system, and—starting July 2010—you can even shop from the seat-back TV.
· Music: Choose from 3,000 MP3s, make a playlist to get you through the flight, or just tune in to 20 streaming radio channels like "Sounds of San Francisco."
· Games: Open-source video games like Doom and knockoffs of Bejeweled and Asteroids are at your fingertips. There are 11 games in all, in addition to the seat-to-seat messaging and shopping platform.
· Bottom Line: Although their DishTV service is known to drop out occasionally, the fleet-wide WiFi and excellent additional options (such as passenger chatting and shopping) are more than enough to keep you happy coast-to-coast.

* Gogo In-Flight WiFi Pricing:
$4.95 on flights up to 1 hour; $9.95 on flights between 1.5-3 hours; $12.95 on flights over 3 hours
$29.95 for 30 days of unlimited Gogo access on flights for a single airline
$39.95 for 30 days of unlimited Gogo access on flights for any airline with Gogo
$12.95 for 24 hours of unlimited Gogo access on flights for a single airline
$34.95 monthly (first month is $19.95) of unlimited Gogo access across any airlines with Gogo
For a mobile device: $4.95 on flights 1.5 hours or less; $7.95 on flights between 1.5-3 hours; $14.95 for a month of unlimited access on a single airline