[jonnathanson]

I've noticed it, too. Also, PA announcements, when heard over headphones, seem to be super-loud regardless of whether you adjust the volume on the headphones. It's as if there is some mandatory minimum volume for the announcements.

I'll hazard a guess--and I might be completely wrong--that there is some sort of legal reason for this. Maybe there have been lawsuits in which people claimed not to have heard the in-flight announcements, and therefore, did not feel not bound to them. I dunno. It just seems as if there's a reason for this. Not necessarily a good reason, but a reason.

Anyhow, this is 100% armchair speculation. It just seems like the sort of thing that could have happened.

[beachstartup]

legal reasons, or, they just don't give a fuck and will continue to physically hurt their customers with ultra-loud headphone announcements until it becomes so widely hated it turns into an internet meme.