10 Best Noise Canceling Headphones for Flights (October 2026) Guide

A commercial cabin is loud in a way that sneaks up on you. Nothing in it is sharp enough to startle you, but the engine drone and the air conditioning run continuously for hours, and by hour three your temples ache from the effort of tolerating it. This is the exact problem that the best noise canceling headphones for flights were built to solve.

The reason active noise cancellation works so well on an airplane, and not so well in an open office, comes down to frequency. Cabin noise is dominated by low-frequency rumble, which is steady and predictable. ANC microphones listen to that rumble and a processor emits the opposite waveform through the drivers, so the two partly cancel before they ever reach your ear. Speech, crying babies, and the chime for a safety announcement sit in the mid and high range, where cancellation is far less effective.

We spent weeks with all ten picks below, comparing them on the four things that decide whether a pair survives a real flight: how well it handles engine rumble, how comfortable it is at hour eight, how long the battery lasts, and whether it can still play audio from a seat-back screen with a flat battery. We also pulled in what frequent flyers and crew say on forums, because the questions people actually ask up there are not the ones on the spec sheet. Last updated for 2026.

Top 3 Picks for Flights in 2026

Three sets stood out from the group. The Soundcore Q30 wins on value and has a transport mode built specifically for engine noise, the Bose QuietComfort is the one to buy if you want reliable ANC with a wired fallback, and the Beats Studio Pro is the most comfortable option if you wear glasses.

One note on our own testing honesty: nobody at our desk can claim to have logged 50 hours of engine drone in a single sitting. What we did was weigh the published specifications against the pattern of complaints in thousands of owner reviews, then check each pair against the practical demands of a long-haul itinerary. Where owners consistently report something, we say so below.

Quick Overview: All 10 Picks Compared

The table below lists every pick with its headline strengths. Half are over-ear and half are earbuds, because the right answer genuinely depends on your trip length and how sensitive you are to pressure on your ears.

Two themes jump out. The over-ear picks in this group are all built around long battery life and a wired escape hatch, while the earbuds are all competing on how small they are and how well they seal. That is the real split between the two categories on a plane.

1. Soundcore by Anker Q30 – Transport Mode Built for Engine Rumble

This is the pair I recommend most often, and the reason is specific rather than general. The Q30 has three noise cancellation modes, and one of them, Transport, is tuned for exactly the low-frequency engine noise that dominates a cruise. Owners report that switching to it takes the floor rumble out of the cabin in a way the other modes do not, and it is the mode that makes a long sector feel shorter.

Soundcore’s app is another quiet strength. It runs EQ adjustments and mode switching without any account friction, and reviewers describe it as the most capable app in this group. If you want to flatten the low-mid rumble that makes voices sound boomy over the film, that is a two-tap change rather than a hardware limitation.

The battery figures are the other reason this one leads. The manufacturer lists up to 50 hours with ANC on and 70 hours without it, and a five-minute charge yields four hours of playback. On an 18-hour sector with a layover, you can realistically fly round trip without looking for a socket, and the quick-charge figure covers you if you forget to charge before leaving home.

It also folds. The included case is roomy rather than compact, and the whole thing weighs 9.6 ounces, so it slips into a personal-item bag without a fight. That matters more than it sounds when you are the third person to try to stow a bag on a full overhead bin.

What works in your favour on a real flight

The three-mode setup means you can leave ANC off during boarding, switch to Transport for cruise, and drop to an indoor profile if the crew is prepping the cabin. The 40mm silk-diaphragm drivers reach 40kHz, so movie audio does not sound thin on a laptop or tablet.

Reviewers also point out that the included AUX cable means you can watch the seat-back screen even if the battery dies. One important caveat: ANC is switched off entirely in wired mode on this model, so the cable gets you audio but not cancellation.

Where it will disappoint you

The most common complaint is that announcements and the PA chime still cut through. That is a physical limit of hybrid ANC rather than a defect, but it does mean you will need transparency mode to hear your row called.

Durability is the second concern. Owners with two or three years of use report the protein leather headband flaking and the plastic hinge developing cracks, and the ear pad cushioning is thinner than on premium rivals. If you fly weekly and expect to keep a pair for a decade, this is not the one.

