Airlines upgrade entertainment in economy cabin

— -- More airlines are rolling out high-end in-flight entertainment products in the economy cabin, ushering in an era in which passengers have greater control and selection of movies, songs and video games.

Airlines worldwide spent $1.4 billion on in-flight entertainment hardware last year, research firm IMDC says. It's projected to increase to more than $2 billion by 2012. The result: monitors in individual seatbacks, digital transmission for clearer picture, on-demand delivery that lets passengers pause and rewind, hundreds of movie and song titles, games beyond Hangman and Sudoku, seat-to-seat texting and even e-mail.

"In-flight entertainment functions are certainly climbing on the scale of reasons why people choose airlines," says Neil James, a marketing executive of Panasonic Avionics, an in-flight entertainment system developer.

Most travelers and analysts agree that foreign airlines have been more aggressive about adopting the latest and fanciest features.

"Basically, there is no U.S. airliner that provides entertainment equipment in economy class comparable with foreign airliners," says Herkea Jea, an executive in Fremont, Calif., who frequently travels internationally and ranks Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Virgin Atlantic as among the best.

Other carriers consistently cited by travelers and experts for having advanced systems include Korean Air, Etihad Airways, Air Canada, British Airways and Australia's Qantas.

Lori Krans, spokeswoman for Thales, an in-flight entertainment developer, says it'll be "three to five" more years before U.S. carriers — saddled by stiff competition and belt-tightening — can effectively match what's available in the coach seats of their top foreign competitors.