I am currently on a plane traveling from Dubai to San Francisco to attend the Samsung Unpacked event. Today I just realized that the in-flight entertainment (IFE) system used by Emirates' Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft supports bluetooth audio accessories.
As far as I know there has been no announcement made by Emirates telling passengers their IFE system now supports wireless audio. I myself only accidentally stumbled upon bluetooth support while exploring the IFE settings screen out of boredom. What is interesting to me is that this support is given to the IFE of economy class passengers.
For over a decade I've been carrying wired headphones on airplanes because only headphones of this type are supported by IFE. The reason given by the airline before is that bluetooth interferes with the electronic systems in the plane. Therefore only 3.5mm connection is possible.
The process of connecting bluetooth accessories to the IFE system is the same as it is done on smartphones, tablets and laptops. Find the audio settings screen on the IFE system. On Emirates aircraft it is clearly marked as “Bluetooth audio” on the IFE menu list. Activate bluetooth on the IFE and make sure the audio accessory is in pairing mode. The audio accessory will appear on the IFE screen and select to connect it.
I did a Google search a while ago and so far only Air France, American Airlines, Delta, Emirates, Lufthansa, Qatar, and United Airlines provide bluetooth support on IFE systems that were upgraded after the pandemic. American Airlines will be the first to offer it in 2021.
So if you regularly board the planes of the seven airlines above, you no longer have to worry if the 3.5mm cable is left behind. Existing bluetooth earphones and headsets are now compatible with in-cabin IFE.