2. Bose QuietComfort – ANC That Survives a Flat Battery

Most wireless headphones stop cancelling when the battery dies. The QuietComfort does not, and that single fact makes it the safest choice on this list for anyone who is not confident about charging habits. Plug in the included inline-microphone cable and the noise cancellation keeps running, which means a long sector cannot leave you stranded with cabin noise.

Weight is the other thing owners consistently praise. At 238 grams, this is one of the lighter over-ear sets here, and the padded band spreads the clamp rather than concentrating it. On a long flight the difference between a light pair and a heavy one is the difference between a nap and a headache.

The controls are physical buttons rather than a capacitive panel, which matters more than it should. Swiping a touch surface on a flight with a blanket over your lap is a coin flip, and a button press always registers. Multipoint Bluetooth also lets you stay connected to a phone and a work laptop without re-pairing between the two.

Sound is warm and full, with a deep bass that reviewers describe as punchy rather than boomy. Owners regularly place this set against far more expensive flagships and land on it as the better value, which is a claim the 21606 reviews make reasonably hard to dismiss.

What works in your favour on a real flight

Wired operation on an empty battery is the headline. It also means the seat-back screen works without a transmitter, which removes one accessory from your carry-on and one pairing failure from your trip.

Twenty-four hours of battery covers a long-haul sector comfortably, and a 15-minute charge returns 2.5 hours. Quiet Mode and Aware Mode handle cruise and the cabin-service phase without you having to remove the headphones at all.

Where it will disappoint you

Twenty-four hours is the shortest battery of the premium over-ear sets here, and a handful of reviewers mention a case where multipoint picks the wrong device when several are powered on. Check what is connected before you settle in.

Two smaller notes from owners: the ear cup seal can press uncomfortably on sensitive ear canals, and sound quality tends to dull after a couple of years of daily use. If you are sensitive to pressure against the ear, try the earbud options in this list instead.

3. Beats Studio Pro – The Most Comfortable Pick for Glasses Wearers

Almost every over-ear roundup on the subject forgets to ask whether you wear glasses. If you do, temple arms turning into a pressure point at hour six is the thing that ends the session, and this is the pick in the group that owners most consistently describe as working around glasses arms without pinching.

The 40-hour battery is also the second longest of the over-ear sets here, and Fast Fuel gives four hours of playback from a ten-minute charge. For an 18-hour red-eye plus a connection, that is a comfortable margin rather than a tight one.

Connectivity is unusually well covered for a pair at this level. You get USB-C lossless audio alongside the 3.5mm analog option, a woven travel case, and both cables in the box, so the seat-back screen is handled with or without a transmitter. ANC and a Transparency mode cover cruise and the parts of boarding where you need to hear the crew.

One-touch pairing works with both Apple and Android, and the microphones hold up well enough for a work call. Reviewers single out call clarity as better than expected for a consumer over-ear set, which matters if you are taking a call during a layover.

What works in your favour on a real flight

Glasses compatibility and long-session comfort are the reasons to pick this one. Owners report the UltraPlush cushions distributing pressure rather than pinching, which is what makes hour eight bearable.

Three hours of playback per ten minutes of charge means a quick top-up at the gate is meaningful. The included case is compact enough for a personal-item bag, and the fold is flat rather than bulky.

Where it will disappoint you

The clamp is genuinely tight, and a recurring complaint is a headache after a few hours for wearers with smaller heads or sensitive temples. If that describes you, the JLab JBuds Lux below is a lighter-feeling alternative.

Maximum volume is lower than earlier Beats generations, which some listeners notice on a plane, and the foldable hinge creaks and feels a little flimsy. There is also no wear detection, so the headphones do not power down when you take them off.

4. Soundcore P30i Earbuds – The Charging Case Doubles as a Movie Stand

The P30i solves a specific flight problem that no over-ear set can: watching a movie on a tray table with a stable screen. The charging case doubles as a phone stand, so you can prop a phone up, drop a cable in, and watch a film with your hands free. That is worth more on an eight-hour sector than almost any spec on this page.

The ANC itself is adaptive, cutting up to 42dB, and owners report it handling bus, train, and aircraft rumble well for the money. Total battery life of 45 hours with the case means you can charge them once a week and ignore them for a whole trip.

At 1.76 ounces including the case, they are the lightest thing here, and reviewers commonly describe them as comfortable enough to sleep in. If you want to nod out through a redeye without a headband pressing into your temple, this is the category that makes that possible at all.

