A Desert Bus for the streaming era? AMC’s Airplane Mode prepares for take-off

When we call up Hosni Auji, he’s just putting the finishing touches to a game that simulates a six-hour economy-class flight in real time. So we’re caught off guard when we ask how his debut got started, and he reveals he is - or was - an anxious flyer. “Generally, a week before I had to fly, I’d always read anything I could find online to calm myself down and reassure myself that flying is fine.” In that process, and from talking to people about their airborne experiences, he ended up with what he initially thought was “a useless bag of factoids,” albeit one that prompted a keen interest in civil aviation.

“We just kind of sit, sip wine, watch movies on the back of the seat, and pretend that we’re not in the plane”

FINAL DESTINATION

Since he’s based in New York, it’s obvious why Auji chose JFK as the starting point. But what made Reykjavik the ideal terminus? “I knew I wanted two things,” Auji begins. “I wanted it to be around six hours, and I wanted it to be transatlantic, because the transatlantic flight is core to the civil aviation experience. It seemed like the best choice because it’s also on my bucket list of places to visit. So I figured I might as well visit it virtually.” The Halifax alternative, he says, is simply for people who can’t fit a free six-hour slot into their schedule. But could you potentially take off, leave the game running and do something else? “Absolutely. Whatever you’ve got to do to get through to landing is fine with me.”