How Do I Use My Own Headphones on a Plane?

The best and easiest way to use your own wireless headphones on a plane is with a Bluetooth airplane adapter, such as the Avantree Relay. These airplane adapters allow you to easily connect your headphones to the plane’s entertainment system and can offer additional helpful features to further ease the experience. Let’s do a quick deep dive into the world of airplane adapters to get a more comprehensive understanding of their usages.

What is an airplane adapter for headphones?

An airplane adapter is a device designed to transmit audio from airplane entertainment consoles to your personal pair of headphones. Airplane adapters for wired headphones are typically just double 3.5mm to AUX adapters that allow you to plug your headphones into the airplane jack, while airplane adapters for wireless headphones utilize Bluetooth to wirelessly broadcast audio to your headphones.

Can I use AirPods on the plane with one?

Yes, with a Bluetooth airplane adapter you’ll be able to connect any Bluetooth enabled headphones, earbuds, or even speakers (though we don’t recommend the last…) and receive audio from the plane’s entertainment system. This includes AirPods, Bose QuietComfort, Sony WH-1000XM4, and many more. Basically, if they can connect to your phone, they can connect to an airplane adapter.

What features do airplane adapters offer?

While wired airplane adapters don’t typically have any additional features, wireless adapters tend to have a couple beneficial features to enhance the playback experience. 

Take the Avantree Relay, for example. In addition to simply transmitting audio, it has a dual link feature that allows you to connect and listen to an additional listening device simultaneously, built-in controls to adjust the volume, an impressive battery life of up to 20 hours, and aptX compatibility for high-quality audio with minimal audio delays.

This plethora of features additionally makes the Relay more versatile, lending to outside-the-airplane opportunities. Trying to watch a show with a friend on your iPad but need to wear headphones? Just plug the Relay in and connect both pairs! Want to connect your wireless headphones to the gym treadmill? Use the Relay and listen with no lip-sync delays. The versatility of airplane adapters like this make them a more reasonable product to add to the shopping list.

Conclusion

In short, if you ever want to use your own pair of headphones with an airplane’s in-flight entertainment system, the best way to do so is with an airplane adapter. They allow you to stream audio as you please and can have additional features that make them more convenient, both on and off the plane. We hope this helps!