For me, the answer is yes, almost all the time. Even if I’m reading my kindle or some hard copy, I’m likely streaming music from in flight entertainment.
Obviously the answer might vary depending if it’s a 12 hour international flight or a quick hop.
The reason I was curious is that I mentioned the films I watched recently on a flight from Heathrow to Ohare and someone was shocked as if I pulled out a check book or showcased my VHS collection.
No, I always have my own with me, either a book to read or a movie to watch on my laptop (or music from it). Or I’ll just enjoy staring out the window if you can see anything besides the tops of clouds.
I don’t fly often, but if/when I do, I’d bring along plenty to do. I’d almost certainly have a Kindle and a tablet and a phone, stocked with things to read, games to play, movies/videos to watch, music and audiobooks to listen to. I can’t fathom the idea of getting on a plane (or sitting in a waiting room, or getting into any other situation where I’d be sitting around for any length of time) and not bringing something with me to pass the time.
On many flights, the screen has been dispensed with; you log into the plane’s Wi-Fi and watch or listen on your phone or tablet. Unless you are listening carefully to announcements on the PA or read the info cards in the pouch, it’s easy to miss.
I’m in the “bring my own” camp. I download movies and TV show episodes to my iPad and fully charge it, then I bring that, headphones, my Kindle, and my portable charger. I use my phone for entertainment while at the gate/in the terminal.
I’ve been known to. Depends on what is showing. I watched Aquaman heading from Tucson to Atlanta. I fell asleep to Captain America then Tintin heading from Milan to Atlanta. I’ve channel hopped TV shows.
Southwest used to have a system where you had to watch an ad (I think every hour) but you could get the in flight entertainment free by doing so. That was before Covid, so don’t know if it continued. Of course, many Southwest flights are too short for a film.
I’m on about four airline flights a month and I can honestly say I have never once utilized the screen embedded in the seat in front of me. I use airline time to read mostly, occasionally listen to a podcast or do a crossword.
On long flights, since I don’t sleep on planes, I watch movies outside my normal viewing habits. For some reason, this seems to be mainly Japanese rom-coms and Korean crime dramas.
I voted yes, though I do also read and do crosswords. If nothing else I track my flight on the map.
I’ve been in the video delivery business all my career so I am interested in the whole experience, from UI to content availability, to VOD and Satellite delivery quality.
And I usually can find a movie or something I wouldn’t otherwise see. On my last trip, a visit back to my hometown in NJ, I watched Cry Macho (would have been hard to convince my wife to see) and then got in the mood with a few episodes of The Sopranos, which was filmed around my area.