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These days, most airplanes have seat-back entertainment. The only real exceptions are the smaller planes, like a CRJ-200 or CRJ-700. This means that every flight you take this holiday season likely has a screen on the back of the seat in front of you to watch all sorts of movies and TV shows, as well as listen to music. The only downside is using wired headphones or the headphones that the airline provides, and they are usually crap.
There’s a solution, and it’s a good one. It’s Twelve South’s AirFly SE. This is a $35 dongle that you can travel with that plugs into the headphone jack and gives you Bluetooth. So you can jump on your Delta flight to Los Angeles, plug in this dongle, and watch whatever movie or show you want with your own headphones or earbuds. Whether those are the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, Google Pixel Buds Pro, or the Apple AirPods Pro 2, they will all work.
Twelve South does sell three different models of the AirFly. There’s the AirFly SE, AirFly Dup, and AirFly Pro. We recommend the AirFly SE for everyone. This is the cheapest option, and the other options really only give you the ability to connect another pair of headphones and a couple of hours longer battery life. And for the price, it’s not really worth it.
I used the AirFly SE for most of 2023, which included flying over 15,000 miles, as well as a long 13-hour flight to Seoul, South Korea. And this dongle has never died mid-flight. It has a 20-hour rated battery life (AirFly Duo is 22 hours, and AirFly Pro is 25 hours). It’s super easy to set up and use. Just flip the switch on, and your headphones should connect. There are volume buttons available on the dongle, and that’s really it.
Unfortunately, I did lose my AirFly SE during my trip home from Google’s Pixel 8 event in October. So I’ve had to buy a new one before I fly to CES in January. That five-hour flight to Las Vegas will be loads better with my AirFly SE intact.
It’s cheap, small and lightweight
Sure, there are other options for a Bluetooth dongle that you could use on a plane, but what sets the Twelve South AirFly SE apart is the price, size, and weight. It weighs almost nothing; in fact, my AirPods Pro 2 weighs considerably more. I can put the AirFly SE into my backpack, in a section that was really made for smaller phones (maybe a flip phone?), and then pull it out when I need it. It stays in my backpack all the time because I only use it when traveling, and oftentimes I forget that it’s even in there because it’s so small and light. So you don’t need to worry about it using up space in your backpack.
While Twelve South typically makes accessories for Apple products, AirFly SE is not limited to just Apple products. I have used it with the Sony WH-1000XM5 and the Google Pixel Buds Pro, in addition to my Apple AirPods Pro 2, and they all worked seamlessly. Essentially, any Bluetooth headphones or earbuds will work with this. Making it super versatile.
So before you take that holiday trip for Christmas and/or New Year’s, splurge and get yourself the Twelve South AirFly SE. Trust me, you won’t regret this $35 purchase. And you’ve spent more on less useful products, I’m sure.