Do airlines still have to provide IFE headphones to every passenger these days?

As an avgeek, I would like to say that my favorite form of in-flight entertainment on airplanes with personal IFE screens is the moving map. As interesting as these certainly are, movies are my preferred means of passing the time on longer flights that require some sort of audio output, unlike the moving map.

To make this possible, airlines have been providing their passengers with headphones since the technology first began appearing on commercial aircraft. Back then, few passengers owned their own set, and while the free headphones are generally pretty poor in terms of sound quality, they’re still better than nothing.

But today, many passengers travel with their own earbuds or headphones, so the airline-provided headphones usually go unused. In addition, audio technology has advanced over the years, and the difference in sound quality between one’s own headphones and the airlines’ tinny alternative is even more noticeable and distracting, as the difference in sound quality between one’s own headphones and the airlines’ tinny alternative is even more noticeable and distracting.

Therefore, I think it would be a better idea for airlines to stock higher quality headphones in limited quantities so that they can be used by those who really need them, while the rest of the passengers enjoy the in-flight entertainment on their own devices. What do you think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!