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redditlurker67 t1_j6i3nk3 wrote

Because that is what they installed when the plane was built. Newer built planes use single 3.5mm jacks.

1,052

OldManChino t1_j6jb9u2 wrote

I always assumed it was so they could sell you the headphones, seeing as they used to sell the headphones

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lostan t1_j6jfjkj wrote

they just gave them to you but wanted them back after the fights (which is kinda gross now). always assumed it was to prevent theft.

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Badbullet t1_j6k8o81 wrote

They sold them on some flights I was on. Some flights I got them for free. Never experienced having to give them back, though I don't doubt it.

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NoLiveTv2 t1_j6kcuc2 wrote

You younguns and your highfalootin' e lect tronics.

Back in my day, you had your headphones that used air tubes to transport the sound from the armrest to your ears, and you had to return the headphones at the end of the flight.

And you sat smoking your cigarette while watching whatever was on the tiny screen at the front of the cabin and listening to awful sound and you were thankful for the miracle that was modern flight.

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roy-dam-mercer t1_j6kf98b wrote

Lort have mercy, those tube headsets were awful.

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Uphene t1_j6kiulf wrote

Yeah they were.

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TheLizzardMan t1_j6kx4ky wrote

Only had an experience with them in an MRI machine (No metal, they let you use them to take your mind off of the MRI, especially during full body scans, which take forever), I can only imagine how much ass they must suck to use in-flight. haha

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3Gilligans t1_j6kk8yf wrote

And every time you jostled the tube or bumped it, it would cause a small explosion in your ear

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VarmintWrangler t1_j6kvrps wrote

Good lord I had completely forgotten those existed. I remember them being particularly awful on the flights I took when I was young. My friend, thank you so much for transporting me back to my youth for a moment, even if it was over some really awful technology.

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TwentyninthDigitOfPi t1_j6l0dl6 wrote

But if you didn't get them for whatever reason, you could put your ears to the holes in the armrest to hear! Made it hard to see the screen, but if you alternated, you could get most of the gist of the show.

For some reason, what really stands out in my mind is the clicky scroll wheel to change the channels.

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JerricaBentonLife t1_j6l7guf wrote

Yes. And the armrests with grimey cigarette ashes. Least you got the head set with the air tubes that were never comfortably flexible enough and literally went INTO your ears. Just for the next person to use. 🤮

There was a time when they also handed out a little toiletry bag and socks you could keep. That was nice though. I felt super fancy.

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DimitriV t1_j6lnvl7 wrote

I remember a flight where those headphones were free, but the adapter to connect them to the armrest was $4.

3

Boing78 t1_j6lx4p0 wrote

I remember them from our local hospital here in Germany. When I was a kid in the mid 80's I was in this hospital for a minor surgery for a week. The side tables next to the bed were such "rolling cabinets" with built in radios but without speakers, and no TVs back then. The only choice to listen to the radio was such a " tubed one ear headphone". Very uncomfortable to wear and you barely could understand anything. I was so bored and sad, my family gifted me my first walkman.

2

NotAPreppie t1_j6mdzj4 wrote

I remember this, as well.

And now we're in /r/FuckImOld territory.

2

Teauxny t1_j6llbtj wrote

Is it true they gave you the little alcohol bottles for free back then?

1

Chemengineer_DB t1_j6l0s7a wrote

They're probably talking about the Bose noise cancelling ones they lend you.

0

Badbullet t1_j6l4qij wrote

That sounds like a first class thing.

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Chemengineer_DB t1_j6la39i wrote

Probably. They give them to you in Business too, but I've never seen them on domestic US flights, only international.

1

zoinkability t1_j6kf5n2 wrote

They should probably just sell or give away adapters, seems like they should be cheaper in bulk even than headphones. And people could use their own headphones.

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OldManChino t1_j6kh460 wrote

Tbf I'm talking about 20 years ago, so I have no idea what they do nowadays (I only fly easyJet within Europe), regardless I'd just use my phone and BT headphones whether it was a short haul Europe flight or a long haul anywhere else flight

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x31b t1_j6l6u0j wrote

My Sennheiser headset came with a dual pin adapter to 3.5mm.

