The Best US Airlines In Terms of In-Flight Entertainment (2019)
In-flight entertainment is arguably the most important factor in terms of flight satisfaction, besides the convenience of the flight and possibly seat comfort. Today, it is rare to find a flight on any reasonably sized plane that doesn’t have any form of in-flight entertainment, unless you are traveling on an ultra-low-cost carrier such as Spirit Airlines. And, to be fair to Spirit and Frontier, when you fly an ultra-low-cost carrier such as them, you probably aren’t flying for the in-flight entertainment – you are flying for the super low fares. However, in this day and age, it still is unacceptable to not offer any sort of in-flight entertainment – even if you have to pay for it.
There are four main types of in-flight entertainment: personal on-demand entertainment (personal screens in front of you), personal device entertainment (streaming entertainment to a device), onboard WiFi (so that you can do work or entertain yourself with your own devices), and overhead screen entertainment (not usually found on US airline anymore). In this article, I’ll rank all 11 current US airlines in terms of how good their in-flight entertainment is.
Methodology
I will be using a points system to rank the US airlines on a 100 point scale, that takes multiple factors into account. This includes how many planes in total out of their entire fleet have in-flight entertainment, what planes do or don’t have in-flight entertainment (regional, short-haul, long-haul), what type of in-flight entertainment they have and how many options they have, the cost of WiFi and in-flight entertainment, and how many aircraft have in-flight WiFi. I also included a section regarding how many aircraft have power outlets, because many airlines offer personal device entertainment, which can drain the batteries of devices, making onboard power outlets all the more important. Below is my points system for in-flight entertainment:
- 20 Points – % Of Fleet That Has Video In-Flight Entertainment: This section is pretty simple – I simply calculate what percent of the airline’s fleet has some sort of in-flight entertainment – from personal device entertainment to personal on-demand entertainment. Please note that I am not including aircraft with overhead screens as sufficient in-flight entertainment to be included in this section.
- 15 Points – Which Aircraft Have In-Flight Entertainment: This section penalizes airlines that don’t have in-flight entertainment on some of their long-haul aircraft but rewards airlines that have in-flight entertainment on all of their long-haul aircraft but not some of their regional aircraft.
- 20 Points – Quality of In-Flight Entertainment: This section measures the quality of in-flight entertainment that an airline has. That includes how many movies, TV shows, and games an airline has and whether they have personal-device or personal on-demand entertainment.
- 20 Points – In-Flight WiFi: This section measures the percentage of aircraft that have in-flight WiFi.
- 15 Points – Cost of In-Flight Entertainment & WiFi: This section measures the cost of buying in-flight entertainment and WiFi onboard.
- 10 Points – Power Outlets: This section measures what percentage of aircraft have power outlets.
Here’s the list of the best US airlines in terms of in-flight entertainment.
- jetBlue – 89/100
- Delta Air Lines – 87/100
- United Airlines – 78/100
- American Airlines – 75/100
- Alaska Airlines – 73/100
- Southwest Airlines – 65/100
- Hawaiian Airlines – 59/100
- Sun Country Airlines – 43/100
- Spirit Airlines – 2/100
- Frontier Airlines/Allegiant Air – 0/100
As you can see, most mainline carriers offer better entertainment than low-cost carriers. It wasn’t surprising at all that the four ultra-low-cost carriers came last and most legacy carriers were at the top. At the top, JetBlue came in
10. Frontier & Allegiant
At the bottom of my list are Frontier Airlines and Allegiant Air – the two major US airlines that don’t have any in-flight entertainment or WiFi – and don’t plan to. Both Frontier and Allegiant are ultra-low-cost carriers so it’s expected to not have any in-flight entertainment. As stated earlier in the article, people fly ultra-low-cost carriers for the low fares – not the in-flight-entertainment. So for Frontier and Allegiant, it’s actually okay not to have any in-flight entertainment.
What’s ironic is that Frontier Airlines actually used to have live TV onboard their aircraft. However, that was before they transitioned to become an ultra-low-cost carrier which resulted in them installing slimline seats and ripping TVs out of their aircraft. I can’t give Frontier or Allegiant any points since they physically can’t score any points on my system as they don’t have WiFi, personal on-demand or personal-device entertainment, or even main-screen entertainment on any of their aircraft. One can only hope that they will eventually install WiFi or personal device entertainment on their aircraft in the future.
