Catch a Movie Together with JetBlue’s New ‘Watch Party’ Feature

We've all been there: Sitting with a spouse or travel pal on the plane, trying to hit play on a movie or show at  exactly the right time to watch together. “Nope, not quite. Try again. One, two, three, now!”
JetBlue has a solution. 
The New York-based airline is launching a brand-new “Watch Party” feature, allowing up to six flyers to simultaneously watch the same content no matter where they're sitting – and control it all at once. This first-of-its-kind feature is rolling out to many JetBlue planes as we speak. 
 
Photo courtesy of JetBlue
 
That's undeniably the coolest part of the airline's big push to personalize in-flight entertainment unveiled Wednesday. Dubbed “Blueprint by JetBlue,” the airline will also allow flyers to resume watching a movie or show right where they stopped on the last flight, save favorites to catch on a future flight, offer personalized content recommendations, and expand seatback meal ordering to more planes.
You won't find these features on every JetBlue plane. It's being rolled out to many (but not all) of JetBlue's Airbus A320s and Airbus A321s – including the jets making transatlantic hops to London-Heathrow (LHR), Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG), and elsewhere in Europe – as well as its growing fleet of Airbus A220s.
In the end, it'll be available on just over half of the airline's 286 planes. JetBlue says it should be available on all 161 of those Airbus planes sometime in May.
Airlines are leaning hard into personalizing the in-flight experience, none more so than JetBlue. The airline has set itself apart by greeting passengers by name on screen – even adding an explosion of confetti and a complimentary drink (if you're over 21) when flying on your birthday. 
 

 
Whether you want to start a Watch Party or pick up where you left off on a previous flight, you'll need to log into your seatback entertainment with your last name and date of birth for confirmation. From there, you'll see the option to start a Watch Party when selecting a film or TV show. 
You can invite up to five other passengers to watch a flick with you based on their seat number – each of whom has to accept the invite. Party hosts control starting, pausing, rewinding, and fast-forwarding the video for each member. 
 
Screenshot courtesy of JetBlue
 
Wisely, JetBlue will only allow travelers to invite flyers under 18 to a watch party if they're ticketed on the same reservation. Travelers flying solo (or just need some alone time) can simply disable the Watch Party function in their seatback settings. 
“JetBlue has always been an innovator as the first to have seatback screens and fast, free, and unlimited Wi-Fi on every aircraft,” Jayne O’Brien, JetBlue's head of marketing and customer support, said in a statement. “By launching Blueprint by JetBlue, we are doubling down on our commitment to help customers create an inflight experience tailored to their needs and preferences, making their flight as comfortable as their own living rooms.”
 
Lead photo courtesy of JetBlue