US vs. EU aka. Boeing vs. Airbus

Although the Airbus family and maybe the A380 in particular are quiet, they are only relatively quiet. Also, at different points in the cabin there is great variability in noise levels. You have to consider the type of noise too. Airborne noise is droning, accompanied by constant hissing sounds of air jets. In some positions you get annomolous and horrible mechanical noise directly transmitted. It doesn't need to register high in decibel terms to be fatiguing or to excite my tinnitus levels.

I do suffer badly from tinnitus and I find that it reacts badly with cabin noise. I find a worthwhile improvement sitting well forward. Unfortunately, on a long haul flight this is often difficult as economy class tends to stop at or not much further forward from the engines.

I have antinoise Sennheisers myself. They do make a huge difference in fatigue levels and an equally big difference to the intelligability of in-flight movie sound. There are drawbacks. Yes, as has been said, they can feel somewhat claustrophobic - I can't explain that. They are a pest to wear and in some kind of trips, e.g. an adventure trip, can be a real pest to carry during your holiday. If there was a cabin based sytem maybe I could get relief from the problem while at the same time feeling more natural and having more convenience.

I was aware that some airlines give them out in 1st class but don't Singapore Airlines have a cabin installed system?? I was thinking, for all the cost and weight, this could be done throughout the aircraft and make a major difference to the comfort of all the passengers. Indeed, it is further back that it is most critical.

I would value this facility far more than a lot of the little gimmicks airlines indulge in. Can anyone say if the installation of such a system, planned in from the start, could be feasible ?

 

American Airlines give out Bose noise cancelling headphones in first and business class and I believe those in economy can "rent" them for $5. I find that my Sony MDR-EX71 "in the ear" phones reduce noise a lot more and they're a great deal more comfortable, esp. for sleeping with. Etymotic in-the-ear phones have considerably better external noise isolation than my Sony's so you may want to investigate them. They're very small and easy to carry around but they are expensive. They are considered amongst the best headphones there are in sound quality terms also.

Michael.

 

I wouldn't say that it was pressure, but silence was eerie. I'm used to talking on the Radios and hearing lots of background noise as it feeds back through to the headphones. With the noise cancellation turned on this background noise disappeared almost completely. Which then means when you should be concentrating on the job in hand, you keep asking your Oppo if he can hear you as you think the radio's and intercomm have gone bad, at least with the background noise you know everything is working.


Personally I've always found that a few sherberts in the bar before take off and a good kip on the plane are the best solution to combat the noise on a plane. Most of the long haul flights I've done have been night flights and so getting some kip has been easier. A pity they can't put babies and small children in the cargo hold though, that would decrease the cabin noise levels. ( ).

 

Your prejudice towards government spending. Quite bizarre when it comes to subsidising unnecessary commercial aircraft, especially given their effect on the environment.

Paul

 

Thank you Michaelab, for that headphone suggestion. Good. Very practical solution.

Sid&Coke, yes! You are so right ! Babies and small children to a section on their own, preferably airtight from the rest of the cabin. Or, even better, in a pod towed behind. I think parents are so irresponsible taking them with them. They should just have no holidays and sit at home doing nothing.

Its good to see at least one airline thinks to make them available to all cabin classes. I wouldn't mind paying to rent them. What I will never pay for is 1st or Business Class. The money involved is just STUPID. To think its over and spent in a few hours anyway. You could have yourself a very respectable amplifier or CD player for the price of upgrading to Business. So stupid.
Worst of all, I've asked and asked them but no airline will supply me with a basket.

 

Your humour is very subtle, lightly brushing the sarcastic and can be taken from any angle, excellent. LOL

 

Actually, I MEANT it. They should stay at home and not spoil MY holidays. If there are less of them flying then there are less of them at the destination, as a bonus. So, parents with wailing sprogs, Stay at home ! Or, come on holiday by all means, but just leave them behind in the cupboard.

 

No it isn't. It something called the collective ego of the technocrats. Quite different.
Europe and the US are perfectly happy to go toe-to-toe on things like this, and the US knows full-well that those cheese-eating euro surrender monkeys would retaliate in an instant if the US were to pull the plug on their latest toy.
It's a big game, one over which we have no control, so don't worry about it.

 

With big noses and onions round their necks.

 

...............who don't wash enough, who make unreliable cars, who are corrupt from top to bottom, who blow up trawlers in harbours, who wear poncy white gloves on parades, who lost the Olympics, who ..........

The highest culture in France is Disneyland

The finest cuisine in Paris is at MacDonalds

It is the duty of an Englishman to rubbish the french.

 

And before someone points out that they are largely responsible for the Airbus we are talking about, well I bet you they stole the designs from us, or something. Or when they make their bits it will be rubbish. There.