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American Dropping Bose Headphones for Premium Passengers

Brendan Dorsey
Brendan Dorsey
Contributor
Born and raised in Northern California, schooled in our Nation's capital, and currently working in the greatest city in the world - NYC. I was instantly hooked to traveling the second I stepped foot in Europe. The addiction only grew once I found out I could do it for free, all on points and miles. I could also eat bagels for every meal.
Sept. 25, 2018
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2 min read
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American Dropping Bose Headphones for Premium Passengers
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American Airlines CEO Doug Parker made a small, but significant announcement at APEX Expo in Boston on Monday.

Parker told the crowd that the airline will no longer provide Bose noise-cancelling headphones to international business and first class passengers. The headphones are a Brian Kelly and TPG staff favorite for their superior noise-cancelling ability.

The Bose headphones performed well despite the frayed cable.
Bose noise-cancelling headphones on board an American Airlines 787. Image by Katie Genter / The Points Guy.

Starting in Q2 2019, American will replace Bose Quite Comfort with Bang & Olufsen headphones. Premium cabin passengers will enjoy Bang & Olufsen's H9i model which retail for $499 and are regarded as high-quality headsets throughout the industry.

Bang & Olufsen H9i headset. Image courtesy of Bang & Olufsen.

According to Economy Class & Beyond, Parker said the reason for the switch was that Bose was mainly interested in the exposure American provided its brand — and not what the company was actually making off the deal. Bose had to specially manufacture three-pinned headphone jacks, which provide power and audio to the device, meaning the company couldn't just provide its normal, single pin, off-the-shelf headphones to AA.