Sennheiser HD590 on an airline flight?

I assume that you are posing this question because the HD590 is an open-back design, which makes the sound from the headphones audible to someone sitting next to you. As a general proposition, I don't think this will be a concern as the cabin noise will drown out most of the output from the headphones. I often use my Sennheiser HD600 headphones on airplane flights, playing them through the Sennheiser DSP 360 unit. I keep the volume at a reasonable level, and have never had anyone next to me complain.

Scott, Thanks for the comment. You are correct in that I was concerned about playing them and disturbing the person in the next seat. What is a DSP 360?

No concern! The Sennheisers - 600 in my case - along with Apple iPod 40 are the best companions in a plane.

Husk01: the Sennheiser DSP 360 is a small amplifier / digital signal processing unit. It has RCA inputs for CD players, etc., and a mini-jack for output to headphones. The "DSP" feature creates the sense of a nearly 360 wrap-around sound (this technology was originally developed for use in combat aircraft). Although the DSP 360 does not offer noise cancellation (which can be very enjoyable on long plane flights), I have found it to work well anyway. The DSP 360 retails for about $150, but I bought mine on sale for $49 from The Audio Advisor about a year ago.

The HD280pro would be better. Sealed, cheap and sound pretty good also.

I have the Sennheiser HD580's and do a lot of business travel where I have tried using these. Since a jet makes so much noise, if I turn it up to the point where my neighbor can hear, it is probably too loud for my own hearing. I am looking at switching to etymotic ear buds with a much higher level of noise isolation. http://www.headphone.com/layout.php?topicID=3&subTopicID=26

The noise, vibration and harshness developed by jets tire you more than you think; Etymotics are the headphones to use on business travel and they now make a lower-priced model, the ER-6.