Delta to feature video-on-demand of HBO shows

After the major hit JetBlue took this week when a snowstorm caused them to cancel flights for almost a week, this news can't bode well for them: the other airlines are catching up to them in the department of in-flight entertainment.

Delta Air Lines and HBO have struck a deal to provide the pay network's programming on the airline's longer flights. The programming, which includes movies as well as episodes of HBO series like The Sopranos and Deadwood, will be an on-demand feature that will become available on flights of over four hours. Of course, the plane will need to be equipped with Delta's new in-flight entertainment system before being able to offer the programming to passengers.

This service won't come without a price: first- and business-class customers will get charged an overall service fee, and cattle-car customers (er... coach customers) will get charged $5 per movie or $2 per show episode. Since I always travel coach, this doesn't exactly seem like an inviting option to me; by the time an overseas flight is over, for instance, I could be out $20 just by watching the HBO channel alone. Sigh. Guess I'll just have to keep bringing a book and a big bottle of Ambien when I fly.

[via Netscape]