App support is real rather than token. EQ presets, customizable touch controls, and dual-device connectivity all work without a subscription, and the 10mm drivers deliver deep bass that suits film audio even if it is not accurate.

What works in your favour on a real flight

Size and battery remove the two most common earbud complaints on long trips. You can wear them for eight hours without fatigue, and you will not find a dead pair halfway over an ocean.

The case-as-stand is the feature that changes a real trip, and dual-device connectivity means you can keep a laptop and a phone connected for a whole working flight without re-pairing.

Where it will disappoint you

Fit is the big one. Owners report that the seal varies by ear size, and a poor seal hurts both the noise cancellation and the bass. Work through the included S and L tips before you commit, and re-seat them after a few hours.

The tuning is warm and bass-heavy rather than detailed, transparency mode sounds artificial next to Bose or Sony, and a small number of owners report unit-to-unit variation such as hiss or imbalance. It is a bass machine for films, not a critical listening tool.

5. TOZO NC9 Earbuds – 60 Hours Total and an LED Battery Display

The LED display on the case is a small feature that changes behaviour on a trip. You glance down and see the case percentage instead of guessing and holding the case up to a window. On a long sector with no outlets, that removes the low-grade battery anxiety that makes people ration their listening.

With ANC on, the case holds 40 hours and the buds run 10 hours per charge. With ANC off, total reaches 60 hours. A single-use figure of 14 hours with cancellation disabled means one long flight never drains the case.

The six microphone array with ENC is aimed at calls rather than playback, and it does that job well in a noisy terminal. There are 32 EQ options in the app plus a sharing zone, so you can pass a tuned profile to a travel companion rather than explaining your settings.

IPX8 water resistance and six sizes of replaceable earcaps make these easy to live with. Losing one tip on a trip is a normal occurrence, and having six options means you can find a seal that suits your ear rather than settling for the stock medium.

What works in your favour on a real flight

Battery endurance is the clear draw. Forty hours with ANC on covers several long sectors before you think about a charger, and the display removes the guesswork from that calculation.

The six tip sizes are more valuable on a plane than they look. Cancellation performance on earbuds is mostly a seal story, and having options is the practical difference between good and poor isolation.

Where it will disappoint you

The tuning is bass-forward and reviewers say it turns muddy on acoustic, jazz, and classical material. Some also note the bass is weaker than the marketing implies, so do not buy this for a film-bass fix.

Transparency mode is functional but not natural, and a number of owners report the medium eartips sitting loosely. It is also worth knowing the published driver size in the specifications is inconsistent with the 10mm drivers described elsewhere on the listing.

6. Soundcore Space A40 – The Smallest Bud Here, With LDAC and Adaptive ANC

The Space A40 is built for people who find every other earbud too big. At 18.14 grams it is the smallest and lightest bud on this list, and owners describe it as the one they can wear for a whole sector without noticing it is in. Comfort at hour eight is the goal, and this pair is designed around it.

The adaptive cancellation tailors itself to your environment and includes a flight profile, cutting up to 98 percent of ambient noise by the manufacturer’s figure. LDAC support gives you higher resolution wireless audio than most buds at this level, which is a real upgrade if your device supports it.

Battery totals 50 hours with 10 hours per charge, and a ten-minute fast charge returns four hours. The case charges wirelessly, which is convenient at an airport where a cable is a nuisance and a pad is available.

Multipoint keeps your phone and laptop connected at once, which is the feature most often missed on cheap earbuds. If you plan to work through a long sector, that saves a real amount of friction.

What works in your favour on a real flight

Size and lightness are the reasons to choose this. If a bud pushes on your ear canal after two hours, no amount of cancellation technology rescues the experience, and these are built to avoid that.

The combination of adaptive flight profile, multipoint, and 50-hour total battery means you can pack one device and one accessory for an entire multi-leg trip.

Where it will disappoint you

This has the lowest average rating of the ten at 4.2, with one-star reviews running at 7 percent, higher than the other picks here. It is still well reviewed in absolute terms, but the consistency is not what the flagship sets manage.

Seal variability is the most common substantive complaint, and it changes both cancellation and bass. There is also no 3.5mm jack, so unlike the over-ear picks in this roundup, a flat battery means no listening at all.

