Hear what United Airlines is doing to inspire passengers to use headphones

+ Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music The Best Music of 2025 All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop The Best Music of 2025 All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Hear what United Airlines is doing to inspire passengers to use headphones Tired of listening to other people's music, shows, and phone conversations in flight, the people at United Airlines have written a rule that lets them kick you off the plane if you don't put on headphones. National Hear what United Airlines is doing to inspire passengers to use headphones March 7, 20267:44 AM ET Heard on Weekend Edition Saturday Scott Simon Hear what United Airlines is doing to inspire passengers to use headphones Listen &middot; 1:30 1:30 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5739412/nx-s1-9678438" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript Tired of listening to other people's music, shows, and phone conversations in flight, the people at United Airlines have written a rule that lets them kick you off the plane if you don't put on headphones. Sponsor Message SCOTT SIMON, HOST: Recline your seat back and press play on your in-flight entertainment.

+ (SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "WHEN HARRY MET SALLY") UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) And what would you like to drink? UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) Nothing, thanks. UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As character) Do you have any Bloody Mary mix? SIMON: And don't forget to plug in your headphones. (SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "WHEN HARRY MET SALLY") UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As character) Here's what I want. Regular tomato juice, fill it up about three-quarters, then add a splash a Bloody Mary mix - just a splash - and a little piece of lime but on the side. SIMON: Seriously, plug in the headphones while you watch "When Harry Met Sally, " or United Airlines might remove you from the plane. United doesn't like people blasting music, watching movies or jabbering on a speaker phone and have updated their rules. As streaming options proliferate, the noise on board has multiplied, like, well, "Snakes On A Plane." (SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SNAKES ON A PLANE") UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #4: (As character) We got to clear the snakes out of the cockpit. UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #5: (As character) Yeah, yeah. Clear the snakes out of the cockpit, yeah. SAMUEL L JACKSON: (As Neville Flynn) Enough is enough. SIMON: Sure is. That's Samuel L. Jackson fighting another airplane nuisance. You can watch him in flight, just keep it down. Airlines are well acquainted with passengers who don't use headphones. Some pass out free earbuds. Some just ask really nicely for people to turn down the volume. But many scofflaws on board are under 5 years old. (SOUNDBITE OF YOUTUBE VIDEO) RACHEL GRIFFIN-ACCURSO: (As Ms. Rachel) Hi, friends. Look, it's a surprise egg. SIMON: You might not mind it if YouTubers like Ms. Rachel entertain your smaller seatmates, but plenty of people have cheered United's new hard line, if the comments section can be believed. Just don't laugh too loud either. Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor MessageBecome an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{1167:function(e,n,c){e.exports=c(323)},323:function(e,n,c){"use strict";c.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([c.e(1),c.e(2),c.e(3),c.e(4),c.e(84)]).then(function(e){c(3),c(1140),c(116),c(94),c(52),c(493),c(239),c(102),c(104),c(1141),c(143),c(1142),c(238),c(48),c(1143)}.bind(null,c)).catch(c.oe)}},[[1167,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();