1

lokicramer t1_j6ln1nt wrote

I've never had to pay for them, they ha e always been free. But I usually only fly internationally.

1

stephenph t1_j6i5w07 wrote

And the electronics certification for Aircraft is slow and expensive. I think the dual jack was designed and approved before cell phones and media players were common (let alone allowed to be used)

Also, I would bet there was a level of "tech lock-in" ensuring the only source for the headsets were one or two companies.

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aspheric_cow t1_j6imjzt wrote

3.5mm earphone jacks have been standard for ages though - the original Sony Walkman (released in 1979) already had it. My understanding is that the airline industry deliberately chose a different connector so people won't steal the headphones. Then later, they switched to 3.5mm when headphones became dirt cheap and not worth stealing.

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Tinmania t1_j6jg4e9 wrote

The 3.5 mm earphone jack is far older than 1979. It was popularized by transistor radios in the 1950s. But it was mono not stereo. When they designed stereo airplane audio there wasn’t a 3.5 mm stereo standard yet. So they simply used two mono 3.5 mm earphone jacks for stereo headsets. Not much different than what they did with the air driven airplane headsets.

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stephenph t1_j6isy7p wrote

Yes the 3.5 jack has been a standard in personal electronics for years, and you are probably right about they reasons they designed the dual plug thing initially. but I think it was also, at least partially, what was submitted to the FAA and once it was approved it became the approved standard. Unlikely to change until they revisited entertainment systems. If there is no compelling (safety) reason they just don't redesign systems on passenger aircraft.

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fede142857 t1_j6krytl wrote

> If there is no compelling (safety) reason they just don't redesign systems on passenger aircraft.

True

I remember reading somewhere that the flight computers need to receive new navigation data every 4 weeks and the updates are still issued as floppy disks because it's not worth the cost of redesigning the system and getting it certified

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ark_mod t1_j6j0909 wrote

So your saying they haven't revisited entertainment systems since the 70s or 80s? Onboard wifi and on demand movies would disagree with you...

0

Frogblaster77 t1_j6jc4uo wrote

Not on already certified and installed seats they're not. If it's a retrofit program with new seats being installed, then yeah the audio jacks would likely get upgraded to the latest design. But if it's already flying the only thing those seats are getting is a half-hearted wipe with a dirty rag.

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lostan t1_j6jffhs wrote

> deliberately chose a different connector so people won't steal the headphones.

this was alwaysmy guess.

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pbjking t1_j6jpnuy wrote

3.5 has been around so long cell phones don't have them anymore

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dryphtyr t1_j6jy4rj wrote

3.5mm was already pretty old when cell phones were the size of a suitcase

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devil_d0c t1_j6j291r wrote

Same reason there are still ashtrays in the bulkheads. A new type design without the ashtray is too expensive.

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LordGeni t1_j6j97u3 wrote

Iirc, They're still there by design. Just because people shouldn't smoke doesn't mean someone won't. So it's important there is a safe and obvious place for them to put it out.

I believe there was a plane delayed fairly recently because it was missing an ashtray and it was deemed a safety risk.

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tsme-esr t1_j6lp1di wrote

That's what the lavatory ashtrays are for

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deformi t1_j6ix7gl wrote

I guess it is worth mentioning that the typical lifespan of an aircraft is around 25 years. Planes are so expensive that they need to be built to last and they need to be operating to make money.

It is rare that a company would stop flying the plane just to update de phone jacks.

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PixieBaronicsi t1_j6j4ox4 wrote

Additionally a model of aircraft will probably be in production for 20 years, so for each model there will be 40 years or so from the first one rolling off the assembly line to the last one being scrapped

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ISeeEverythingYouDo t1_j6jzbsp wrote

Funny. I’m surprised the older one doesn’t have 1/4” jacks and a personal 8track player for your comfort.

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New_Acanthaceae709 t1_j6kwntd wrote

Every six to ten years, aircraft go in for a "D check", where they disassemble the whole thing, replace anything corroded or worn out, and put it all back together again.