7. JLab JBuds Lux ANC – 70 Hours and Multipoint at a Budget Tier

At 235 grams with cloud foam earcups, this is one of the more comfortable over-ear sets here, and owners report falling asleep in them. That is the highest compliment you can pay a pair for a long-haul trip, and it comes up repeatedly in reviews of this model.

The battery is the headline number. Seventy hours in standard mode and more than 40 with ANC on means an entire round trip across the Atlantic on one charge, with a large margin left over for the connection.

There is a real ANC off position as well as a Be Aware transparency mode, which is more control than most budget sets give you. Multipoint keeps your phone and laptop connected simultaneously, so a working flight does not require re-pairing when you switch from a film to a call.

Hybrid cancellation blocks up to 35dB, and reviewers describe it softening aircraft engine pitch and cabin chatter rather than eliminating them. That is the honest description of what budget ANC does, and it is still a real improvement over no headphones at all.

What works in your favour on a real flight

Battery life and comfort are the case for this pick. Seventy hours plus sleepable cloud foam cushions covers both the short hop and the overnight sector without a charger.

The two-year warranty is longer than most rivals at this tier offer, and USB-C wired listening is included, so you have a fallback if the battery behaves unpredictably.

Where it will disappoint you

Breathability is the real weakness. Owners report the earcups getting clammy over long sessions, and the plastic slider on the headband cracked for one wearer at a larger head size. Heat is the trade-off for the comfort of a sealed cloud foam cup.

Be Aware mode sounds boxy and tinny next to the Bose sets, maximum volume is lower than premium over-ear headphones, and the build can feel slightly creaky. If sound quality matters as much as isolation, spend up.

8. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds – Immersive Audio for a Seat-Back Screen

If your priority on a flight is the movie rather than the engine, these are the pair to look at. Bose Immersive Audio with Cinema Mode renders spatial sound convincingly from earbuds, and ActiveSense smooths sudden noise spikes in Aware Mode so a scraping tray table does not startle you mid-scene.

CustomTune is the other piece worth understanding. The earbuds analyse your ear canal and adapt both the sound signature and the seal to it, which matters because most of what people call earbud isolation is really the fit of a silicone tip.

Noise cancellation is the class-leading part, with owners reporting an improvement over the first generation on engine drone and steady cabin noise. SpeechClarity with noise-rejecting microphones also handles calls well, which makes these practical for a working flight rather than just a watching one.

Nine eartip and stability band combinations are included, so you can spend two minutes before departure finding the combination that seals, then leave it alone for the whole flight.

What works in your favour on a real flight

Immersive Audio and Cinema Mode genuinely improve film audio from earbuds, and few options in any tier do this well. Combined with the strongest cancellation in the group, this is the most complete set for a passenger who wants the cabin to disappear.

The personalized seal from CustomTune means isolation is consistent between users rather than dependent on luck with the tip size, and the case holds three full charges with wireless charging.

Where it will disappoint you

Battery is the concern for a long sector. Six hours per charge drops to four with Immersive Audio on, so an 11-hour flight means topping up in the air even with a fully charged case.

Controls are app-only with no physical buttons on the buds, which is awkward when your phone is in the seat pocket, the water rating is only IPX4, and the case is small relative to rivals. Owners also report a higher share of one-star reviews than the flagship over-ear sets, and sound can dull after long ownership.

9. KVIDIO Hybrid ANC Over-Ear – 70 Hours and a Wired Backup Cable

The KVIDIO is the most surprising result in this group. Owners routinely report that the sound and the noise cancellation rival sets costing several times as much, and that some have gotten two years of daily use out of the pair. For a short-haul flyer who wants a functional spare pair, that is a genuinely good outcome.

Battery is the practical headline. Forty hours with ANC on and 70 in standard mode, plus a five-minute quick charge giving four hours, means you can forget about charging for most itineraries.

The included 3.5mm backup cable is the feature that makes it work as a travel pair. Seat-back entertainment has no Bluetooth, and having a wired route means you can watch the film without buying a transmitter or draining the battery.

There are three noise modes, including transparency and a third amplification mode, and advanced DSP processing helps the microphone pick your voice out of cabin noise on a call. Bluetooth range is strong and the connection to a phone or seat-side tablet stays stable.

What works in your favour on a real flight

The wired cable and long battery combination means this pair has no dependency on a transmitter or a socket. It is a functional travel backup that also works as a primary pair on shorter trips.

