Tired of in-flight headphones? I just tested the AirFly View, so I could use my Sonos headphones wirelessly while in the air – connecting is so easy

I've long written about my favourite travel gadget: AirFly. It's a little Bluetooth dongle made by Twelve South, designed so you can connect your own wireless headphones and listen to an in-flight entertainment system (IFE) on a flight.

Just last month, however, the AirFly View was announced, upgrading the concept further by adding a little built-in screen to the device. And I was sent one to test out on a recent long-haul flight from London to Austin, Texas.

The trip turned out to be quite the fruitful personal adventure in tech, from using the latest AirFly in flight, to experiencing Starlink for the first time on a British Airways flight, to then carting myself around downtown Austin in Tesla's latest Cybercab automated taxi service.

If you're a frequent long-haul flyer, or even if you're infrequent but loathe the sometimes-provided headphones or earbuds on various carriers, then the AirFly View is the perfect match for you. I've used many of Twelve South's product iterations over the years, but the View is my favourite of the lot.

Why? Because the addition of a built-in screen just makes connecting so much easier. In previous AirFly products, sometimes I experienced a little more difficulty connecting – even to previously linked devices – and then struggling to figure out why. The addition of a display resolves that.

AirFly View switches on via a simple toggle to its side, which instantly activates the screen. You can use the two buttons on the device itself to cycle through options and make selections, as required, which makes assured Bluetooth pairing a breeze.

The View tells you what it's doing in the process each step of the way, then confirms the connection by displaying the connected product's name – and if that's long, then it'll scroll across the display to remain easily legible and avoid unwarranted tiny text.

When there's then no purpose for anything to display any longer, it'll fade out and avoid any unnecessary light pollution. Tap a button to bring the visuals back, which includes a battery level indicator – another benefit of the View's new feature.

I sometimes left AirFly products on, without realising, causing them to drain down to zero. With the View, it's easy to see how much juice is left – then easily plug it in with the provided USB-A-to-C cable to get it recharged.

There's even a cute little case included, which is certainly larger than the dongle itself, but also secures the included cable and an adaptor for dual 3.5mm inputs. You don't get a tri-shaped input adapter, as some older flights use, so be mindful of that.

I was able to wirelessly connect my Sonos Ace Ultra headphones in mere seconds, so I could enjoy (or, er, try to enjoy) The Sheep Detectives on my long-haul flight. They've got super noise-cancelling, are incredibly comfortable, and put in-flight hand-out headphones to shame.

I used the AirFly View for the return flight, too, so have tested it a number of times – and found zero issues with latency, meaning a perfectly matched image in relation to the audio track. Not that you have to use AirFly for flights and movies – relevant tablets with a 3.5mm output could, for example, permit two listeners to a Netflix show. Those with older car stereos, meanwhile, could even use it to stream music services.

I'm impressed with the value of the AirFly View, too. It's priced at £79.99 in the UK; the same $79.99 number in the USA, and €89.95 across Europe. For all you get, that's decent value – as it's only a tenner more than the earlier Pro 2 model. It's available in either black or blue.

You can see the latest deals in the shopping widget embedded below, but with Amazon holding the product in stock right now, Prime subscribers will likely find that their best source to purchase. It could make an ideal gift for the frequent flyer in your life – even if that's a personal gift to yourself!