The lighter weight "C check" is more often, but is 4000+ hours of time to do.

If you're doing the once-a-decade style service, it feels time to replace the plugs from 25+ years back. ;-)

4

Adventurer_By_Trade t1_j6ksuux wrote

Fair, but the 3.5mm headphone jack is over 70 years old and was made incredibly popular by the portable WalkMan cassette player released 40 years ago. Airlines installing unpopular or proprietary plugs in 25 year old aircraft still seems absurd.

1

alohadave t1_j6ktdq7 wrote

What are you going to do, not take the flight?

0

sbradford26 t1_j6ir257 wrote

There are also newer planes that have the dual jacks but both are standard 3.5 mm stereo jacks, but they are backwards compatible with dual jack headphones.

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omnigeno t1_j6l3h1l wrote

Wait, so you can plug a 3.5mm headset into either port, and you'll get your normal stereo sound from it?

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sbradford26 t1_j6l3ktd wrote

Yup, I think it also has the perk of allowing two people to watch the same show/movie.

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zvii t1_j6lkkud wrote

More likely you're only picking up left or right audio from one plug or the other

1

ThatDistantStar t1_j6jb49l wrote

The 3.5mm jack has been around since the 1960s and dual jacks were never thing with home audio afaik. Seems more like a scam invented by airlines to sell compatible earphones.

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Lonsdale1086 t1_j6k8yee wrote

> The 3.5mm jack has been around since the 1960s

In stereo?

1

Goodperson5656 t1_j6jkk5d wrote

I thought they had the 2/3 jack option so people wouldnt steal the headsets?

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Incompatibert t1_j6kr25i wrote

Airliners rarely if ever keep the same interior product for the entire 20-30 year lifespan of a plane. Maybe 10-12 years tops until the interior is ripped out and replaced.

And I've flown on many Air Canada flights with IFE circa 2006 that have a single audio jack in the armrest.

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CactusBoyScout t1_j6j6pwk wrote

And now some are rolling out Bluetooth. I haven’t brought headphones that used anything other than Bluetooth on a flight in a few years.

2

pseudopad t1_j6hxfsu wrote

I've been on almost 20 flights the last 5 years and they have all had the standard single 3.5mm jack that's compatible with most headphones.

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constantino675 t1_j6ie5hs wrote

10+ years for me... I can't recall the last plane with the proprietary audio port. You only got a choice of a handful of radio selections too.

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tsme-esr t1_j6lpftc wrote

Not radio but an audio tape program that simulates radio. The same songs were played on repeat for each channel. Some airlines, listed the specific songs in each program in the flight magazine

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AssesAssesEverywhere t1_j6jiu7t wrote

Last time I was on an airplane they had the pneumatic headphones. Just 2 holes that you plugged hollow rubber tubes into with headphones on the end. It sounded just as shitty as it sounds. This would have been around 1990/91.

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pseudopad t1_j6jj2vw wrote

That's pretty cool actually. Would love to actually try them, even if the quality was awful.

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[deleted] t1_j6jpwkq wrote

[deleted]

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flunky_the_majestic t1_j6jwmov wrote

>a channel you could tune to to listen in to the cockpit and pilots communicating with the tower.

I had a flight around 2012 with this feature. I liked it a lot.

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scuac t1_j6l0w6e wrote

“What’s your vector Victor?”

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AssesAssesEverywhere t1_j6jscuj wrote

You could probably get a stethoscope and pull the end off, then just place the tube on your phone speaker to get the same effect. It was very hollow sounding. I did enjoy a handful of movies with them on the flights, so they worked enough.

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aguyjustaguy t1_j6l5mj7 wrote

I remember you could put your head next to the port and hear the very low audio coming out of the arm. The tubes just amplified it to your ear.

2

squigs t1_j6jvc2k wrote

They did the job though, and you're never going to get a great audio experience on a plane.

1

epic1107 t1_j6ikpy3 wrote

I've been on close to 40 flights in the last 5 years, and I can't remember a single one with standard 3.5mm. All had the two pin connectors.

