Need a darkened cabin on your flight? Buy a pair of eyeshades. Many carriers even give them out. Otherwise, please understand that there people out there (like me) who like to watch the world pass and would prefer to stare in awe at the majesty of Greenland, the vastness of the Pacific or the voluptuousness of the Andes instead of watching a 10-year-old movie on a flickering IFE unit with bad sound that gets interrupted with every cabin announcement.

For me, seeing some parts of the world by air is the only chance I'll ever have to lay eyes on it. I bring an iPod and put on some classical music with my noise-cancelling headphones and zone out in peace.

Places like northern Canada, Greenland, the middle of Russia and so on. Who wouldn't want to take that opportunity? Can watch a movie any night of the week.