This $45 Bluetooth dongle made my long-haul flight way less miserable
My body refuses to fall asleep on planes, though not for lack of trying. I've stayed up late before flights, booked red-eyes, popped melatonin, ordered a couple glasses of red wine from the beverage cart — and yet there I sit, wide awake in my economy seat.
I keep busy with in-flight entertainment. I'm not built to be raw-dogging flights, and that tiny seatback screen keeps me sane at 30,000 feet. If I can't binge last year's Oscar nominees or lock into a weird HBO documentary for a few hours, I start to think a little too hard about the safety record of the Boeing 737 Max I'm trapped inside. (I am very fun to travel with.)
Knowing this, my extremely brilliant and thoughtful husband gifted me a Twelve South AirFly Pro for Christmas last year. This cult-favorite gadget is a $49.99 Bluetooth adapter that lets you watch in-flight movies with my comfy Bose headphones. It's not a glamorous device — it's just a dongle with an aux cable — but this humble device takes some of the hassle out of flying. Truly, a miracle.
I used the AirFly Pro for the first time on round-trip flights between Chicago and London this spring, and I'll never fly without it again. Better yet, it's on sale.
Fly like a Pro
While wireless headphones and earbuds are vastly more popular than wired models nowadays, the airline industry hasn't adjusted accordingly. (United and Delta have added Bluetooth-enabled screens to some of their planes, but I personally have yet to find one.) So, to watch movies and shows on that seatback screen, you still have to plug in wired earphones with an old-fashioned 3.5mm audio jack.
Some airlines hand out complimentary cheapo wired buds for long-haul flights, but they sound terrible and don't offer a lick of noise cancellation. The AirFly Pro exists to bridge the technology gap for a better in-flight entertainment experience.
Setting up the AirFly Pro is ridiculously simple:
Plug it into the screen or armrest
Press and hold the power button
Turn on your headphones
Wait for them to connect
And if you're traveling with someone, you can even pair it with both of your headphones at the same time. My AirFly Pro paired instantly with my Bose headphones and remembered them on my return flight.
The AirFly Pro's audio sounded fine to me, and I never had connection issues. I did notice that in-flight announcements were a split-second delayed compared to the plane's PA system, but the sound and dialogue on movies always lined up perfectly.
Twelve South has the AirFly Pro rated at 25 hours of battery life, and that seemed accurate. Mine lasted the full eight-hour flight from Chicago to London, a few hours beyond that (because I forgot to turn it off), and then most of the way through my nine-hour return flight. When it finally died, 10 minutes of charging gave it enough battery for at least 30 more minutes before we landed.
The biggest downsides to the AirFly Pro? The fact that you can't use it while it's charging, and that it's kind of expensive for a Bluetooth transmitter. That said, it works like a charm and feels like a future-proofed purchase, since planes probably aren't getting rid of their 3.5mm audio jacks anytime soon.
Where to buy the AirFly Pro
The $54.99 AirFly Pro (currently on sale for $44.99) comes with a soft travel pouch and a keyring cap in addition to its charger. For $20 less, you can pick up the AirFly SE, but you lose some battery life and dual listening mode.
I've seen the AirFly line sold at airports before, but I'd recommend snagging one before you jet off on your next trip, as my Pro model is easy to find on sale. At the time of writing, Amazon had it on sale. You can also find them as part of some Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphone and earbud bundles.