9. Spirit Airlines
Like Frontier and Allegiant, Spirit Airlines don’t have any in-flight entertainment on any of their aircraft now, which includes WiFi. That’s why I gave them such a low score – only 2/100. However, unlike Frontier and Allegiant, Spirit has short-term plans to introduce onboard WiFi to all of their aircraft – starting this year. Spirit Airlines will begin to install WiFi on their aircraft this November (and will finish in 2020) in which you can stream video content and will be available for purchase. Unfortunately, Spirit doesn’t have plans to introduce personal device entertainment (or own on-demand entertainment) to any of their aircraft. I gave Spirit a score of 2/100 because at least, unlike Frontier and Allegiant, they will have WiFi onboard most of their plane by this time next year.
8. Sun Country Airlines
Sun Country Airlines is the smallest airline on this list with only a fleet of about 25 737s. Based in Minneapolis, they recently underwent a transformation from a mainline carrier to an all-economy-class ultra-low-cost business model. While refitting their aircraft, they introduced personal device entertainment
7. Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines operates a fleet of Boeing 717s, Airbus A321neos, and Airbus A330-200s which they use to fly to intra-Hawaii, Asia, Australia, multiple destinations on the west coast of the US, and two destinations on the east coast: Boston and New York. Hawaiian Airlines doesn’t offer any in-flight entertainment on their Boeing 717s, which they use on their intra-Hawaiian routes – while I didn’t take off much for this because you don’t need in-flight entertainment on 20-30 minute flights, I nevertheless had to take some off.
Their A321neos don’t have personal on-demand entertainment, although they do have personal device entertainment which you can stream to your tablet, phone, or computer. Their A330s, which they use on all of their long-haul flights as well as some flights to the west coast have personal on-demand entertainment. While they do have some sort of in-flight entertainment on all of their medium-long haul jets, I took off quite a few points because they don’t have WiFi (not even for purchase) on any aircraft and most seats (on all aircraft) in economy class don’t have power outlets.
6. Southwest Airlines
Southwest is unlike any other airline in the world (for better or for worse). They don’t have assigned seating or a premium cabin, they only operate 737s, they have their unique boarding system, they don’t offer any meals, and tickets include two free checked bags (this didn’t use to be such a big deal). Southwest brings a whole new meaning to the phrase “fleet consistency”. While they don’t have personal on-demand entertainment, all 750+ Southwest Airlines aircraft have own device entertainment and WiFi. Southwest offers free movies, TV shows, and live TV with their in-flight entertainment system (although the film and TV selection is quite limited) along with WiFi for only $8. While still quite rudimentary, Southwest’s entertainment system is entirely consistent and is pretty good for a low-cost airline. Unfortunately, they don’t yet offer power outlets, which is shown in their relatively low final score.
5. Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines relatively recently merged with Virgin America (in 2018), which was known for its great in-flight entertainment system with personal on-demand entertainment. Unfortunately, with that merger, Alaska Airlines decided to harmonize both airlines’ cabins, which involved stripping Virgin America’s aircraft of their in-flight entertainment systems (and big recliner seats in first) and replacing them with personal device entertainment. Alaska Airlines is now almost complete with the retrofit process, meaning that soon all of their aircraft will feature its standardized interior, which doesn’t have entertainment screens.
Besides the few A320s that have the old Virgin America interiors, all Airbus A320 series aircraft, 737s, and E175s feature personal device entertainment along with WiFi available for purchase. While all aircraft have some sort of IFE besides their regional Q400 turboprops, I took off more points than usual because they explicitly downgraded some aircraft in terms of in-flight entertainment and because they only have personal device entertainment, which isn’t necessarily ideal.
4. American Airlines
American Airlines has onboard entertainment on the vast majority of its aircraft. They have personal on-demand (and sometimes also live TV) on all 777s, 787s, A330s, some 737s, and some A319s/A321s, while they have personal device entertainment on most other aircraft, including all the rest of their 737s, A319/320/321s, and regional aircraft. American Airlines also has WiFi (but you have to pay for it) on the vast majority of its mainline and regional aircraft.
