When it comes to movies at 38,000 feet, it turns out the high-grossing films in the theatre were also the most popular while flying.
According to Virgin Australia, our second largest carrier, the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody was the most popular flick on-board their international flights.
The film, which starred Rami Malek in his Oscar-winning role as Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, was the most watched film on Virgin Australia’s in-flight entertainment system.
When it comes to TV shows and series, The Big Bang Theory, which wrapped up its 12th and final season in 2019, was the most popular show among Virgin Australia passengers. The most popular children’s show was Puppy Dog Pals.
For Qantas, superheroes, romance and biopics topped the list of blockbusters that entertained passengers in-flight this year.
While A Star is Born was the most-watched movie overall, coming in second was Avengers: Endgame, which received more views in its debut month alone than the next three most-watched movies combined.
When it comes to binge-worthy TV series, Game of Thrones took the crown despite the series only becoming available to watch on-board halfway through the year.
For music lovers, Billie Eillish’s Bad Guy was the most listened-to song of the year, while Peaceful Piano – a compilation of gentle piano music – was the most listened-to album for the second year in a row followed by the Bohemian Rhapsody soundtrack.
“Qantas’ in-flight entertainment is a defining feature of the on-board experience and gives customers the ability to relax and catch up on their favourite series or latest releases,” Qantas Group chief customer officer Stephanie Tully told news.com.au.
“We know the big blockbusters are always really popular but so are our peaceful music soundtracks to sit back and unwind to.”
Last year, the most popular film on Qantas flights was Mission: Impossible – Fallout. In 2017 it was the animated flick Boss Baby, while Spectre, starring Daniel Craig as James Bond, was the number one film in 2016.
So who watched the most? Well, according to Tully, seat 47H on Qantas’ longest flight from Perth to London consumed the most amount of in-flight entertainment. Not surprisingly, the three seats that consumed the least amount of in-flight entertainment in 2019 all had bassinets ahead of them.
US airlines had a slightly different trend in 2019, with United, Southwest, JetBlue and Alaska Airlines reporting the two most popular movies for travellers were A Star Is Born and Crazy Rich Asians.
According to Fortune, A Bad Moms Christmas and Disney movies like Mary Poppins Returns and The Lion King remake made some airlines’ top-10 lists.
Virgin Australia also kept a close eye on the food we ate the most of in 2019.
The most popular menu item on Virgin Australia flights – for yet another year – was the $5 cheese and crackers. The airline said it sold more of the humble snack than anything else.
“Many snacks have come and gone, but the cheese and crackers have always been a menu staple,” Virgin Australia’s head of in-flight services, Michael Leckey, told news.com.au earlier this year.
“Take a trip back to Virgin Blue 10 years ago and you’ll see our popular cheese and crackers were even on the menu then.”
Virgin Australia said its beef-flavoured pot noodles was a favoured snack among passengers, too.
