[userbinator]

I've had the opposite experience - PA systems so quiet they're drowned out by the plane's noise. Perhaps he was sitting very close to one of the speakers. Given that the announcements are usually important, not continuous but made in short bursts, and that volume level (99dB) is discomforting but only harmful with prolonged exposure, I don't think it's too loud. The whole idea of an announcement is to get the attention of the passengers - including those who may be asleep. Missing an important announcement may have safety implications.

[mikeash]

I can't remember the last time I heard an in-flight announcement that I actually needed to hear. They're far from "usually important." 99% of flights could happily go from start to finish without a single use of the PA, if it were legal to do so, and if the airline could exercise self-control.

The PA system should be reserved for actual important safety-related announcements. It's outrageous that the same system that would be used to tell you to brace for a crash is also used to repeatedly flog credit cards, duty-free sales, and other such nonsense, training everybody to ignore it.

[sokoloff]

There is a specific legal requirement for the passenger briefing. You'll notice that the briefing pretty much follows the script required by the law: http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/91.519

[gergles]

> The oral briefing required by paragraph (a) of this section shall be given by the pilot in command or a member of the crew, but need not be given when the pilot in command determines that the passengers are familiar with the contents of the briefing.

Maybe the airlines could make you take a quiz on the ground to get early boarding, and if everyone passes, no briefing!

[mikeash]

That would be why I said "if it were legal to do so...."

[sukilot]

If the announcements were safety related they would he repeated several times and FAs would single out individuals who needed to react.

[k-mcgrady]

>> "FAs would single out individuals who needed to react"

Yes, because in a real emergency (plane going down) we need the FAs spending the precious few seconds we have going up and down the cabin telling prats to take their headphones off and listen up...

[jMyles]

No, the FAs will go to the emergency escape rows and make sure that the passengers are ready to facilitate egress, as they agree to do when they sit in those rows.