Maybe it is one Mission Impossible, or a trip to the Marvel Universe. Maybe it's a guilt-free deep dive into the Harry Potter canon - or a wildcard film you've never heard of, with a small budget and subtitles.
Whatever your in-flight movie choice, it will reveal an abundance of you, your journey and your mindset, says Maura Chacko - and she should know, because without her and her team you might not be watching anything at all.
Chacko is the Senior Vice President of Content Experience at Spafax, the leading global provider of inflight entertainment. If you've flown anywhere on Earth, you've probably come across its services without even realizing it: it manages the movies, TV shows and audio programs for many of the world's largest airlines, including BA, Iberia, Qatar Airways, Etihad and Emirates - acquiring the rights to the selection, bringing it from the studio to the seat-back screen.
"The comfort food element is so important," says Chacko. "When you're tired, anxious or stressed, you just want something comforting and familiar, so the Friends box set or a BBC classic such as Downton Abbey would be popular choices on evening flights. But for a day out, if you're feeling happy and alert, you might have a more adventurous taste - maybe delve into a foreign language film, or a harder-edged drama."
Every month, Spafax teams sift through hundreds of hours of global content at its trendy headquarters near Mayfair, selecting and buying entertainment for millions of viewers from miles above. Its reach puts Netflix and Disney+ to shame, covering everything from Hollywood's hottest blockbusters to the arthouse sleeper hits - a line-up designed to entertain the world.
Nudity or violence? It's complicated
The most popular genre? "Action and adventure, every time," smiles Chacko. "It's so universal. Comedy comes next, but it doesn't always translate well between languages and cultures - while the eye-catching special effects of a big-budget Tom Cruise film are exciting for almost anyone. That said, comedy classics like The Big Bang Theory And Friends always top the most viewed charts - and that trend continues from generation to generation."
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If you find yourself more emotional than usual when watching a movie during the flight, you're not alone. "You're much more likely to cry about something on an airplane than when you're sitting on the couch - that's a fact," says Chacko. "Altitude and the whole flying experience make people weepier when they watch movies, just like they change your taste buds. So it's not unusual for you to cry about something that you wouldn't normally be moved by."
The recent in-flight viewing figures perfectly reflect Spafax's trend data. On Emirates, including the most viewed content of 2023 Top Gun: Maverickin addition to the Lord of the Rings trilogy and all four John Wick hitman films. The rom-com by George Clooney and Julia Roberts Ticket to paradise also came out on top, as did the visually stunning Avatar: The Way of Water. Elsewhere, The White Lotus was another hit, with Qantas passengers collectively spending 300,000 hours of its second season last year.
But some genres or themes are absolutely off-limits, says Julieta Bowyer, director of world content at Spafax, which oversees its leading offering of foreign-language films and TV shows. "Each airline has its own taste in content and guidelines that reflect the sensitivities of its own nationality. For example, films with nudity may be fine for a Scandinavian customer, but violence is out of the question for them. While a US-based airline may have a very low threshold for anything daring, but is absolutely fine with violence." And attitudes closer to home? "Nudity and violence are generally a non-issue in Western Europe," says Bowyer.
Prohibited topics and genres
Other preferences are much less nuanced. There is of course a veto on aviation contingency plans, but also certain criticism of governments ("airlines have all nationalities on board") and shows that this can be considered inflammatory to current geopolitical issues or conflicts. But it's not always black and white. In December, for example, British Airways decided to 'pause' the Jewish sitcom Hapless from in-flight entertainment, following alleged concerns that it could cause a backlash in the wake of the war between Israel and Hamas - before promising to include it in the to be restored in the coming period. months.
Natural disasters, such as earthquakes and floods, can also prompt a quick reconsideration of content. "The Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, for example," says Chacko. "When something like this happens, you think of movies that feature natural disasters - which ones should you remove from planes?" The decision is not taken lightly because it is so logistically complex: "You have to physically extract the contents of every aircraft in the fleet, there is no central database where you can simply delete them from - so there is a huge cost involved. In some cases, adding or removing movies is as low-tech as taking a USB stick or SD card on a plane, as crazy as that sounds."
A long way since VHS and Betamax
With more than 30 years of experience in inflight entertainment, both Chacko and Bowyer have seen the industry transform. "When I started sixteen years ago, in-flight entertainment worked on a tape system: all the content on an airplane came onto a VHS or Betamax and played on the screens coming from the ceiling, which everyone watched together. remember that?"
Bowyer nods with a laugh: "And the maximum length was two hours and fifteen minutes. You wouldn't be able to show any film that's longer; slightly shorter, you had to add a TV episode to fill the rest. When it finished playing, it would rewind itself and just start over. Horrible!"
It was the cabin crew's job to load the fragile tires, which would gradually disintegrate over the course of a season. "In really hot destinations they would even melt," Chako recalls.
Now, of course, we all carry our own screens - so is our in-flight movie cravings diminishing? "Far from it," says Bowyer. "Most viewers are used to two screens, scrolling while watching TV - so they certainly feel more comfortable." Yet content providers and airlines know they cannot rest on their laurels. "The trick is to keep surprising the viewers, giving them something they didn't know they wanted."
While Hollywood films are the biggest hits, world content is also growing rapidly, says Bowyer, who watches about 25 new films every month. What is the secret of success? "No slow burners," she laughs. "Flies are not like the movies, where you hold on. If it doesn't grab me in the first few minutes, it's out, but if it's a blow, I'll feel it from the start."
