Yeah, I've been proactively offered that after scanning my boarding pass (noticeable because it makes a different-sounding beep when you're Pre-Check eligible), at both Burbank and another airport that I can't remember -- the secondary checkpoint at Pittsburgh, it might have been.
How well does that work? I would think to get any real benefit, you would have to be seated near the sunny side window, and tape the panel over the window...
Works fine, I almost always have a window seat and as long as there's daylight on the tray table it does what I need it to do. Got the charger last year off of Groupon for about $25 and it also has a built-in power bank.
I actually prefer noise canceling headphones. Even without music they serve well to shut the noise out almost completely, and with music they are even better
I prefer noise canceling headphones as well. If you have them is another story.I actually prefer noise canceling headphones. Even without music they serve well to shut the noise out almost completely, and with music they are even better
The engines don't bother me much, unless I'm right behind the trailing edge of a B772 or in the last few rows of an MD8X, but portable game systems and crying babies bother me plenty. Never found a set of noise canceling headphones that could block those types of sounds. After reading that the new A350 has a much quieter HVAC system I'm hesitant to choose one for a long haul trip. Seems like the loss of calm white noise might only sound good until it falls victim to the law of unintended consequences.
I personally don't care much about engines either, but I've heard people go on angry tangents about the "terrible noise" of the engines in something as quiet as an A321. Ambient noise usually makes up much more of the problem, but most train travelers are used to that. Either way, earplugs are good to have.
That is quite odd. In my experience (A300 A319 A320 A321 A332 A333 A388) Airbus aircraft are surprisingly quiet. If anything their engines seem to spook infrequent passengers into believing there might not be enough thrust to achieve and maintain positive lift.
Other than when I'm seated/standing near an emergency exit door on a widebody aircraft I rarely notice the sound of external air friction over the combined ambient noise of other sources.
I would also note that most planes will be using less thrust at cruising altitude than on takeoff.
Don't you know, they turn off the engines when cruising. They go into glider mode because so many people complained about the noise.
Yeah, Orange County (John Wayne) comes to mind
I didn't know they did that at all. Don't they have to keep throttle at climb thrust or above while climbing? I feel like the engines would have to be REALLY loud for that to be necessary. I could be wrong, it just surprises me.
Standard practice at places like Orange County and San Diego.
Why does that bother you? I live near an airport and even though I don't mind the sound of aircraft I can understand the benefit of noise abatement. By reducing thrust and routing aircraft over less affected commercial zones residential areas benefit from a quieter and more peaceful existence. This keeps neighbors happy and airports productive with fewer legal and political distractions. Most of the time the protocol does its job and I don't even think about it, but every once in a while during a major storm or other irregular event there can be a sudden increase in sound as the noise abatement protocol is suspended for safety reasons. The sudden increase in sound can startle and annoy people who are used to quieter living but rarely lasts more than an hour or two. All in all it seems like a small price to pay to keep most people happy.
It's less of an issue on the newest aircraft but try listening to an MD8X take off from behind or below the jet blast. It's super loud, even for my tired old ears, and it's impossible to ignore if you're anywhere near it.
An MD-88 or -83 taking off on full throttle is pretty much unbearable if you're in the rear. Even though it only lasts for maybe 20 or 30 seconds, it's quite unpleasant. When you compare it to the whisper of the engines on an E-Jet or A32X, it's night and day.
