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Qantas brings HBO movies and TV to in-flight entertainment

Qantas is letting flyers catch up on "Game of Thrones" and "Veep" thanks to a deal that brings four Foxtel channels to its in-flight entertainment line-up, including a dedicated HBO channel.

Claire Reilly headshot
Claire Reilly
2 min read
Qantas will bring HBO content, including "Game of Thrones" to flights this month. HBO

Qantas has added a big drawcard to its in-flight entertainment line-up, announcing it will now offer a dedicated HBO channel to bring series such as "Game of Thrones" and "True Detective" to travellers.

The airline launches the new channel this month, complete with 120 hours of on-demand HBO TV shows and movies, as part of a new content deal with Foxtel. Alongside the HBO channel, the pay TV provider will also provide Qantas with a further three channels -- Entertainment by Foxtel, National Geographic and Lifestyle by Foxtel -- which will each be updated monthly with new content.

Qantas says it will have 20 hours of new HBO content each month, contributing to a total of 160 hours of new Foxtel content every month.

The Qantas-Foxtel deal comes off the back of a busy few months for the Australian airline, after it conducted a major overhaul of its in-flight entertainment system. The new-look Q Entertainment features a new interface with a passenger star rating system for shows, "intuitive recommendations," a playlist feature for queuing shows and the ability to binge-watch TV shows.

Qantas also upgraded its seat-back screen hardware and brought its entertainment to BYO devices.

Qantas Head of Digital and Entertainment, Jo Boundy, said the overhaul had pushed customer satisfaction to "record levels" in recent months, and the new channels were the next step.

"A lot of our customers look forward to making the most of the opportunity for some uninterrupted viewing time on board, and for many it's a chance to catch up with their favourite shows," she said. "That's why we invest heavily in making sure we have fresh content and a wide range of programs to cater for different tastes."

The following programs are just some of those that Qantas says are "coming soon" to its in-flight offering:

  • "Game of Thrones"
  • "True Detective"
  • "Veep"
  • "Silicon Valley"
  • "Girls"
  • "The Jinx"
  • "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver"
  • "Australia's Next Top Model"
  • "Real Housewives of Melbourne"
  • "Animals Gone Wild"
  • "Grand Designs Australia"