These Are the Most Watched In-flight Movies on U.S. Airlines In 2019, Report Shows

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Published on December 16, 2019

Watching inflight movies — Photo: Getty Images

This year, high-grossing movies in the theater were also the most popular while flying — specifically those in the romance genre.

According to Fortune, which surveyed United, Southwest, JetBlue, and Alaska Airlines, the two most popular movies for travelers on U.S. airlines in 2019 were “A Star Is Born” and “Crazy Rich Asians,”

The romantic remake starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper came in as the top movie on Southwest and JetBlue, and as No. 2 on the others. “Crazy Rich Asians,” which has inspired tours of Singapore, took the top spot on Alaska Airlines.

On United, “Bohemian Rhapsody” was popular as flyers rocked out to the Queen biopic.

Sometimes a long flight calls for some lighthearted entertainment, which is why we’re not surprised that “A Bad Moms Christmas” and Disney movies like “Mary Poppins Returns” and “The Lion King” remake made some airlines’ top 10 lists.

When it comes to binging on TV shows, comedies were popular with the classic (and iconic) option “Friends” consistently ranked as one of the top shows. “The Big Bang Theory” took the top spot on both Alaska and United, while cooking competition show “Chopped” was a favorite choice on Southwest.

In-flight entertainment has gone through changes in the last few years with some airlines phasing out the seatback screens in favor of having people stream movies and TV shows on their personal devices through the carrier’s app. JetBlue (which also offers DIRECTV live channels) and Delta Air Lines, however, have committed to keeping them.

Below are the top three movies and TV shows for each airline, according to Fortune’s survey: