Pax headphone a safety issue?

[robertbartsch]

During 3 recent trips on 3 differnt major carriers, headphones were worn by passengers during takoff and landings.

I thought this was a safety concern.

[Rainboe]

Not enough of a concern to lose any sleep over! Cabin crew want to be sure that people can hear all announcements. If people want to ignore the requirements and the cabin crew don't see them, then maybe they may live to regret it.

[renard]

Our on board safety announcement, before take off and before landing, contains the words "If you are wearing headsets, please remove them now"

[11277m]

I always took the view that wearing my noise cancelling headphones was an advantage in that I could hear directions/instructions more clearly.

Sometimes cabin crew ask that they are removed, sometimes they don't.

[Rainboe]

So were you plugged into PA announcements? Often the PA system through headphones is not switched on early enough. Were you listening to music through the headphones? The noise cancelling feature would be attenuating the muffled PA voice trying to get through the headphones to you! Far better just to do as you're told and start using the things after take-off. The cabin crew don't have time to go round shaking every individual shoulder or inspecting every handset to see if it is in flight mode or 'yes, I know it's only a GPS (or MP3 player), but would you turn the damn thing off anyway please! Before I get angry!'

[11277m]

Thanks for your comments Rainboe.

I use the headphones almost exclusively in noise-cancelling mode only, certainly when anywhere near the ground. They make it easier, not more difficult, to hear conversations and announcements and surely there is no electronic or interference issue with them?

Doing as I'm told does sometimes go against the grain, but only if there isn't a good reason to do as I'm told!!

Stern looks or requests are, of course, always complied with.

[rottenray]

As SLF, I don't really care if someone next to me is ignoring the announcements - but one thing which DOES get my goat is when someone near me keeps talking while they're going on.

On my last flight I sat next to a couple who were on vacation, and they would have prattled on had I not asked them to shut up.

I prolly wouldn't have done even that, except the guy was sitting next to the handle.

I find it very amusing that you can speak to an average college graduate these days, and unless the person's major was in some kind of "hard" engineering, you find lots of folks who haven't a clue as to how an airplane flies.

At one point in recent history, traveling by air was nearly magic; now it's so commonplace that many feel it's not even worth knowing the basic science behind it.

[Rainboe]

I use the headphones almost exclusively in noise-cancelling mode only, certainly when anywhere near the ground. They make it easier, not more difficult, to hear conversations and announcements and surely there is no electronic or interference issue with them?

I have an ANR headset I use for this purpose. They work by putting anti-noise in your ear to counter external noise. This includes voices. I find they attentuate voices coming over a PA as well, as they are designed to do!

However, using aheadset during take-off leads people to assume you are using an electronic device, probably for music. The cabin crew don't have time to come up and touch your shoulder, ask the question a second time, and get fobbed off with 'it's just a headset!'. There is no time for a discussion before take-off! All they want is everything off....do what you like after take-off! In the meantime, very often the pilots are champing at the bit on the runway with another aeroplane on finals and desperately waiting for the 'cabin secure' call from the cabin crew, which is not coming because they are trying to get your headset off your ears! Meanwhile, the incoming aeroplane has had to go around and use 800kgs of fuel, the tower is shouting at the pilot, and 23 spotters are going to enter a Go-around in Pprune with 23 sorts of different scenarios that didn't happen, implying the pilot and/or ATC screwed up in some way!

Just take the damn thing off until they say you can put it on!

[11277m]

That's interesting; my noise cancelling headphones make it easier to hear other pax voices, and announcements too. They either only cancel the continuous noise, or certainly seem to attenuate it more than voices.

Anyway, it's kind of you to take the time to reply again.

Thanks.

[nnc0]

Provided that the In Flight Entertainment can be interrupted on the ground to run the Safety video and hence ensure pasengers wearing headphones will hear the demo, or can be interrupted anytime when PA announcements re made, regulatory approval for allowing headsets to be worn during take-off and landing can be authourized.

Over the ear earpieces are usually joined by a headband forming a closed loop which could conceivably trip folks up in the event of an evacuation. Use of these type is not allowed during T/O or Ldg.

Earbud types headsets hang at the end of a cord and arent connected by a headband. You can use these anytime.

The only other safety issue I'm aware of re headphones is that seatback IFE systems are becoming mainstream and the standard for the earphone jacks on these new systems needs to be beefed up or made mopre robust. The new systems being installed have jacks that are shorting or failing quite regularly and people are receiving minor shock/burn type injuries.

[411A]

I wonder if it ever occured to anyone that perhaps some passengers simply don't want to listen to tin hat voices pronouncing so-called safety instructions...when in fact it may well be clearly apparent that the person giving said safety instructionjs is barely out of high school....or so old as to be ones grandmother.

[rottenray]

411 writes:

I wonder if it ever occured to anyone that perhaps some passengers simply don't want to listen to tin hat voices pronouncing so-called safety instructions...when in fact it may well be clearly apparent that the person giving said safety instructionjs is barely out of high school....or so old as to be ones grandmother.

As pax, yes, I'd rather not listen to the girls and boys (of whatever age) telling me things I already know about the seat I'm sitting in and what I can do to hope to live through some sort of mis-step.

Then again, I'm the sort of pax who will book ahead, look up the registration, know what livery its in, know when its last "C" was, and would prolly be able to pick it out of a lineup.

Part of the problem with air transport at the moment is that most customers are so f*cking detached that they don't even know what they're riding in.

That makes it impossible for one carrier to differentiate itself from another, and it also fosters the dreaded "lowest price is best" mentality.

Both are killing the industry.

Go back 35 years, and one had a choice. One might choose best service, best seat pitch or best price.

Now, one must choose only best price - no real guarantees on other parameters apply.

Sad, that.


As far as them being "tin hat" voices, well, if they are "tin hat" voices, at least they're supposedly on my side.

I think when one puts his life in the hands of others, one should at least listen to the advice they give. If one is too bored to do that, then one should keep his life in his own hands.


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