I've currently got plans to fly on BA (One World award) from LHR-DEL next winter along with my husband (Z class). Does anyone know if Z passengers are currently being offered Bose (or any other brand) noise reduction headphones for the trip?

Thanks in advance ...

In Club World (business class) they are def not BOSE and are def not any class make. They always seem a bit flimsy and cheap, although they may claim to work as noise reducing, they do not work in the same way as the BOSE on AA First.

I myself, use Etymotics earphones to block out engine noise.

If you want the finer details, and don't get any joy here, they will probably know everything about them to a scary degree on the BA board but they will probably also state that if it is old style CW then the tv won't be worth watching and if it is new style then it will probably not work

They are pretty crap really, perhaps a little worse than those offered on CX

Very true!

I second that - the Etymotics earphones are excellent - I have used them on BA for many years (and just purchased the more sensitive model for an iPod too).

In my unscientific view it is better to stop the noise reaching the ears (Etymotics approach) rather than add out-of-phase noise on top of the noise (Bose et al approach), isn't it?

Agree completely, but it's hard to compare them, because Bose is an over the ear headphone and Etymotic goes in the ear canal (all the way in), so both have benefits/disadvantages the other does not have. I own Bose, but I'm going to buy Etymotic as well, because neither is perfect for all situations.

And if nothing else, Etymotic earphones are very small (put them in your carryon or in your pants pocket or shirt pocket!), and:

(a) They can be used before airline headphones are handed out (often not till an hour or more into the flight) and after airline headphone are collected (often an hour or more before landing).

(b) They can be used no matter what cabin you're seated in (ie, they work almost as well if you're sitting in an exit row or BA's prerium economy cabin because you couldn't or didn't want to upgrade/uppay, my "almost" qualification being simply due to that fact that an overwing exit row might be a slightly noiser place to be than a business or first class cabin).

(c) They can be used on the ground too (when you can't find a quiet part of the airport lounge, for example!).

So I would recommned them as a backup even on flights where you expect to get headphones from the airline because you're up front.