In-flight entertainment has dramatically improved in just the past couple of years. Most airlines have removed the extra cost of watching a movie, and some airlines now offer free in-flight messaging — you might even find free Wi-Fi.
Yet some airlines still don’t offer Wi-Fi or movies, period. Hopefully, you brought a book.
Here are the best (and worst) airlines based on their in-flight experience.
The official rankings
We reviewed in-flight entertainment, including perks like Wi-Fi availability and cost, free movies, in-seat USB access, snack availability and more across 13 airlines. Here are the results on a five-point scale.
The best airlines based on the in-flight experience are Delta in first place, JetBlue in second and a tie between Southwest and United for third, according to NerdWallet analysis.
While you’re just sitting up in the air for hours, your taste buds might also want some entertainment. Luckily, all four top picks offer drinks and snacks for free, with premium, paid options too.
Here's a snapshot of example data points we collected to make our assessments:
| Airline | Wi-Fi available? | Wi-Fi cost per flight | In-seat USB availability in economy | Free snacks on domestic economy flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Canada | Yes (on most flights). | $4.75 per hour ($6.50 CAD). | Yes. | Yes. |
| Alaska Airlines | Yes (on most flights). | $8. | Yes. | Yes. |
| American Airlines | Yes (on most flights). | $10 or more, depending on aircraft. | Yes (on most flights). | Yes. |
| ANA | Yes (on most flights). | $4.95 or $6.95 for 30 minutes, depending on aircraft. | Yes (on most flights). | No. |
| British Airways | Yes (on most flights). | $5.73 - $25.23, depending on flight duration (£4.99 - £21.99). | Yes (on most flights). | Yes. |
| Delta Air Lines | Yes. | Free for SkyMiles Members on most domestic U.S. flights. | Yes (on most flights). | Yes. |
| Emirates | Yes. | $9.99 - $19.99, depending on flight duration. | Yes. | Yes. |
| Frontier Airlines | No. | N/A. | No. | No. |
| Hawaiian Airlines | No, but note it is coming. | N/A. | Yes. | Yes. |
| JetBlue Airways | Yes. | Free for all passengers. | Yes. | Yes. |
| Southwest Airlines | Yes. | $8. | No, but note it is coming. | Yes. |
| United Airlines | Yes. | $10, but free for certain T-Mobile customers. | On some aircraft. | Yes. |
| Virgin Atlantic | Yes. | $3.95 - $26.95, depending on activity and length of use. | Yes. | Yes. |
Best in-flight entertainment in 2026
1. Delta
Delta moved from the silver medal position in 2023's rankings to the gold medal for 2024 — and it has held that spot every year since.
Delta Wi-Fi
While Delta was always good, it continuously iterates every year to deliver the best inflight experience of any major airline we reviewed. Delta has been working to improve its Wi-Fi speeds, and how travelers connect, through a partnership with high-speed Wi-Fi provider Viasat. Delta claims it’s twice as fast as the old Gogo Wi-Fi service offered in 2019.
On February 1, 2023, it rolled out free Wi-Fi to most of its domestic mainline aircraft. One note: Delta’s free Wi-Fi is limited only to people who sign up for its Delta SkyMiles loyalty program. While that program is free to join, nothing is truly free — as registration means Delta has your data and you should expect a barrage of marketing emails unless you unsubscribe.
With Delta Sync Wi-Fi and Delta Sync seat back, SkyMiles Members get ad-free access to YouTube Premium, YouTube Music and other curated content for free while onboard.
And it doesn't even end when the flight does. Customers can take advantage of free, 24-hour access to premium subscriptions they can take advantage of even after they land to services including Paramount+, the New York Times and Crunchyroll.
Throughout this year, Delta is rolling out spiffier tech across its fleet. That includes 4K HDR QLED displays, plus Bluetooth connectivity for pairing personal devices in every cabin, and a “Do Not Disturb” mode. There's also set to be a seatback announcement translation that enables flight attendants the ability to send specific messages to seatback screens and translate them into customers’ preferred language.
