I have some Anker over the ear headphones which cost me around $70 IIRC. Noise cancellation is comparable to my AirPods but the main thing is the battery life.

Only time I use it is on long flights and I swap it with AirPods during TATL or TPAC flights.

That way I use over the ears while charging my AirPods or when they become uncomfortable after a couple of hours.

Same thing, the over the ears become uncomfortable after an hour or two.

Also, side sleeper so I can't wear the over the ears when trying to sleep on flights and I still want noise cancellation.

I haven't tried to wear the over the ears when walking around, which could be hours during the summer. Instead, it's AirPods in one ear so I can listen to podcasts and hear the environment.

That is why I haven't invested in the Bose or Sony higher-end over the ears headphones. Just probably wouldn't use enough to justify the expense.

I do wonder how much better the noise cancellation would be, just to have the extra 10-20% better noise cancellation on flights. I would assume the difference in noise cancellation performance between my AirPods Pro 2 and the best Bose or Sony headphones isn't 2X or even 50% better for the latter.