Noise and my seat on the plane!

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pritor45

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I'd like an opinion from you guys here. Do you reckon that the middle of the plane is the noisest, and the back of the plane the quietest? Is it noiser near the galley?

Usually- Whenever I walk through the aircraft......... I don't reallly notice a difference, but surely there must be!

I'm asking this........ because I was sitting in row 31 (near the galley lol) on QF 175 BNE-LAX, on a 2-class B747-400 (75 rows) recently. I swear...... I could not hear a word of the Inflight movie. First time its happened so far......... I often sit in rows 39-41 on SQ's B777-200 (64 rows) aircraft and usually don't have a problem. I travel quite alot....... don't usually take notice of what row I'm sitting. But ever since then........ I'm now starting to consider selecting my 'row'.

Cheers
 
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Generally sitting behind engines noisier than sitting in front, lower deck noisier than upper, large cabin noisier than small cabin (unless there is a FT party flight), close to galley noisier than far from galley.
 
There are several things that contribute to the noise level on an aircraft. And tehse vary between aircraft and in-flight situations. The factors include:
  • Air conditioning air-flow noise. This is often the most significant contributing factor (see comments later).
  • Engine noise
  • Other passengers taking/crying.
  • Galley/Toilet noises.
The AC noise sets the baseline in the cabin and is generally noisier than the engine noise inside the cabin except when the engines are are high power settings. And the passenger noise such as the chatter of conversation has to overcome the AC baseline, making people talk louder than they would in a quiet environment. Also note that most Qantas aircraft have personal air vents above each seat. This actually increases the noise of the AC air flow as the air passes through the constricted nozzle. This is the trade-off between personal comfort (being able to adjust the flow and direction of the air) and noise level.

Galley noise depends on how careful and considerate the FA are on a particular flight. I have not been affected much by galley noise, but one never knows when a tray is going to fall to the floor in the middle of the night. The light from the galley tends to annoy me more as I hate wearing eye masks.

Toilet noise can be annoying for those seated near the lavs. Some of them flush with such gusto and woosh of air that sleeping at an adjacent seat is impossible.

Engine and AC noise tends to be a constant, low-frequency drone. Noise cancelling headphones do a reasonable job at removing this. But they don't help remove the talking, crying and dropped trays. Ear plugs or in-ear sound-isolation ear phones (such as Shure or Etymotics) do the best job of removing those dynamic sounds.
 
Hmmm..... airconditioning noise. Yeah, that is annoying lol. So, can I have your opinion guys........ my next international flight is on Jetstar's A330-200 next month. I have pre-purchased my 'entertainment' pack. Which areas should I be avoiding on this aircraft, in terms of my seating? Which areas should I be targeting? Will there be any difference? Here is the link to the seat map: SeatGuru Seat Map Qantas Airways Airbus A330-200 (332)

Regarding ear/headphones, during chrstmas last year I bought a $220 pair of Bang & Olufsen A8 earphones. Being a student still......I need to save up a little more, before I can invest in my next set of 'phones'.
 
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I've recently started using Noise-cancelling headphones, and I must say they make a big difference. Though they don't totally cancel the ambient noise, they do make the entertainment system sound much clearer, so you tend to not notice the noise around you as much (as its less distracting).

But either way, I find the constant hum of an aeroplane quite soothing, bit like the side to side rocking of overnight trains!
 
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pritor45 said:
Regarding ear/headphones, during chrstmas last year I bought a $220 pair of Bang & Olufsen earphones. Being a student still......I need to save up a little more, before I can invest in my next set of 'phones'.
If Jetstar are using the same DVD players as the ones QF use on the 737 Trans-Tasman operations the QF supplied headphones are next to useless. If the B&O earphones you bought are the same as the ones QF sell onboard DF then they are ok. Otherwise the $60 Creative Active Noise Cancelling headphones that QF also sell ($60) are acceptable to use the IFE but cannot compete against the Bose QC2. There is a thread in the Your Questions forum regarding noise cancelling headphones that I suggest you read.
 
Altair said:
If Jetstar are using the same DVD players as the ones QF use on the 737 Trans-Tasman operations the QF supplied headphones are next to useless. If the B&O earphones you bought are the same as the ones QF sell onboard DF then they are ok. Otherwise the $60 Creative Active Noise Cancelling headphones that QF also sell ($60) are acceptable to use the IFE but cannot compete against the Bose QC2. There is a thread in the Your Questions forum regarding noise cancelling headphones that I suggest you read.

I've used the Jetconnect headsets with the players a couple of times and they were fine....
 
pritor45 said:
Hmmm..... airconditioning noise. Yeah, that is annoying lol. So, can I have your opinion guys........ my next international flight is on Jetstar's A330-200 next month. I have pre-purchased my 'entertainment' pack. Which areas should I be avoiding on this aircraft, in terms of my seating? Which areas should I be targeting? Will there be any difference? Here is the link to the seat map: SeatGuru Seat Map Qantas Airways Airbus A330-200 (332)

Regarding ear/headphones, during chrstmas last year I bought a $220 pair of Bang & Olufsen A8 earphones. Being a student still......I need to save up a little more, before I can invest in my next set of 'phones'.

You know, and it's a shame to say this, but air travel on modern commercial jet airliners is a little bit on the noisy side. It's a huge shame, but that's how it is.

The areas you should be targetting to avoid are all areas (notwithstanding what my learned colleauges have mentioned in earlier posts). If you don't like noise, then could I suggest that you don't fly.

I must be just getting old, but I don't seem to experience the same noises as you do (maybe it's my noise cancelling headset, or my thick skin).

:)
 
pauly7 said:
I've used the Jetconnect headsets with the players a couple of times and they were fine....
I used them sitting in row 2 and they were fine as well, but in rows 5 & 6, both before the engines they were next to useless. This was also the view of the passengers next to me as we held the phones with our hands against our ears, except my fiance whom I gave my noise cancelling headphones to.;)
 
I think that site got linked to a little while ago. It looks nice but I am not sure of the substance behind it - I think there were limited seat reviews on the site. How have you found it - specifically dojc? Was it good for some recent flights - did the reviews match your experiences?
 
simongr said:
I think that site got linked to a little while ago. It looks nice but I am not sure of the substance behind it - I think there were limited seat reviews on the site. How have you found it - specifically dojc? Was it good for some recent flights - did the reviews match your experiences?

Yes I find it very useful. Certainly for Hawaiian Airline and Singapore, very 'accurate' seat indications as to what to expect.
 
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