Peter Vanden Bos

Best In-Flight Entertainment: Virgin America RED

 

Ready to curl up with a good book on your next transcontinental flight? If you're flying Virgin America, you might get a little distracted. Each seat has a 9-inch wide touchscreen featuring 18 channels of live television from the Dish Network and 25 on-demand movies you can pause, fast forward, and rewind. You can play free games, access an interactive map of the flight plan, and take part in live, seat-to-seat chatting using a keyboard on the remote control. Or, if you're looking for some shut-eye on a red-eye, build a custom playlist from a choice of 3,000 MP3s. Another cool feature of the RED system is the ability to order food and drinks on the touchscreen.
Cost: Satellite TV is free for all passengers, but movie rentals costs $8 for those seated in the main cabin.