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Early jet-powered airliners were characterized by extremely loud and high-pitched noises. People are reminded of these noisy aircraft whenever they appear in older movies, but, if you go to an airport today, those classic jet noises are largely absent. There is no loud noise from the engines as they idle or taxi, and the noise during takeoff is more of a deep roar than a high-pitched scream.
At the airport, passengers may notice some aircraft are quieter than others, with the Airbus A350 standing out as one of the quietest. In the United States, Delta Air Lines is currently the only airline operating these aircraft, although United Airlines has some on order. The type is much more popular with other international airlines, and there is a high chance that a visiting widebody airline from Europe or Asia will be an A350. Here is what to know about why the A350’s cabin is so quiet.
A Clean Sheet Long-Haul Aircraft
The Airbus A350 is a clean-sheet widebody aircraft, and as such, Airbus engineers were able to design it from nose to tail with the most modern technology. Aircraft manufacturers are constantly faced with the option of either upgrading existing aircraft or producing a whole new aircraft. Upgrading existing aircraft is generally cheaper and faster, but it means the manufacturers have to compromise on the aircraft’s design and are limited by what new technologies they can introduce.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350 XWB are the only two clean-sheet widebody aircraft on the market, and the composition of these jets reflects that Around 70% of the A350’s airframe is constructed out of advanced materials, including 53% composites, a share that is comparable to the Dreamliner.
The Airbus A330neo and Boeing 777X, on the other hand, are not clean-sheet aircraft. They have new engines, new wings, but are still limited by what new technology they can incorporate. With the Triple-Seven, Boeing has only been able to increase its share of advanced materials from 12% on legacy 777s to 30% for the 777X. Meanwhile, the A330neo is overwhelmingly constructed out of aluminum, retaining a 95% commonality with previous generation A330ceos.
Carbon-Fibre Reinforced Plastics Also Dampen Noise
Constructing the aircraft out of advanced materials, including composites, comes with a range of benefits. They are lighter (which helps to increase the aircraft’s fuel efficiency), and they are more robust. Among other things, this allows the aircraft to have a higher cabin pressure, increasing from the equivalent of 8,000 feet in altitude to 6,000 feet. They have increased humidity, further increasing passenger comfort.
The aircraft’s carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) is made from carbon fibres that are bound together with plastic resin, making them lighter than aluminum, stronger than iron, and more corrosion-resistant than either metal. Overall, these aircraft are less susceptible to corrosion and fatigue, while being easier to maintain. CFRP panels help to transmit and dampen structural vibrations compared with aluminum.
Airbus found that a composite structure allowed a quieter interior environment when combined with the appropriate lining and isolation. Put another way, the A350’s composite skin with the international liner arrangement helps to reduce the amount of engine and airframe vibration that becomes cabin sound. Other changes to interior acoustics also allow Airbus to reduce sound by installing acoustic dampening sidewalls and ceilings.
Why The Airbus A350 Has Such An Ultimate Passenger Experience
Discover why the Airbus A350 offers the ultimate passenger experience — quieter cabins, roomier seats, and comfort praised by flyers worldwide.
Next Generation Rolls-Royce Trent XWB Engines
The Airbus A350 is exclusively powered by Rolls-Royce’s advanced Trent XWB engines. This is a modern, high-bypass turbofan design that allows a large mass of air to be accelerated more slowly as opposed to a smaller mass of air being accelerated at a greater speed. The high-pitched jet noise of older aircraft is largely absent from these engines.
It’s not just the size of the engines, as their internal design also plays a part. Rolls-Royce has worked on the fan/blade shapes, the stage phasing, and combustion/HP/IP design to reduce noise, and says it has “created a quieter engine by design, reducing noise pollution.” It adds that “Airbus engineers are now looking to the skies towards the same end, studying the serration on the wings of owls, who glide silently through the night, to aid new design modelling.”
The A350’s nacelles are also built with acoustic liners, which are porous layers, honeycomb, or foam-type structures designed to absorb noise from the fan and bypass stream. Additionally, the chevrons on some modern engines are also designed to allow the smoother mixing of hot jet air and ambient air to reduce mixing noise.
