Qantas passengers watched more Barbie and The White Lotus in 2023 than any other program

The airline says its passengers spent 80 million hours glued to in-flight entertainment this year while quaffing four million bottles of wine. So what were they watching?

Passengers flying with Qantas spent 80 million hours using the in-flight entertainment.

Qantas says Barbie, starring Margot Robbie, was the number-one film watched by passengers on its domestic and international flights despite it only being added to the collection in November.

And those who wanted to binge on a series while 40,000 feet in the air collectively spent 300,000 hours watching the second season of The White Lotus – which was more than any other show.

With travel back in full swing and Qantas returning its international network to pre-Covid levels, there were 20 million extra hours spent using the in-flight entertainment – up from 60 million in 2022.

Barbie was the most watched film on Qantas this year. Picture: AFP

Travellers enjoyed their dose of Australiana: Five Bedrooms was the most watched comedy, The Australian Wars the most watched documentary and Couples Therapy Australia the most popular reality show.

Global sensation Bluey took out top billing as the most popular kids’ entertainment program, followed by Paw Patrol and Kamp Koral.

“Each year it’s intriguing to see what keeps customers entertained as they travel and it’s great to see Australian content was the big hit on Qantas flights in 2023,” Qantas executive manager product and service Philip Capps said.

“Whether it was a movie star, comedy, documentary or audiobook, Aussies were seen and heard across the skies on all mediums.”

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and Ticket to Paradise were among the most watched movies, while Succession, and House of the Dragon were the next most viewed TV shows.

The White Lotus Season 2 was a hit with travellers Photo: HBO

Last year the movie of choice for travellers was Top Gun: Maverick, while Succession attracted viewers interested in a series.

Whitney Houston was the most listened to pop artist, following huge interest in the biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody, which was also offered aboard. Australian author Liane Moriarty’s Apples Never Fall was the post popular audiobook.

Customers consumed plenty of food and drink as 3.9 million bottles of wine were consumed in the past year, along with 1.6 million biscuits, 1.8 million chocolate bars and 1.1 million ice creams.

Alcohol is always a big winner aboard Qantas flights. Picture: Calum Robertson

This comes as Qantas shifted the start time of its domestic bar service in economy from 4pm to noon this month.

Wi-Fi continued to grow in popularity with usage up 10 per cent from the previous year.

Airlines compete vigorously to offer a greater choice of programs on bigger screens, with noise-cancelling headphones thrown into the deal for premium passengers.

Cathay Pacific was named as having the world’s best in-flight entertainment by the World Airline Awards in 2023, followed by Emirates and Qatar Airways.

Summary of Qantas customers’ top picks:

Top movies

1. Barbie

2. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

3. Ticket To Paradise

Top TV shows

1. The White Lotus

2. Succession

3. House of the Dragon

Top children’s shows

1. Bluey

2. Paw Patrol

3. Kamp Koral