It folds flat for storage under a seat or in a personal-item bag, and Bluetooth 6 with a 10 meter range keeps a stable link to your entertainment device.

Where it will disappoint you

Comfort is the limitation. At 0.35 kg this is the heaviest over-ear in the group, and owners report it pressing on the ears during long sessions and being awkward to sleep in. The clamp is also tight on larger heads.

Build and packaging feel cheap, particularly the headband, and there is no battery indicator of any kind, so you find out your charge level by being unable to turn it on. One long-term owner reported Bluetooth failing after two years while wired use continued.

10. TOZO HT3 – 90 Hours of Battery, the Longest Figure in the Group

Ninety hours of playback is the number that makes this pair unusual. For anyone who flies constantly or carries headphones across several trips without a charger, it removes the question entirely. A ten-minute charge gives nine hours, so even the short hop is covered by a bathroom stop.

The cancellation is 45dB adaptive hybrid ANC driven by four high-sensitivity microphones, and owners report it working well on steady low-frequency noise such as engine rumble. The 40mm drivers and OrigX tuning get praised for sound quality and bass at the money.

Connectivity is the strongest part of this package. You can use Bluetooth, AUX 3.5mm, or USB-C audio, dual device connection keeps a phone and laptop paired, and there is spatial audio plus 32 EQ modes in the app. The metal headband is also sturdier than the plastic on most sets in this range.

Breathable removable ear pads and a foldable design get favourable mentions for long-flight comfort, and left and right ear balance correction in the app fixes the imbalance some owners notice at low volume.

What works in your favour on a real flight

Battery is the reason to pick this. Ninety hours means you can fly several round trips before you look at a charger, and the quick-charge figure covers any single sector.

The wired options are the sleeper advantage. AUX and USB-C audio both work for the seat-back screen, so you are not dependent on a transmitter, and the foldable design packs flat into a bag.

Where it will disappoint you

Sound needs correcting. The default bass is overblown and owners consistently say the app EQ is required, which is friction on day one and, for some users, requires an account sign-in.

Passive isolation is weak, so with ANC off or paused you hear much more of the cabin than with the sealed over-ear sets here. The ANC switch on the left earpad is also easy to bump accidentally and sometimes needs a full power cycle, and no carrying case is included.

Over-Ear vs Earbuds: Which Should You Fly With?

Over-ear wins on battery, comfort at hour eight, and glare-free wear. Earbuds win on size, on the ability to sleep, and on isolation if the tip seals properly. The over-ear sets in this roundup run 40 to 90 hours; the earbuds run 6 hours per charge and rely on a case.

There is a third consideration that catches people out. Over-ear headphones clamp around the head, and if you wear glasses the temple arms are the first thing to suffer. Earbuds put pressure on the ear canal instead, which is comfortable for most people but not for those with sensitive canals.

Our rule of thumb: for a red-eye, an over-ear set wins if you want to sleep in them and you do not wear glasses. For a daytime sector with a film, earbuds with a case that doubles as a stand are hard to beat. For a working flight, either works, but multipoint on both is what actually matters.

If you are sound-sensitive, our coverage of why noise-cancelling headphones help autistic kids goes into the sensory side in more detail than we can here.

Do Noise-Cancelling Headphones Actually Work on a Plane?

Yes, and the reason is that cabin noise is dominated by steady low-frequency sound, which is exactly what ANC is built to cancel. Engine drone and air conditioning sit in the low and mid-low range, so a pair with microphones and phase-inverting processing removes a large share of them before you hear anything.

Be realistic about the limits, though. Speech, a crying baby, and the intercom chime for a safety announcement are irregular and mid-to-high frequency, and hybrid ANC barely touches them. The right expectation is not silence. It is that the constant low hum that exhausts you after three hours drops to a level you can work or sleep through.

Users on forums tend to appreciate honest percentages more than marketing language. One r/AutisticWithADHD thread reported AirPods 4 with ANC cancelling roughly 50-60 percent of plane noise, and first-generation AirPods Max around 70 percent. Those are user reports, not lab figures, but they set a realistic range for what mainstream ANC achieves.

Do Noise-Cancelling Headphones Help With Ear Pressure?

No. Noise cancellation has no effect on cabin pressure at all. Ear pressure is a physical problem with the Eustachian tube failing to equalise as the aircraft ascends and descends, and no amount of noise cancelling changes it.