I was flying mostly in the SEA and Middle Eastern regions, so maybe that's the reason?

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dozure t1_j6imzq0 wrote

I fly a little more than you, mostly US domestic, mostly Delta. Had no idea what this post was about, only ever seen 3.5mm jacks. So yeah, maybe its a regional thing.

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fatbunyip t1_j6ir5b4 wrote

I've flown fairly new 777s, A380s and smaller airbuses (a320 maybe?) And they all had double jack thingies.

They were full service international flights though so maybe that's why?

Domestic shorthaul budget flights have been single jack though.

Wasn't in US either, so maybe it's region/airline dependent

6

zydeco100 t1_j6jd2se wrote

My theory is that they can hand out the nice headphones in business/first and they won't be stolen as much. There's nothing else to plug them into.

Economy class gets the cheap thin earbuds on a single jack and they don't bother to gather them back now. They're disposable.

3

HuskyLemons t1_j6kb36h wrote

I’ve been on close to 500 flights in the last 5 years and I’ve never seen anything other than the single 3.5mm jack. My headphones came with the adapter for two pin and I never had to use it

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Likes_The_Scotch t1_j6ix7lt wrote

If you fly in premium classes, they offer better headphones, those have the two-pin jack. I stole one once, I thought I could covert it to a single-pin set up, I couldn't.

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KeythKatz t1_j6lczdk wrote

Some are even 3-pin, where I believe the third pin is for power delivery for active noise cancellation. Then there's a level on top of that with metallic contacts between the pins, no idea what those are used for.

1

kytheon t1_j6jdspo wrote

If you always fly the same routes or company, you’re gonna see the same equipment. Try flying to another continent with another airline.

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pseudopad t1_j6jhan9 wrote

Delta, Lufthansa, KLM, SAS, United are the ones I've typically used. I've been to three different continents. Guess I just got lucky?

Oh yeah, Air France on my most recent trip to the US. Single 3.5 there too.

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kytheon t1_j6jhysi wrote

Perhaps. I had the double one on at least two intercontinental flights. Maybe more often and didn’t even notice. So yeah, they’re still around.

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pseudopad t1_j6jifn3 wrote

To be honest, I don't even bother using the entertainment system if the ride is less than 3 hours, so I wouldn't remember what was on the shorter flights connecting to the actual transatlantic ones.

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himalayan_earthporn t1_j6jbdq9 wrote

Emirates A380 , dubai Munich route, still has these 2 pin ones.

2

vadapaav t1_j6jclo8 wrote

Emirates and Etihad both use those kinds

On 777 as well I think

It was weird, when I realized my Sony xm3 ran out of battery and Sony provides those 2 pin adapters in the pack. I always wondered why are they giving it till that moment last year and was so happy I had it lol

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Buttspirgh t1_j6k6g7s wrote

I was just on an Kenyan Airways flight 24 hours ago and their 787-8 had two-prong jacks

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el_redditero12 t1_j6k248a wrote

Last time I had the double mono jacks was in 2016. The infotainment was very old, with a small and very low res screen. Didn’t take many long haul flights since then, but I took 4 in 2022 and all 4 planes had single stereo jacks with very good infotainment systems. I still bring the 2 jack adapter for my noise cancelling headphones though, just in case

1

Kleysley t1_j6hr9or wrote

So you dont steal the two-pin headphones. If they have two pins, you're not even going to think about stealing then because they dont work except for these planes.

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whomp1970 t1_j6i4l4e wrote

> So you dont steal the two-pin headphones

Not only that, but the last flight I took, they charged you a fee for using their headphones.

I just bought a cheap Amazon adapter.

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sheepyowl t1_j6k6868 wrote

Man, charging a fee to use shitty airplane headphones is entrapment...

1

blackbirdblackbird1 t1_j6ihyud wrote

Pro-tip: you can plug any regular old headphones into one port. You'll only get mono audio, but I doubt it is stereo to begin with.

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Kleysley t1_j6ijx8l wrote

Might work sometimes, though last time I did that I only got audio on one ear...