However, American Airlines doesn’t have any sort of in-flight entertainment (not even personal device entertainment) besides mini screen TVs and WiFi for purchase on all of their 767s and their international 757s. Mind you, American Airlines uses their international 757s and 767s on long-haul routes sometimes up to 9 hours long – it’s not acceptable (especially for a US carrier) to not have any in-flight entertainment on aircraft that they use on 9-hour flights, which resulted in a lot of points being taken off. Additionally, on those 757s and 767s in business class, they also don’t have any built-in entertainment – they provide tablets loaded with entertainment, which also is unacceptable. American also doesn’t have power outlets on many of their medium and long-haul aircraft, including their A320s, 757s, and 767s, which also is unacceptable. So while most of American’s aircraft do have some in-flight entertainment, I had to take off a substantial amount of points because of the variability in their medium-long-haul fleet.
3. United Airlines
United Airlines is pretty consistent when it comes to in-flight entertainment. While their percentage of aircraft that have in-flight entertainment may be relatively low, that’s because they have more 50 seat aircraft (think ERJ145 or CRJ200) that are rarely used for flights longer than 1.5 hours than Delta or American which don’t have in-flight entertainment or WiFi which I had to take off for However, they gained more points in the other sections because all of their mainline aircraft and 70+ seat regional aircraft have either personal on-demand entertainment, personal device entertainment, or both. All of their international 777s, 787s, 767s, and 757-200s are equipped with personal on-demand entertainment, while all aircraft with 70 or more seats in their mainline and regional fleet have personal device entertainment (even if the plane already has seatback screens) and WiFi for purchase.
Additionally, United provides
2. Delta Air Lines
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Delta ranked well in my in-flight entertainment rankings. While American is ripping in-flight entertainment screens out of their 737s, Delta has personal on-demand entertainment on all long-haul aircraft and a large portion of their short-haul apparatus, including most of their 737s, A320s, and their new A220s. On most planes that don’t have personal on-demand entertainment they have free personal device entertainment and WiFi. Delta also has WiFi (and personal device entertainment) installed on all mainline and regional aircraft, besides the few CRJ200s that they have in their fleet. Delta also has power outlets on all of their long-haul aircraft and a vast majority of their short-haul planes. Another feature that sets Delta apart is that they allow free texting onboard all aircraft that are WiFi-enabled, although they don’t yet have free WiFi. Overall, Delta usually pays more attention to their onboard product than United or American do, and it shows with the fact that they overall have better in-flight entertainment than United and American.
1. J etBlue
In the end, JetBlue barely got a better score than Delta and came in first in my rankings for the best US airlines for in-flight entertainment. It shouldn’t come as a surprise as they are the only US airline to have all aircraft installed with personal screens, even on their regional Embraer E190s, which is quite impressive as they don’t operate any true long-haul routes (yet). All aircraft are equipped with free DirecTV with multiple channels, a few movies (you will find more on newer aircraft), Sirius XM Radio,
Unfortunately, there are two caveats. First, the entertainment screens on their E190s and older A320s are pretty small and old, although they will soon refit the A320s with newer screens and will retire their E190s within the next few years. Secondly, WiFi and DirecTV are not available outside the 48 mainland US states, although the vast majority of JetBlue planes don’t leave the US, so that isn’t often a problem. Those two factors made me take off some points in the IFE quality section, although I didn’t have to take off many other points in many other sections because of their free WiFi and overall pretty good quality onboard entertainment.
Conclusion
Overall, it isn’t much of a surprise that the legacy carriers (United, Delta, American) did much better than most of the low-cost carriers (Southwest, Spirit, Frontier) in the rankings, as they generally have better in-flight entertainment options. However, throughout the past years, we’ve seen more and more airlines add in-flight entertainment options, including WiFi, to more and more of their aircraft. That is shown through most airlines having at least one type of in-flight entertainment option on all of their aircraft. Airlines such as Delta and JetBlue have been shown to put even more effort into their in-flight entertainment.
Even ultra-low-cost carriers have shown some effort into adding entertainment, shown through Spirit which will add WiFi to their planes starting this year. However, going forward, airlines are investing more in personal device entertainment on short-haul routes which rely on you bringing devices onboard instead of adding personal screens on short-haul planes. Overall, we should see a positive trend in terms of aircraft that have in-flight entertainment and are nearing a point where nearly all mainline planes in the US have some sort of in-flight entertainment.
Which US airline do you think has the best in-flight entertainment?