Entertainment in the Sky
Everytime I step into an airplane, I am amazed at the options available. From the wide range of magazines, food, movies, music and games, the choices are (almost) endless. It was not so long ago that stewardesses distributed playing cards and magnetic chess sets to stave off the boredom of a trans-Pacific flight.
Today, Singapore Airlines (and others in its class) boast 60 feature movies, 200 music CDs and a clutch of popular TV serials. And all this is on-demand, which means that you get it instantly, without having to wait for a scheduled time. Instant gratification is here. Not to mention the brace of video games that keep getting better (or so I assume since I’m not a big fan these days). These days, flights are simply too short to truly appreciate each of these entertainment alternatives.
Still, its only as much fun as you can have in a cramped seat in a cabin of 400 strangers. The laws of physics remain uncomfortably immutable - the seats recline a bare five degrees, and the body keeps shifting to find a more comfortable posture until it drifts off to sleep.
One interesting observation on today’s flight was that they served Indian vegetarian meals on a trans-Pacific flight. It was certainly a welcome alternative. But on the other hand, I sat next to a Chinese couple who were flying for the first time, and they asked, “Is the food in America as bad as in the plane?” Perhaps I have been resigned to the bland concoctions of airplane food that I barely noticed.