Movies to Pack for a Flight

Going on a long flight and bringing your laptop? How do you feel about packing a movie, or two, to make your flight shorter and more interesting? Here are my suggestions.

Remember to pack the headphones as well. You shouldn’t really bother other passengers with the movie you want to watch. Also, make sure you have the subtitles if you want to watch a foreign movie, you can’t really download them on the plane. The movies you’ll pack will mostly depend on your movie taste, but here’s my opinion on the matter.

1. No Plane Disasters

The worst thing you could pack for a flight is a movie about a plane disaster, especially if you’re generally afraid of flying. There is absolutely no reason you should do this to yourself and no –  you will not overcome your fear of flying by watching a plane disaster movie on a flight.

Forget about Final Destination, Snakes on a Plane or even Flightplan. No matter how good a plane disaster movie could be – do not bring it on your flight.

2. Cartoon

mushrooms in garden

If you’re travelling with your children a cartoon is simply the thing you must have in your bag. Your kids will get restless on a long flight, and the best way to calm them down is to let them watch a cartoon. If you’re not travelling with kids – well there’s nothing wrong about watching a cartoon, is there?

My personal favorites would be Hoodwinked, How to Train Your Dragon, Rio, Despicable Me and Ice Age (all three parts). All of these will give you more than one hour of great fun on your flight.

3. A Relaxing Comedy

When it comes to movies, I would say that the best choice for a flight would be a relaxing comedy. Some kind of an easy going movie that will help you to calm down, make the time go by faster, and will not make you feel emotional.

Romantic comedies are also a good choice for a flight, although they are not my personal favorite. I would pack, for example, The Hangover, Asterix and Obelix (requires subtitles, it’s in French), History of the World: Part I (an old but a very good one) and Monty Python.

4. A Thrilling Thriller

female in hat with face covered by the coat collar

There is nothing as interesting as a good thriller, with just a dash of mystery. Your flight will literary fly by, if you pack a couple of thrillers to watch. The only problem with thrillers is that they can be really good, but also really bad. I’d say stick with those you’ve already seen, and would like to see again rather than experiment.

Some of my favorite thrillers are: Silence of the Lambs, Zodiac, The Prestige, Sherlock Holmes, Black Swan and Millennium Trilogy (A Girl With a Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest – require subtitles, the movies are in Swedish).

5. A Documentary

artist and cameraman filming in daylight

Every girl has a documentary she’s been putting off for a long time. Well, use your flight and finally watch it. I wouldn’t suggest you to choose a documentary of crime, or gangs, of the country you’re travelling to. Although it is good to be informed, it might not be the best choice for a flight. Do that earlier.

The documentaries I loved: Religulous (watch only if you’re not offended by ridiculing of religion), How TV Ruined Your Life (explore the line between real life and TV), Goya: Crazy Like a Genius (a documentary about Spanish painter Francisco Goya), Tesla: Master of Lighting (a documentary about Nikola Tesla) and Mystery of the Romanovs (a documentary about Russia’s mysterious royal family).

6. Sitcom

Maybe the best idea, when it comes to packing something to watch on a flight, is to pack a DVD of your favorite sitcom. It’s better than a movie for two reasons. It is divided in episodes, so if you get tired after half an hour, you can just stop watching, and continue later. It provides a lot more material than a movie does – so it’s great for long flights.

There are lots of sitcoms I loved and love, but these have to be my top 5: House MD, The Third Rock from the Sun, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother and Game of Thrones. Whichever of these you have on DVD, will be a perfect choice for a flight.

These are only my suggestions. Of course, if you don’t like any of them, you shouldn’t pack them for a flight. The general idea is to bring things that will relax you, and make your time pass faster. I’d like to hear what your favorite movies for a flight are.

About the author

Sarah

I’m a free spirit who likes to travel, cook and fly. Licensed paraglider pilot, I spend all my spare time flying. In the meantime, I like to share my recipes and travel experiences.

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