And if you forget your headphones. Delta offers them for free to customers onboard aircraft with seatback screens.
2. JetBlue
Ever since its inception, JetBlue has emphasized the in-flight experience. Years ago that meant free DirecTV on its seatback screens or a small selection of free movies on most flights.
These days, JetBlue offers not just free live TV, but also free movies, free Wi-Fi and free in-flight messaging. JetBlue refreshingly offers seatback screens at every seat (so you don’t need to worry about bringing a charged iPad to watch those free movies). Though unlike our winner, Delta, you’ll need to bring your own headphones or plan on buying them once onboard.
While not available in some of JetBlue’s older planes, most offer USB power outlets and some even have AC power outlets.
While there’s food for purchase, there are plenty of freebies. Complimentary drinks include Pepsi products and Dunkin coffee, and various snacks that have included Chifles Plantain Chips and Popchips. Snacks also accommodate vegan, gluten-free, and nut-free diets with offerings like vegan butter pretzels.
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Though, even within JetBlue's in-flight experience — entertainment quality varies. There are essentially two categories of entertainment based on which aircraft you’re flying in. While we’re willing to give both high marks, let’s just say the newer aircraft deserve extra bonus points. Here are the differences.
Newer aircraft
JetBlue’s newer aircraft — the A320 Restyled, A321 and A321neo — have 10.1-inch, high-definition touch screens on every seat back, providing full seasons of on-demand TV plus dozens of movies. These aircraft also provide USB and standard outlet power at every row (and sometimes every seat) to keep your personal devices charged. As far as live TV, there are more than 100 channels.
On Mint, JetBlue’s version of first class, you’ll go even bigger, with at least 15-inch screens.
Older aircraft
The airline's older aircraft, the E190 and A320 Classic, offer slightly less in terms of in-flight entertainment. Besides having no touchscreens, you’ll typically get to choose from only three movies, and the TV shows are limited to about 36 channels of live DirecTV only. There’s also no in-seat power.
Still, even the older aircraft provide entertainment that’s miles above most other airlines.
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The worst of the airline in-flight experiences
Frontier Airlines offers the worst in-flight experience, receiving the lowest possible score of just 1. No movies, no TV, no Wi-Fi — not even available for purchase. There are snacks, but only for yet another fee. And be prepared to fork over $3 for that beverage.
Frontier says that not offering entertainment or free food enables it to keep fares lower, which makes sense given that it is a budget airline.
In-flight entertainment, recapped
When it comes to in-flight experience, Delta is unbeatable. Not only does it offer every sort of entertainment you could possibly want — movies, TV, Wi-Fi, snacks and more — but it offers it for free.
Fly JetBlue, United or Southwest, and you also likely won’t get too bored as you barrel through the skies given the solid in-flight experience. Those airlines offer varying degrees of movies, TV and other forms of entertainment, including snacks, Wi-Fi and free messaging.
Budget airlines like Frontier attract frugal travelers with their low-cost fares. The flights are cheap, but the flying experience is lousy.
Methodology: How we made our in-flight entertainment rankings
We analyzed 14 major airlines based on factors including Wi-Fi availability and cost, movie availability and cost, snacks, plus other metrics, like seatback screen availability. We also noted whether costs like Wi-Fi were waived if you have airline elite status or that airline’s branded credit card.
In total, we gave each airline a score from 1 to 5 on 11 different sub-categories. Some categories were given more weight than others (e.g., free in-flight messaging for all passengers received more weight than getting free Wi-Fi if you have a branded airline credit card). Then, we calculated the individual category scores and weighted them to come up with an overall score.
Here are our complete rankings:
Of the 13 airlines we analyzed, only one got a perfect, 5/5 score: Delta Air Lines.
Understand that cost was not factored into our rankings. Sure, Frontier got an F, but its fares are cheap too. Paying $3 for a soda can be annoying, but realize that you probably saved much more than that by opting for a Frontier fare over one from another airline. Only you know how valuable connectivity, comfy seats and free snacks are, so use our numbers to make your own decision about which airline is truly the best, all things considered.
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