Vueling has introduced a new onboard entertainment platform that allows passengers to access films, television series and flight information directly from their personal devices during flights. The service is free to use and does not require an internet connection, as it operates through the aircraft’s internal server.
The Vueling onboard entertainment platform is already available on more than half of the airline’s fleet and is expected to expand further. Passengers can connect to the system using their own smartphones, tablets or laptops, giving them access to content throughout the journey without relying on external connectivity.
The current catalogue includes 18 films and 23 episodes across 12 television series, with content set to be updated seasonally. Alongside entertainment, the platform also includes practical features such as a 3D interactive map that shows the aircraft’s route in real time, allowing passengers to follow the progress of their journey.
In addition, travellers can browse the onboard menu and shop through the same portal, reviewing food, drinks and other products available during the flight. The platform also provides information about the airline’s route network, sustainability initiatives and customer services.
A further feature is the integration with GetYourGuide, which enables passengers to explore and book tours and activities at their destination before arrival. This reflects a wider trend among airlines to extend the in-flight experience beyond the journey itself by offering travel planning tools mid-flight.
The Vueling onboard entertainment platform has been developed in partnership with Viasat and complements the airline’s existing connectivity offer. Many aircraft are already equipped with wifi, which includes 15 minutes of free internet access for passengers.
Melanie Berry, chief customer officer at Vueling, says: “With this new onboard entertainment offering, Vueling continues to improve the customer experience by giving customers more ways to enjoy their time in the air. The platform makes it easy to access content and services from any personal device throughout the flight.”
Don Buchman, president at Viasat Aviation, adds: “We are incredibly proud to partner with Vueling to deliver an enriched, connected onboard experience, powered by the European Aviation Network. The service puts free entertainment into the hands of Vueling’s passengers and underscores our shared commitment to elevating the in-flight experience and passenger satisfaction.”
Vueling, part of the IAG group, operates around 220 routes across 30 countries and carried 38 million passengers in 2024. The airline has positioned itself as a digital-focused carrier, and this latest development builds on its existing use of mobile boarding passes and app-based services.
By combining offline streaming with limited free connectivity, the Vueling onboard entertainment platform reflects a growing shift in aviation towards hybrid digital experiences that balance connectivity with onboard systems.
Qatar Airways has enlisted comedian Kevin Hart alongside a roster of celebrities to revolutionise the traditional in-flight safety video.
The comedian will present the airline’s in-flight safety procedures in a short and entertaining film directed by Hollywood director Tim Story.
Designed to engage passengers’ attention and focus on the important safety instructions, the film features supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley demonstrating overhead locker use, social media stars Anwar and Amal Jibawi explaining seatbelt procedures and content creators Khaby Lame and Adam Waheed showcasing oxygen mask deployment.
"Our main ambition was to design an in-flight safety video that passengers will not want to miss," says Qatar Airways group chief executive officer, Badr Mohammed Al-Meer. "As we become more technologically advanced, we are seeing fewer passengers paying attention to safety videos, instead opting for entertainment on their devices."
Hart, the airline's newest Global Brand Ambassador, adds: "This safety video is unlike anything you have seen on-board a luxury airline before. Qatar Airways represents best-in-class service and attention to detail, and this video brings those elements to your seat-back screen."
The star-studded safety film will roll out across select Qatar Airways flights from December 2024, reaching the entire fleet by January 2025.
Directed by Hollywood's Tim Story, the film features supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley demonstrating overhead locker use, social media stars Anwar and Amal Jibawi explaining seatbelt procedures, and content creators Khaby Lame and Adam Waheed showcasing oxygen mask deployment.
"Our main ambition was to design an in-flight safety video that passengers will not want to miss," says Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer, Badr Mohammed Al-Meer. “As we continue to become more technologically advanced, we are seeing more and more passengers not paying enough attention to the in-flight safety video, instead opting for entertainment content on their other devices.
"We decided there was no better way to capture their attention than with their favourite celebrities and content creators. Shining a spotlight and amplifying this message, we are proud to welcome Kevin Hart, our latest Global Brand Ambassador, to help spread the word.”
Hart, the airline's newest Global Brand Ambassador, adds: "This safety video is unlike anything you have seen on-board a luxury airline before. Qatar Airways represents best-in-class service and attention to detail, and this video brings those elements to your seat-back screen."
The star-studded safety film will roll out across select Qatar Airways flights from December 2024, reaching the entire fleet by January 2025.
One year after debuting Delta Sync seatback on the first A321ceo, customers travelling on more than 330 Delta aircraft can now enjoy the personalised experience that makes the airline’s seatback screens feel more like a smart TV while offering a host of day-of-travel tools for SkyMiles Members designed to streamline their travel journey.
