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Which Airline Is the Most Entertaining?

CableTV.com ranked airlines according to their in-flight entertainment options and Wi-Fi availability.

 & Chandra Steele Senior Features Writer

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I don't know about you, but I cannot fall asleep on a plane. So I spend much of my flight time staring at the often-limited entertainment options available on the seatback.

The Why Axis BugNext time I travel, I might do well to consider CableTV.com's roundup of airlines with the best entertainment options and overall in-flight experiences. The TV and internet affiliate site evaluated airlines for the quality of their in-seat entertainment consoles, how easily you can use personal devices onboard, access to USB charging and electrical outlets, and the variety of movies, television channels, games, and music available.

JetBlue came out streaks ahead of the competition, largely because passengers can watch live TV with 36 channels on E190 and A320 planes and over 100 channels on A321 planes. Each seat comes with 100 channels of SiriusXM Radio to listen to. Another big plus is free in-flight Wi-Fi, which makes entertainment options almost limitless for those who've brought along tablets or laptops.

Delta came in second but its expensive Wi-Fi ($16) means passengers would do best to stick to the movies and shows offered on its own screens. This month it's showing The Farewell and Hustlers, which are two great options to watch while you fly.

The airlines on the list that lag are Spirit, Allegiant, and Frontier. None of them offer in-flight entertainment, and Spirit is the only one with Wi-Fi.

However you decide to entertain yourself on a flight, I advise you to not do as I did coming back from Paris recently, when I watched Serial (Bad) Weddings 2, a movie that manages to insult every culture involved and also culture at large.

About Our Expert

Chandra Steele

Chandra Steele

Senior Features Writer

My Experience

My title is Senior Features Writer, which is a license to write about absolutely anything if I can connect it to technology (I can). I’ve been at PCMag since 2011 and have covered the surveillance state, vaccination cards, ghost guns, voting, ISIS, art, fashion, film, design, gender bias, and more. You might have seen me on TV talking about these topics or heard me on your commute home on the radio or a podcast. Or maybe you’ve just seen my Bernie meme

I strive to explain topics that you might come across in the news but not fully understand, such as NFTs and meme stocks. I’ve had the pleasure of talking tech with Jeff Goldblum, Ang Lee, and other celebrities who have brought a different perspective to it. I put great care into writing gift guides and am always touched by the notes I get from people who’ve used them to choose presents that have been well-received. Though I love that I get to write about the tech industry every day, it’s touched by gender, racial, and socioeconomic inequality and I try to bring these topics to light. 

Outside of PCMag, I write fiction, poetry, humor, and essays on culture.

My Areas of Expertise

  • Making incomprehensible tech news easy to understand
  • Expanding the boundaries of topics covered in the industry
  • Figuring out tips and tricks in apps and on devices and letting you know about them
  • Putting together gift guides for everyone in your life 

The Technology I Use

All that gadgets is gold for me: my iPhone 11 Pro, my fifth-generation iPad that I use only for streaming videos and music, my iPad mini 4 that I like to take with me whenever I carry a bag that can fit it, and my MacBook Pro. Why are they all different shades of gold, though? What’s going on, Apple? 

None of them quite live up to my two past loves: my LG Lotus LX600 phone and my Sony Walkman NW-E005 MP3 player. 

I've never given up wired earbuds so I was ahead of all those trend pieces. I use a Mangotek Lightning-to-3.5mm headphone jack adapter to connect them to my phone. 

I have had so many ebook readers, but I prefer paper to them all. Still, my Kindle Paperwhite is perfect for traveling or when I’m too impatient to wait for a book to be released in paperback.

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