Every year, the world celebrates the holiday season by overeating, finding that perfect gift for grandma, and flying cross-country to visit family while stuffed into tiny economy seats on the cheapest airlines available. Air travel is more challenging than ever, what with soaring fees and flights crammed to capacity, but at least the airlines are investing more money in the in-flight entertainment, otherwise known as IFE.
Indeed, TV shows and movies are emerging as the best medicine for easing the pain of midflight misery.
Of course, IFE has been around for decades, but a multibillion dollar industry focused on the technology has emerged over the last ten years or so. Major firms such as Panasonic and Thales are creating complex systems, delivering entertainment that wasn't possible even a few years ago.
Play it again, Sam
While experienced air travelers might think of IFE as a modern concept—a trend that began with the proliferation of cheap touchscreens and digital video—the basic premise actually dates all the way back to the 1930s. Airships such as the Hindenburg offered lounges, bars, and even a dining room. While piano bars on massive airships may no longer be the mainstay of aviation (dig the "Mad Man" era image below), IFE eventually evolved into movies projected onto the bulkheads of aircraft.
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