Delta Sync seatback now operates across five fleet types: A321ceos, A320s, A319s, most 75Ds and many 738s, representing 40% of in-flight entertainment usage. The airline has 165,000 seatback screens - the most among US carriers.
"SkyMiles Members have logged in more than a million times," says Julieta McCurry, VP of In-Flight Entertainment and Connectivity Strategy. "Access to Delta Sync seatback improves the overall experience, with logged-in members reporting higher satisfaction."
New features include a "My Flight" hub displaying real-time tracking and connection details, a dedicated kids' entertainment section, and visible seat numbers during boarding. The system also alerts passengers to free wifi availability and enables customer feedback via QR codes.
The airline has also partnered with BBC News, adding the channel to its live TV lineup from September. “BBC Studios has been a valued partner to Delta for many years, working with us to bring diverse and premium content to travelers of all ages,” says Ekrem Dimbiloglu, managing director, In-Flight Entertainment and Connectivity. “We’re proud to elevate the partnership in a new way by adding BBC News to our live TV lineup and strengthening our commitment to offering global content to our customers as they travel to destinations around the world.”
Free wifi, presented by T-Mobile, now covers 90% of Delta's domestic fleet and is expanding internationally. Rather than reducing seatback screen usage, the airline reports increased content consumption from 2023 to 2024, with passengers preferring a multi-device experience similar to home viewing.
JetBlue has evolved its in-flight entertainment offering - one that feels more personal, and more similar to how customers access streaming platforms at home.
Blueprint by JetBlue is the airline's latest seatback entertainment platform, offering customised options for enjoying content on board, that increase the ways people can watch, share, save and find new TV shows and movies.
Passengers can now watch the same film or TV show at the exact same time with up to five other customers on their flight, and JetBlue is the first airline to offer this 'watch party' experience. Play and pause can be controlled on all linked screens, regardless of where each viewer is seated.
Blueprint by JetBlue also offers features that replicate the ways passengers are accustomed to streaming content at home. For example, it creates personal recommendations based on previous viewing history and allows customers to select and save their favourite films and TV shows to watch on future flights (so they spend less time searching).
Passengers who will be taking a future flight with JetBlue can also automatically pick up a film or show from wherever they left off without having to press fast-forward. What's more, they can carry over their preferred viewing settings from flight to flight, such as volume, language and subtitles (or parental controls for children). To benefit from these features on subsequent JetBlue flights, passengers opt in create their profiles via the seatback touchscreens.
With Blueprint, JetBlue has also launched a first-of-its-kind partnerships with a streaming partner, Peacock, providing customers with access to exclusive entertainment and offers. The new personalisation functions have begun rolling out on JetBlue’s Avant touchscreen aircraft powered by Thales in recent months.
For an increased sense of personalisation on board, JetBlue customers can also change the name on their JetBlue travel profile, which is displayed on a personal welcome message on their seatback screen. JetBlue is also the only airline greets customers with seatback screen confetti graphics and a free drink (for those over 21) when flying on their birthday.
Jayne O’Brien, Head of Marketing and Customer Support at JetBlue, said: “JetBlue has always been an innovator as the first to have seatback screens and fast, free and unlimited wifi on every aircraft. By launching Blueprint by JetBlue, we are doubling down on our commitment to help customers create an inflight experience tailored to their needs and preferences, making their flight as comfortable as their own living rooms.”
On January 1, 2022, Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific debuted HBO Max on seat-back screens, delivering more than 200 hours of content in the first three months.
The HBO Max library includes award-winning recent hits such as the first three seasons of Succession, as well as The White Lotus, The Undoing and Mare of Easttown, along with original series such as Friends: The Reunion, Hacks, Gossip Girl (2021) and The Flight Attendant, along with all-time classics including Sex and the City, The Sopranos, The Wire, Game of Thrones and Band of Brothers.
For HBO Max, it's an ingenious way of winning new subscribers because no one will be able to finish a whole series in one flight - they will have to sign up when they get home to find out what happens. 
Cathay Pacific already has the largest in-flight movie and TV library in the Asia-Pacific region and seat-back screens are installed on every aircraft. This content innovation builds on the airline’s latest offering of 4K content and Bluetooth headphone pairing launched on its Airbus A321neo fleet earlier this year.
Cathay Pacific general managerof customer experience and design, Vivian Lo, says: “To be the first in Asia to launch the HBO Max brand, not just onboard flights but anywhere is exceptional. It’s a great example of an airline and streaming service working together to bring an unprecedented entertainment experience to passengers and we hope our customers find their next new binge-worthy show on Cathay Pacific.
“During the pandemic, we have been hard at work to bring our entertainment offering to new heights ready for the return of passengers. HBO Max offers some of the most critically acclaimed and exciting shows on the market. This partnership enables us to have more complete limited original series than ever before.”
