Will my aircraft have single or double prong headphone connection?
- By
- Aparna Patel
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- 11 Aug, 2023
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Different airlines can outfit the same aircraft with different entertainment system or none at all and so it is hard to be completely certain.
Although most flights I have taken in the last few years have had single-pronged plugs, just a few months ago I flew on an international flight and to my surprised it had a different two-pronged connector than any previously seen! I generally pack a 1-to-2 prong adapter, just in case, but mine didn’t fit this time because the connection on that flight used 2 asymmetric prongs.
The bottom line is that is is a good idea to have an adapter but also to be prepared to use headphones supplied by the airline. In cases when they do not use a standard single-prong outlet, they usually provide some. Be sure to have your own single-pronged headphones though because those are not always supplied. On the previous flight I took, an announcement told passengers to turn on subtitles if they didn’t have headphones!
Just flew on Delta to Hawaii from ATL (Oct 2022). 1st class was a NEW style two prong. One prong had 3 contacts, the other one had 2 contacts and they both were 3.5mm (1/8") diameter. I used my Bose 2 prong, 2 contact 3.5mm prong adapter but it didn’t work very well. Sound volume was low using my Bose noise cancelling headphones. The adapter did not plug in all the way. This was in a new Airbus 350. I just watched movies on my tablet.
There are new "Bose" airline adapters that are two prong, one is mono, the other is stereo available on Amazon & Ebay for $8.
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It is not as simple as just buying an adapter since Cathay Pacific business class UK to HK use a twin socket with two different diameter connectors. My Bose adapter with two 3.5mm plugs did not fit. I think the thinner socket with two contacts is 2.5mm and the thicker one is 3.5mm with three contacts. I haven’t been able to find an adapter like that and I don’t know how they are wired to make one up myself.
I was in China last October. I flew business class on Cathay Pacific between US and Hong Kong. They had 2-prong plug for the Bose headphones they gave out. I unfortunately didn’t have a plug for my own Bose. So I am going to buy my own plug for my next trip so I don’t have to use public headphones.
My recent experience has been on 2-3 Asia based carriers with the 2 prong jacks.
However, my single prong headphones worked perfectly fine. It just doesn’t fit very well and the contacts are slightly off so I’d have to set the jack in a specific location. The headphones did come with an adapter but it’s long been lost.
It’s hard to say for certain if you need an adapter. Personally, it has been over a decade since I have been on an aircraft that required the two-prong adapters, and I have flown (in that time) on Air Canada, WestJet, United, Continental and British Airways in various types of aircraft.
Given how inexpensive an adapter is (a couple of dollars on eBay), if you have time, I’d pick one up and keep it in your headphone case. Many headphones come with these adapters – my noise-reducing headphones come with a pair of them to adapt them to the two-prong jacks you describe, as well as the older 3/8″ headphone jack.
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