Other Noise Reductions & Perceptions
Besides the materials and the engines, there are plenty of other design features in the A350 that minimize noise. The sidewalls, ceiling, overhead bins, and floors are all fitted with sound-absorbing materials. These are progressively upgraded as new techniques and technologies become available. As such, it’s less important to carry noise-cancelling headphones on the aircraft, although they are worth taking anyway, as they are typically superior to the ones airlines provide.
The A350 even has better seals around the doors and galley areas to help insulate the aircraft from external noise. The shape of the aircraft is designed for aerodynamic efficiency, as well as to reduce aerodynamic noise. The airframe was extensively tested in wind tunnels to reduce airframe-generated turbulent noise.
When discussing cabin noise, it’s important to remember that the rear of the cabin is noisier than the front. This makes it problematic for passengers to compare experiences on different aircraft types unless they sat in the equivalent part of the cabin.
Noise perception is more than just how much noise there is, as people’s perception of noise is also influenced by how comfortable they are. The more fatigued they are, the more they will be irritated by background noise. With this in mind, the increased cabin pressure, improved lighting, and higher humidity are all designed to increase passenger comfort and noise perception, which can help the cabin feel quieter.
What Are The Loudest & Quietest Seat On A Plane?
Noise levels in the cabin vary depending on where you are sitting.
The Airbus A350 Is Quieter For Everyone
While passengers may appreciate how much quieter the A350 is compared with previous-generation aircraft, its noise reduction extends beyond the passenger cabin. One Cathay Pacific pilot said that it is “noticeably quieter than other aircraft in the cruise.” He adds that “I particularly notice it when coming into land through horrible weather. It’s raining, and you’re being battered around a bit on approach, but on the flight deck you can talk at normal conversation levels.“
|
Average equivalent continuous sound pressure level (per study) |
|
|---|---|
|
Airbus A380 |
69.5 dB(A) and 83.7 dB(C) |
|
Boeing 787-9 |
72.7 dB(A) and 86.9 dB(C) |
|
Airbus A350-900 |
74.9 dB(A) and 87.9 dB(C) |
Virgin Atlantic notes that the A350 is quiet on the outside, “which is significant for anyone who lives near, or works at, an airport.” Overall, the A350 footprint is 52% smaller than that of older aircraft like the 747-400. This comes with various other benefits, as some airports, like Amsterdam’s Schiphol, are enacting restrictions on older, noisier aircraft. Restrictions include curfews for noisy aircraft. In 2025, Schiphol announced a ban on the loudest aircraft from operating during the night.
The A350 May Or May Not Be The Quietest Aircraft Overall
The Airbus A350 is one of the best aircraft in its class, but it is not unique. Broadly, it belongs to the same category as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, while the double-decker Airbus A380 is also loved by passengers for its low cabin noise. While Boeing may dispute it, Airbus claims that “the A350’s cabin is also the quietest on a twin-aisle aircraft.” Specifically, it says that its clean-sheet widebody is up to 5 decibels quieter than competing aircraft, and even quieter at the front of the cabin.
At cruise, the cabin decibel levels are typically below 60 dB. That said, few things are ever that straightforward in the aviation industry. A study by Applied Acoustics measured the onboard noise levels on the A330-300, A350-900, A380, 777-200ER, and 787-9 and found the A380 was the quietest at 69.5 dB. It found the Dreamliner came second at 72.7 dB and the A350-900 third at 74.9 dB. The study added that “the difference was deemed to be minimal as the difference was within 1 to 3 dB.”
Sometimes, aircraft manufacturers can benefit from the mistakes that others make. For example, when the Bombardier CSeries (now the Airbus A220), passengers noticed a high-pitched howling often likened to a dying whale. This was caused by complications with the aircraft’s design paired with its Pratt & Whitney GTF engines. Embraer was able to reduce the sound on its GTF-powered E-Jet series while Airbus more or less eliminated it on the GTF-powered A320neos.