11

Yoink1019 t1_j6iltmd wrote

So, mono audio?

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KennstduIngo t1_j6in5ln wrote

Mono audio generally means having one channel of sound, whether you are using one speaker or ten to play that one channel.

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Iminlesbian t1_j6ish4i wrote

You can have Stereo audio just come through one ear. It doesn't mean the amount of headphones it comes out of, it's whether the sound is a mono channel or a Stereo channel.

−5

New_Equivalent_8846 t1_j6ix02r wrote

No, if you mix down a stereo signal to one channel it becomes mono audio. If you then send that channel to 2 headphones or speakers it's still a mono signal; ie you get the same signal in both ears.

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Spider-Ian t1_j6j2lnp wrote

I've never sat in a seat with a working audio jack. Apparently people who need more leg room are more likely to break the jack.

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sheepyowl t1_j6k6nvs wrote

People who are larger (either taller or fatter) require more room, and tend to weigh more (in both cases) -> so if they accidentally bump into the plugged headphone jack they are more likely to cause damage.

It sounds plausible on paper, but this is just Reddit-level-research, so maybe it's completely unrelated! maybe you're just unlucky on flights.

1

heyheyitsbrent t1_j6jtpwc wrote

My experience is that only sometimes works. Often the jack is so sloppy, the cable just falls out. Other times the sound is so garbled I can't even understand the dialog.

1

blackbirdblackbird1 t1_j6kc9o4 wrote

I would argue the jack is broken, so even their headphones wouldn't work, which is obviously a different issue.

1

lord_ne t1_j6kvtgu wrote

Eh. I used to fly a lot around 2010, and they had two-pin headphones, but you could fold one pin down and use them as regular headphones. The remaining pin had two rings on it, so r worked oroprlt

1

tomNJUSA t1_j6j7h0n wrote

They used to have "air tubes". You plugged in a two pin plug that was just a hollow tube. No electronics. This would connect to bigger tubes below the seat. The sound would be sent through the tube. They actually had a few different channels. The sound was OK but the best part was all of the second hand smoke. The 70's were fun.

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pedroah t1_j6l14ia wrote

Aka it works like your doc's stethoscope

The two pin electric earphone jack might be a carry over from this two hole air tube system. I've seen this air tube setup even in the early 2000s.

9

[deleted] t1_j6i6dg7 wrote

[removed]

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mbrady t1_j6ixuy5 wrote

And the headphones worked like stethoscopes. They were hollow tubes that channeled the sound from the jack (which was basically just a hole) and the sound came through into your ears.

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zulmirao t1_j6j571e wrote

Yeah, and you could mute the sound by squeezing the tubes.

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SelectTadpole t1_j6jdcfu wrote

Please send me an example this is so interesting but Google hasn't helped

8

gordone1 t1_j6jhfbk wrote

See https://www.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/comments/auavkd/remember_when_airline_headphones_were_just/

10

SelectTadpole t1_j6jhk88 wrote

Thank you!! How well did these work??

1

KeetoNet t1_j6jk4up wrote

Terribly.

Of note, these are still used in MRI machines. Presumably because of the whole 'no metal in the giant magnetic field' thing.

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SelectTadpole t1_j6jkk1f wrote

Oh shit. I've used them before, then! How fun. I don't remember it sounding too bad but I wasn't really thinking about it, either. Nor did I have much of an ear for music quality at the time.

On the other hand I do remember thinking "so this is how they invented dubstep" when 80's pop was playing at the same time as the very loud machine making crazy noises.

4

KeetoNet t1_j6jq40x wrote

Haha - yeah, my experience was similar. There was music, but I was in no position to assess the sound quality other than to think 'that sounds tinny' as they shoved my head into the loud clanking machine.

2

chriswaco t1_j6jmgof wrote

They were fine. Not high fidelity or anything, but fine. The noise of the engines was the biggest drawback and the earplugs weren't always comfortable.

2

AntarcticanJam t1_j6k79ry wrote

I remember when I first discovered that as a kid. I declined to buy their "headphones" for $5 and just stuck a couple of free straws together to reach from the holes to my ears.