Cathay Pacific offers an extensive content set consistently on all long-haul flights and many short-haul flights, including those operated by its A350, Boeing 777 and A321neo aircraft. The HBO Max partnership also includes the Warner Bros. movie library with new releases such as Space Jam, Suicide Squad and Dune.
Overall, in the next year the airline plans to add over 300 hours of HBO Max content adding to the vast array of movies, TV shows, music, podcasts, live news, digital magazines and games currently available.
Good news for anxious flyers, there will be plenty of quality entertainment to distract you on your next Emirates flight.
Emirates is the first airline in the Middle East to have partnered with HBO Max, which is WarnerMedia's go-to streaming destination for all of its hit movies and shows.
HBO Max is currently available only in the US and Latin America. However, it is set to launch in Europe from October 26 and will be available onboard Emirates from November 1.
With this latest HBO partnership, Emirates' passengers in all classes of travel will be able to watch exclusive HBO Max hits on their personal seat-back screens, including the popular Friends: The Reunion, shown for the first time on an airline; the multiple Emmy Award-winning Mare of Easttown, A Black Lady Sketch Show, and Wahl Street.
Initially launching with over 160 hours of content from 31 shows, Emirates and HBO Max will gradually expand the content available in the sky.
Onboard, Emirates' customers can browse the latest HBO Max content in a dedicated folder on ICE. Those who prefer to plan their entertainment choices in advance, can browse all ICE content on the Emirates' website, and create a personalised playlist on the Emirates app, which can be synced with the ICE system to immediately begin their movie or TV binge the moment they board the aircraft.
With over 4,500 channels of on-demand movies, music, TV shows, box sets, documentaries and more to choose from, Emirates' ICE continues to lead the industry in terms of quality and variety of content.
Catering to its truly global clientele, Emirates' ICE features content in over 40 languages. From indie films to global blockbusters, the unmatched selection is curated and procured from over 50 countries. Most movies and TV shows also offer subtitles and closed caption options, making the content accessible to an even wider audience.
[dropcap size=big]P[/dropcap]ersonal seat-back screens are great, but not all airlines load their in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems with a varied choice of up-to-date movies and TV shows, so it can be hard to find anything decent to watch, especially if you are a frequent flyer.
Enter the next-generation of Wireless In-Flight Entertainment – Immfly’s W-IFE. It offers more than 100 forms of sponsored content (including TV shows, movies and newspapers, plus city guides to some of its 150 destinations) tailored to the individual passenger and streamed to their own devices.
The idea, based around open wifi points located throughout an aircraft, will allow travellers who have downloaded the Immfly app or are accessing Immfly’s website to simultaneously connect via their personal gadgets and have access to a multitude of in-flight entertainment options.
Streaming movies to personal devices could mean the end of expensive seat-back screens on planes
Having just celebrated its second anniversary, Immfly, founded by Barcelona-based duo Pablo Linz and Jimmy M Von Korff, has become the first company in the European market to develop a profitable streaming entertainment platform for airlines.
This will mean a reduction in the need for airlines to install their own – expensive – technology: “This new service is available to the 98 per cent of passengers who already travel with a smartphone, laptop or tablet [which removes] the need to install in-seat monitors across an airline’s entire fleet,” says Immfly.
This could potentially save airlines millions in production costs and, so far, deals have been sealed with Spanish carrier Iberia Express, which will roll out the technology on its entire after a successful trial in summer 2015. Immfly says it is “in talks with several other major European airlines,” as well.
Immfly is also appealing to brands and publishers who can partner with the company and gain exposure to thousands of flyers daily to “enhance perceptions” and “drive sales”.
Currently on the market in English, Spanish and German, the product has been well received, but with the promise of expansion it seems that Immfly is destined for great things.
The young company has been selected from a pool of hundreds of applicants as one of 24 leading technological start-ups to present its W-IFE solution at the TNW (The Next Web) Conference and Boost competition in New York on November 18.
The event was created in 2006 primarily as a networking platform to allow the 1,500-person audience to secure new business relationships with young start-ups and established companies alike. It also gives innovative tech companies a space to showcase their developments to a crowd of like-minded enthusiasts and investors.
“Boost will be taking place during the conference, providing a selective group of the most promising early-stage start-ups from across the globe the opportunity to pitch on stage and present their product to judges and industry experts“, say Immfly.
The company has huge ambitions and sky-high projections, which according to Linz and Korff, is attributed to the Spanish airline Iberia that gave them their foundation to share W-IFE technology with over 100,000 people.
With the help of the upcoming TNW Conference, Immfly aims for the number of users to rise beyond 200 million by 2018.
By Jack Southan
