Here's a trivia question that will challenge even the most ardent devotee of movie esoterica: Identify the first theatrical film shown on a regularly scheduled commercial airline flight. (Hint: It was in 1961 aboard a TWA Boeing 707.)
For the answer to this -- and other questions about the ever-changing world of in-flight entertainment -- you'll have to read to the end of this story.
The options for amusing oneself on some airlines rival those of the best-stocked home entertainment centers. Some in-flight entertainment, or IFE, systems offer as many as 400 options (including on-demand movies, television, video games and music), live satellite television with 24 channels and pay-per-view movies, and a hand-held device, similar to a portable DVD player, that's pre-loaded with dozens of entertainment choices.
In the last dozen years, airlines have nearly quadrupled the amount they spend annually on products and services for IFE -- from $400 million in 1992 to an estimated $1.5 billion in 2003, said the World Airline Entertainment Assn.
Despite this investment, most passengers rank IFE as low as sixth on the list of reasons to choose an airline -- well behind price and schedule, the top two considerations, said Rob Brookler, a spokesman for the association.
Such a system costs millions for each aircraft, Brookler said, so don't expect financially struggling airlines to upgrade their systems any time soon. Still, the competitiveness of the airline industry makes it a near-necessity.
"Everything else being equal, high-end entertainment can be a deciding factor," Brookler said, especially when competing for "premium passengers" in first and business classes. Greater IFE choices also tend to generate greater customer loyalty.
I experienced firsthand the high end of IFE on a Singapore Airlines flight in May from Los Angeles to Singapore. The audio-video on-demand system provided me with 300 entertainment options (expanded to 400 last month), including 60 feature movies, 75 TV shows, 100 music CDs and 30 Nintendo games. My choices included the entire "Matrix" and "Lord of the Rings" trilogies, episodes of "Friends" and "Frasier" and several movies not yet out on video. I whiled away the 17-hour flight watching such films as "The Last Samurai" and "House of Sand and Fog" and playing chess on the 9-inch LCD screen in the seat back.