3

stephenph t1_j6jabk8 wrote

I actually have a set of commercial headphones that have that technology.

2

mbrady t1_j6jxydv wrote

"technology" may be too strong of a word for those!

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faaizk t1_j6jjz2l wrote

that’s incredible! i find this kind of analog tech just so fascinating

2

BizzyM t1_j6jqa8x wrote

I thought this was what OP was talking about.

1

mbrady t1_j6jxrly wrote

No, they have electronic ones but are essentially a separate plug for left and right audio.

1

BizzyM t1_j6jyfsi wrote

Yeah, i have a similar setup for my dispatch console except they are dual 1/8" plugs. 1 for incoming, 1 for outgoing.

1

saberline152 t1_j6jeqmz wrote

I flew in 2005 to the states as a young boy, they screened movies for everyone on a large screen and some foldable screens in the ceilings, flying long haul as a kid was soooo boring back then.

13

stephenph t1_j6jjyqs wrote

I remember a cross country flight in late 90s (I think maybe a bit later) that had a crappy VHS player for the movie, the kind that had the jitter noise on the bottom. it was unwatchable, but they would not turn it off as the flight was billed as showing a movie.....

5

koolguykris t1_j6jk1zs wrote

I flew in 98 from France to the states as a.... 4 year old? And all I can remember from that flight was a large screen where they played flubber on repeat.

3

grahamsz t1_j6jytpr wrote

I flew from Germany to the US sometime around 2002 and they showed a movie with breasts in it on the huge projector screen, about half the parents on the plane scrambled to cover their kids eyes.

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Likes_The_Scotch t1_j6ixgf5 wrote

Well, not that it wasn't allowed per se, but wasn't available. And yes, I remember scrolling through the 10+ channels they had and would listen to Classical Music between movies they put up on the public screens.

1

HimikoHime t1_j6k9oy0 wrote

I remembered flying when they showed 2 movies on an 10h flight. On a pull down movie screen somewhere in the middle of the plane. Movies only had English language tracks which didn’t help me as a kid from a non English speaking country. My in flight entertainment was a Walkman and a Gameboy. I’m old.

1

explainlikeimfive-ModTeam t1_j6l83np wrote

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1

regallll t1_j6jxde2 wrote

Because there is no real need to update them. I think you might be surprised at how old some/most commercial airplanes are.

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NewsboyHank t1_j6hp7w2 wrote

I would think that in this day and age of cell phones/personal media players why bother go through the cost of updating stuff?

10

MisterProfGuy t1_j6hqm60 wrote

Adding, planes can be in service for thirty years, and most components weren't really designed to be replaced.

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Iz-kan-reddit t1_j6ir1kj wrote

>and most components weren't really designed to be replaced.

Seat are designed to be replaced, and are upgraded (or downgraded) on a regular basis.

7

NewsboyHank t1_j6hs1co wrote

slight tangent....when I first found out planes would be in service for decades I became terrified of flying

0

PM_ME_FUNFAX t1_j6hsvoj wrote

Safer than driving, by a long shot

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NewsboyHank t1_j6htef1 wrote

Rational me knows that....but every time they shudder going breakneck speeds, I think everything is just about to fly apart.

1

Rugfiend t1_j6i0dnw wrote

In the year following 9/11, Americans were so scared of flying that more additional people died in road accidents than were killed on 9/11

12

tsme-esr t1_j6lr96m wrote

They were scared of terrorism, not necessarily flying

1

lemoinem t1_j6ibypk wrote

They are basically torn apart, inspected and rebuilt from the ground up every 15yrs of so.

No to mention, any (and I do mean ANY, a burned light on the dash included) kind of fault occuring during flight grounds the plane until it has been assessed by engineering.

6

Aberdolf-Linkler t1_j6j8xng wrote

I think that's one thing people generally don't quite understand. I've seen so many people get angry with the airline employees at the terminal when the flight is delayed for some mechanical issue. It's just a bit baffling to me, do you really want to get on a plane that has an issue? It's not like you can just pull over into the median of the engine breaks down.