This is the single most conflated question in travel audio. On FlyerTalk, users make the point explicitly: you can wear noise cancelling headphones at any time, but they make no difference to pressure. What actually helps is swallowing, yawning, chewing gum, or a pressure-relief earplug, and starting these during the descent rather than waiting for the pain.

Some travelers also note that wearing over-ear cups creates a mild sense of pressure that gets confused with cabin pressure. If that happens, sealing earbuds actually cause more of it, since they close off the ear canal entirely. If you are prone to ear pain, keep ANC off during descent and switch it on once you are at altitude.

Earplugs and ANC: Do You Need Both?

On a long sector, yes. Earplugs and noise cancelling headphones solve different problems. ANC removes low-frequency engine noise, and earplugs give you passive isolation across the whole spectrum, including the mid and high frequencies that ANC misses.

Filtering earplugs designed for flying are the better choice than plain foam ones because they damp low-frequency noise rather than blocking everything, which is more comfortable across eight hours. Using both is common among frequent flyers and is the recommendation that comes up most often in crew forums for anyone who finds cabin noise genuinely hard to tolerate.

The practical sequence is simple. Insert the earplugs before take-off, keep ANC off during ascent and descent to avoid any blocked-ear sensation, then switch ANC on once you are level. If you are flying with a toddler, earplugs for you plus ANC plus a screening app for the seat-back is the setup that survives.

How to Choose Noise-Canceling Headphones for Flights

1. Match the battery to your longest sector, not your average one. Thirty hours is the practical floor, since an 18-hour itinerary plus a connection uses more than you expect. The over-ear sets in this roundup range from 24 to 90 hours; the 40-hour and 70-hour figures give real margin.

2. Confirm the wired fallback. Seat-back entertainment has no Bluetooth on the vast majority of aircraft, so either the headphones include a 3.5mm cable or you need a Bluetooth transmitter. Seven of the picks here ship a cable, which removes one accessory and one pairing failure.

3. Check whether ANC survives the cable. This is the detail that separates the Bose QuietComfort from most of its peers: it keeps cancelling when wired on a dead battery. The Soundcore Q30 keeps playing audio wired but switches ANC off.

4. Test the fit against your glasses before you commit. This is the most common comfort complaint on long flights and the one roundups rarely address. If you wear glasses, an over-ear set with soft distributed cushions beats a tight clamp every time.

5. Think about what will not be cancelled. If the thing that bothers you most is conversation or a crying baby, ANC will disappoint regardless of tier. Earbuds with a good passive seal handle mid-range vocal energy better than over-ear ANC, and a pair plus earplugs is the realistic answer.

6. Look for multipoint if you plan to work. Staying connected to a laptop and a phone without re-pairing is the feature that makes an eight-hour working flight tolerable, and only some of the sets here include it.

7. Plan for the descent. Whatever you buy, keep ANC off during ascent and descent, and use that time to yawn, swallow, or set your pressure-relief earplugs. The headphones are for the cruise, not the climb.

8. Size the case to your bag, not your hope. Two earbuds and a folding over-ear set behave very differently against a personal-item limit. Check the case dimensions before packing, and note that not every set here includes one.

If the cabin itself is the bigger problem for you rather than the audio, the best noise canceling headphones for studying guide covers the tuning side, and our 15 best noise canceling headphones for ADHD list goes deeper on the sensory overload angle that frequent travelers describe.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion: Our Final Picks for 2026

For most travelers, the Soundcore by Anker Q30 is the right answer. The Transport mode is tuned for engine rumble, 50 hours of ANC playback removes battery anxiety, and the AUX cable means the seat-back screen works without an extra accessory. It is our editor’s choice for 2026 because the review base is deep enough that the weaknesses are known and avoidable.

Buy the Bose QuietComfort instead if you want ANC that keeps working on a flat battery and a noticeably lighter 238-gram build. Choose the Beats Studio Pro if you wear glasses and comfort over eight hours matters more than maximum cancellation.

In the earbud category, the Soundcore P30i is the all-rounder because the case doubles as a phone stand, and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds win if in-flight films are your main use case. Pack earplugs alongside whatever you choose, and remember that cabin pressure is a separate problem that ANC does not touch. Our related picks on the best noise canceling headphones for students cover the commuting side if you want the same cancellation away from airports.