Airline’s controversial new feature lets passengers ‘blast the audio’ from their plane TV out loud
All recommendations within this article are informed by expert editorial opinion. If you click on a link in this story we may earn affiliate revenue.
PASSENGERS who watch films and listen to music without headphones on planes are often considered to be some of the rudest people on board.
However, Japan Airlines (JAL) has introduced special seats that give everyone the option to play their audio out loud into the cabin.
The controversial new seats have been created by French company Devialet, with speakers built into the headrest of each passenger's seat.
This allows passengers to choose to listen to the plane's entertainment system, without having to use headphones.
Aeroplane interiors company Safran, who teamed up with Devialet to create the seats, insist that the audio will only be heard by the person using it - and will not disturb other people on the flight.
After revealing the seat in 2022, they said their "patented acoustic technologies and acoustic tuning expertise" would offer "an optimum listening experience without affecting other passengers on board".
Read More on Plane Features
JAL is the first airline to have the seats on board its Airbus A350s, with people now getting the chance to try them out in first and business class.
One such person was Ben Schlappig, who explained that passengers can still use headphones if they wish, with each seat coming with bluetooth and an input for the plane's phones.
However, it was the headrest speakers he was most excited about.
He wrote: "You can literally blast the audio for your preferred movie, TV show, or song, directly through your headrest."
Most read in News Travel
With everyone on board able to do this at the same time, it may be difficult to imagine the cabin being quiet or peaceful enough for anyone hoping to sleep instead of watching films.
Considering the fact that the audio has to be loud enough to be heard over the plane's engines makes it even more of a noisy prospect.
However, Ben said that he was able to hear his own films pretty clearly while watching with the headrest speakers, but felt the quality of the audio wasn't as good as it could've been.
He continued: "At maximum volume I’d say the audio is loud enough to hear everything that you’re watching, though the sound may not be very “rich,” and those without great hearing may struggle."
Aside from hearing his own films, Ben claimed he could also hear what other people were listening to as well - albeit very faintly.
He added: "You can definitely hear other peoples’ audio from a distance, though it’s at a very low volume; it’s sort of like hearing two people talking very quietly in the distance, where you feel like you might be hearing a whisper, but you can’t fully make it out."
The idea of people disrupting others with their own choice of entertainment is one that people find unacceptable, with Sun Online Travel's resident flight attendant calling them "the worst passengers".
They wrote: "It's becoming more and more of a problem in our plane cabins, some people just don't care about others.
"Not everyone on the plane will be going on a holiday - some people could be heading to funerals, or for other more sombre reasons, or they might be scared of flying.
"They really don't want to listen to Freed From Desire eight times in a row. It's fine if you want to, as long as you keep it to yourself and use headphones."
That said, other people can see the benefits in the new speaker system, saying it could actually help people sleep better during flights.
One person commented: "I think it is useful if you want to listen to music while going to sleep. Headphones, bluetooth or otherwise, are a pain when sleeping. Kudos to JAL for trying something."
For passengers who want to spare others from having to listen to their films and music during flights, there are some handy devices available.
One of which is a bluetooth transmitter and receiver that allows passengers to play the music from the plane's entertainment system via their own bluetooth headphones.
Even flight attendants love the transmitters, with one writing on Reddit: "I just started carrying a Bluetooth headphone jack transmitter.
"I can use my Bluetooth headphones on any in-flight entertainment with it, which I love."
Meanwhile, Sun Online Travel's tech correspondent Jona Jaupi reviewed some noise cancelling headphones and declared the 1More Sonoflow Wireless phones the pick of the bunch for value.
With 70 hours of battery, quick charging and good levels of noise cancelling, for £46.74, the impressed a lot.
Elsewhere, another pair of headphones impressed our travel journalists, with the bluetooth sleep mask comfortable and effective at blocking out both light and sound.
The mask is available for as little as , and also makes it much more comfortable to sleep during flights while listening to audio.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Meanwhile, these are the golden rules for avoiding arguments during flights.
And this etiquette expert revealed when you should never recline your seat.