One time they had to change a tire and it took a well over an hour and some genius was losing his temper and shouting about how quickly he could change his car tire. Okay, yeah buddy lol.

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PK1312 t1_j6jebfv wrote

The maintenance required for a plane to stay airworthy is intense. It's not like they're flying for 30 years just getting the oil changed. The FAA does not fuck around.

3

Milk_A_Pikachu t1_j6iuafz wrote

Yeah. More and more planes are just getting rid of in-flight entertainment entirely and instead putting a cell phone/tablet tray on the seat*. Which seems the way to go for me

​

That said: The people most likely to be idiots are likely also the ones who expected to watch the big bang theory for an eight hour flight and now are stuck reading the safety card.

​

*: Which, considering how violently some folk recline, I will never use

1

RCmies t1_j6iygkb wrote

The flights I've been on in the past years don't even have those systems and instead they expect you to do everything on your mobile device.

9

DeTrotseTuinkabouter t1_j6jzus9 wrote

Might be because you're not flying intercontinentally / very long distances?

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RCmies t1_j6k6bla wrote

I mean I was on a 6 hour flight lately but not intercontinental. I think in general as airlines modernize their fleets these systems will be removed. I remember a few years ago even less than 6 hours flights had small foldable TVs in the ceilings and the audio jack, but they're slwoly getting rid of those. On the last flight I was on you could track the flight path and other things that would normally be in physical form (catalogues etc) by connecting to onboard WiFi on your cellphone, even if you didn't pay to access the rest of the internet.

3

[deleted] t1_j6jbylm wrote

[removed]

4

explainlikeimfive-ModTeam t1_j6kx8xr wrote

Please read this entire message

Your comment has been removed for the following reason(s):

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1

Treczoks t1_j6j6wbv wrote

Just try to modernize some electronics in an airplane, and you will learn how much pain certification and bureaucracy can cause.

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fursty_ferret t1_j6jp6px wrote

Two main reasons. Firstly because it discourages the theft of headphones, and secondly because the second jack often carries a noise cancellation signal.

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OutdoorGeeek t1_j6jphug wrote

It was to have a proprietary jack for the headphones so people would not steal them as they would not work on any other device. Same reason why they still sell those adapters so you can plug your own headphones instead of the ones provided by the flight company.

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dudewiththebling t1_j6jd2by wrote

Corporations tend to act on a "ain't broke, don't fix" or ABDF policy, meaning if you don't need to replace it, then don't. This was not thought up by engineers, but by the accountants. When you take an airplane out of service to change something that isn't mission critical, in this case something that doesn't help a plane full of live humans take off, fly, and land with everyone safe and intact, then it's unjustifiably expensive, much cheaper to use those mass produced yet proprietary headphones. Besides, people tend to have their phones, tablets, and computers with them on flights and their own headphones, so it wouldn't make much sense to change the in-flight entertainment system, you can do that when you retire those old planes and buy new ones.

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Bob_Sconce t1_j6jfpza wrote

Another answer is that airlines will rent you the earphones to use with the two-pin jacks. They make money by NOT letting you use your headphones.

(I don't see the two-pin jacks much any more -- last time I travelled with an entertainment system, there was a traditional 3.5mm jack. )

1

doglywolf t1_j6jsdos wrote

because every operating part on a plane my be new / rebuilt within the last 2 years...but the passenger ops section could be 20 years old with little more then some chair back and pad and arm rest replacements .

You get on those plans without the screens in each row , you know you got on an oldie

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InspiredNitemares t1_j6kr9i7 wrote

I'm poor as hell. Is that the red and white wires? Lol

1

wolfiepraetor t1_j6kynbe wrote

well you see, back in roman times the width of two horses on a chariot created ruts in the road. then trains were invented to run in those roads. then they built the space shuttle to fit on a train. So the audio jacks need 2 pins on planes because of two horeses asses.

