How I Set up the Perfect Entertainment Playlist for Long

May 20, 2023

In March, a passenger traveling from Athens to Singapore on a budget airline whipped out a portable projector and proceeded to screen "The Patriot," the 2000 war epic starring Mel Gibson, on the overhead bins.

Another passenger on the flight, Douglas Lazic-Kirk, shared the movie screening on TikTok. "I'm flying a lot and to see that on the plane just blew my mind. That's what made me start filming," Lazic-Kirk told USA Today.

For me, it was a flashback to my childhood. I'm American and moved to Japan when I was 9 years old. My family used to fly from Tokyo to Chicago, a 12-hour flight, twice a year. This was in the 90s, when there were no direct flights to my hometown in New York and before screens had been installed in seatbacks. Back then, the first thing we'd do after getting onboard was see what movies had been chosen for the flight.

This was always hit or miss. It could be a movie you'd just watched a few months back or even something you had no interest in watching. I'm sure finding a movie that could appeal to a plane full of people in different age groups, genders, and film tastes was a difficult task. On top of that, your view of the screen — typically just one in business class and one in economy — was often blocked because of where you were seated or a taller person's head.

Fast forward to 2023. In-flight entertainment on full-service airlines has taken a huge leap. I live in Singapore now and still fly long distances to visit family back in the US.

Nowadays, the first thing I do after settling in onboard and before take-off, is scroll through the movie and TV options. Before data access cuts out at takeoff, I whip out my phone and check out the Rotten Tomatoes ratings of any of the movies and shows that sound interesting. I find out the Tomatometer score for each one, which is based on the opinions of top movie and TV critics.

Some of the systems, like the one on Singapore Airlines, allow you to set up a playlist for what you'd like to watch. As the non-stop flight from Singapore to New York City is over 18 hours, there's room to include plenty of options on the list. At least one low-rated rom-com usually sneaks onto mine.

For shorter trips around the region, I fly on budget airlines, where in-flight entertainment is not provided. Perhaps it's time to invest in a projector.