The reality of the slowing economy is starting to sink in.

Hollywood is generally immune from economic downturns. The theory has always been that in economic slow times, people will replace their expensive vacation plans with lower cost entertainment such as television, movie rentals and going out to the movies.

However, Hollywood isn't completely immune.

Studio executives are saying abandoning the in-flight movie won't be a trend... I don't buy it...

The Hollywood studios will take a revenue hit when US Airways does away with in-flight movies, but executives don't expect other airlines to follow suit.

Nontheatrical distribution contributes $25 million or more per studio in annual revenue and more than $300 million among all media companies, with film and TV sales to airlines accounting for about 80% of that total. Other sources of nontheatrical sales include the hospitality and institutional markets.

US Airways said Tuesday it would stop offering in-flight movies on domestic flights this fall to cut expenses, citing pressure from rising fuel costs. Although airlines are often prone to copycat moves on pricing and customer services, Hollywood execs in regular contact with airline officials said Wednesday they don't believe other carriers will follow US Airways' lead this time.

I'm not convinced that US Airways will be the only carrier to cut out in-flight movies. As the Reuters piece admits, airlines are often prone to copycat moves on pricing and customer services. In this day and age where personal media players are becoming the norm rather than the exception, the in-flight movie is an expendable luxury.

Additionally, there is a better way to turn film into profit than offering only one film for everybody on the plane. Midwest Airlines has been renting personal media players pre-loaded with select movies and TV shows. This give each individual passenger the opportunity for to watch what they want instead of attempting to push one film on everybody.

Last year I took a holiday to Las Vegas. On the way out there the in-flight movie was Dreamgirls. I happily declined the headphones. Dreading the long flight back and after doing well on the craps table, I bought a iPod. On the way back I didn't have to worry about which film the airline choose to show.

Since then, I realized it was only a matter of time before airlines got rid of the in-flight movie.

Expect this trend to continue.

Read the submitted article...