Air Canada, Virgin America ranked among best airlines / travel

Air Canada, Virgin America and Lufthansa are among the world's best airlines for in-flight entertainment, according to a list compiled by the Smarter Travel website.

Air Canada deserves credit for an "impressive selection" of free entertainment choices on its touch-screen seatback systems and for doubling the number of available movies earlier this year, says the website, which provides travel news and advice.

Virgin America's entertainment system includes a music library with about 3,000 offerings as well as "surprisingly unique capabilities" such as onboard seat-to-seat messaging and a food-and-drink ordering system.

And Lufthansa's programming for younger passengers "really stands out," with child- and teen-friendly CDs and audiobooks, and a special radio channel.

Other airlines lauded include Emirates, with an "exhaustive collection" of movies and music; Singapore Airlines, with interactive language lessons in 23 languages on select aircraft; and Southwest, which has been "thinking beyond the small screen" by having musicians perform live on some flights.

Alaska Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Norwegian and JetBlue were also included on the list.