1

dadamn t1_j6lloag wrote

Lots of folks have the right answers for old planes and plenty of folks have noted that newer planes are mostly switching to standard 3.5mm plugs. One thing nobody has mentioned is that new planes will sometimes have 2 prong plugs in first and business class for long distance international flights. The reason for this is that in first and business class, the seats often come with noise cancelling headphones and the second prong is used to power te noise cancelling circuitry. Typically on these newer 2 prong plugs, the audio prong is still a standard 3.5mm so you can use any headphones if you choose not to use the provided ones.

1

ExistenceNow t1_j6i7cn0 wrote

It is expensive and probably a lot of red tape to update a plane. Smoking hasn't been allowed on planes for 30 years and yet a lot of them still have ash trays.

0

aspheric_cow t1_j6iedws wrote

Actually, ashtrays are required on all airliners. So if someone decided to break the law and smoke, at least they won't set fire to the trashcan.

7

tsme-esr t1_j6lrgng wrote

The required ashtrays for non-smoking flights are usually on or near the lavatories, not the seats.

1

Thesorus t1_j6iin25 wrote

it was the standard at some point.

It costs money to replace them.

but now most planes have a 3.5mm jack in the entertainment system

0

ZetaInk t1_j6iyawz wrote

Most people are using their personal devices for entertainment these days. And most of these devices use Bluetooth or USB-C now anyway.

So why go through the expense of updating the old planes and headphones? They chose 2pin early on, so that became the standard.

Most planes have a 30ish year service life. So the older planes now are from the early 90s or so. So you should be starting to see more 3.5mm, as it was pretty well established as a standard for personal music players by then. The walkman had long since used it, for example.

But updating electronics for planes is expensive and time consuming due to regulations. So there will be some lag in terms of newer planes rolling out with it. And you're probably flying more older planes than newer ones, in general.

0

KennethRSloan t1_j6jqxat wrote

I see dual jacks only rarely - but I carry a 2-to-1 adapter, just in case. These days if the seat has dual jacks there are almost always fairly good free headsets; my carryon has a collection of them. Still, I prefer my over-the-ear Senn PX550 noise cancelling headphones - I wear them even when all I want is quiet. They are BT to my phone and laptop, but wired to the IFE. Looking forward to using them completely wireless. Every 20th flight I leave the ]{}}#%^ cable plugged in. Cables are cheap and Amazon can sometime deliver to my destination hotel before I get there.

0

stars_mcdazzler t1_j6khq1x wrote

People don't realize just how old these airline jets actually are. I'm sure 2-pin audio jacks was cutting edge technology when they were first put in. I had it explained to me once that the interior of the starship USS Enterprise from Star Trek: The Next Generateion was heavily inspired by the Boeing 747 (which had a lifespan between 1968 and 2022). That's saying alot considering that Next Generation came out in 1987.

0

Belbarid t1_j6hwxep wrote

They work, they're simple to set up and use, they're cheap, and if something goes wrong you can quickly replace the headset.

Let's say an airline switched to Bluetooth. First, they'd have to upgrade every entertainment console on every plane in their fleet and buy new headsets. That's expensive. Worse, you're guaranteed to have problems with the new setup. Bluetooth isn't as reliable as a wire. There will be incidences where a passenger's headset doesn't connect to the console, or does but there's no audio. The only people to turn to are the flight attendants and they aren't tech support. 2-pin headsets are easy to use. If something goes wrong they're either not plugged in or need to be replaced. Both can be easily done by the flight attendants.

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pseudopad t1_j6hxm55 wrote

The question isnt why they're not changing to Bluetooth. It's why they use dual 3.5s instead of a single 3.5.

14

na3than t1_j6hyhia wrote

That's not the question. The question is literally "Why do most airlines still use 2-pin audio jacks for the in-flight entertainment systems on their planes?"

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mbrady t1_j6iybee wrote

I think it's implied that the sentence would continue "instead of single jacks like everything else has", but I guess it could apply to entirely different connection methods like bluetooth.

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calkitty t1_j6i1qcs wrote

Interestingly airlines are actually upgrading to allow bluetooth! I was on a flight recently where they still had the headphones and jack but you could connect your own device via bluetooth instead.

2