From Wi-Fi to "Game of Thrones" to touch-screen remotes, new options for passengers explode as the digital age comes to the cabin.
With more in-flight entertainment than ever, the longest flights can often seem short these days. On a recent trip to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific, for example, I could build a list of video favorites from more than 100 movies, with options ranging from new Oscar nominees like "American Sniper" and "Mr. Turner" to classics like "Casablanca."
Late in the 14-hour flight, as I started watching the documentary "Life Itself," about the film critic Roger Ebert, the system alerted me that I wouldn't have time to finish the two-hour movie before landing. I was still watching when the plane came to a full stop at the arrival gate.
On a flight from North Carolina to Rhode Island on Friday, they announced that the airplane had WiFi and that we could purchase the service. Then, when they came around selling booze, I realized that the WiFi also gave the salespeople the capability to scan credit cards and get online approvals in real time.
Bill Horne Moderator