Cell phones on airplanes: Threat or menace?
Larry Kellner, chairman and chief executive of Houston-based Continental, said he would back only the limited use of cell phones on planes. He likened widespread cell phone use to smoking, which was allowed on airplanes for years before being banned.
Currently in the United States, personal cell phones only can be used on aircraft before takeoff or after landing, and their use is regulated by two government agencies.
While cell phone use during flight is restricted, federal agencies have been considering whether to relax the rule.
The issue of cell phones on airplanes can be a contentious one, as many people say they don’t want to be forced to listen to other people’s phone conversations.
Kellner’s remarks about limiting calls during flight were met with applause by many attending his speech at the International Trade Summit & Expo 2006. He made the comment in response to a question from the audience.
Kellner didn’t see a need to ban brief calls in flight, but he favors Internet access as well as text-messaging on cell phones or BlackBerries, the best known brand among the personal digital assistants that are standard equipment for those who want to be constantly in touch with their e-mail.
“Sometime in 2008 we hope to see broadband” Internet access, Kellner said.
Officials of Continental want to ban calls using voice over IP or Internet protocol, or VoIP, “because we think it is distracting,” Kellner added.
I read this story to Tiffany, and her reaction was “I’d pay $10 more for my ticket to get on a cellphone-free flight.” Actually, I think at least some airlines will eventually try stuff like that, and also a resurrection of the seat seaction concept that was the rule in the days of smoking flights – call them the “blathering” and “no blathering” sections. Alas, much like the “no smoking” sections back then, it’ll be more illusion than reality. Maybe advances in sound-dampening technologies will do for us what the planes’ air circulation systems couldn’t do in the 70s. In the meantime, let me second Kellner’s endorsement of text messaging and email. I’m sure Miss Manners will back me up on this one.
My plan, the day I’m squeezed into my economy class veal pen next to somebody jabbering on the phone while I’m trying to read or sleep or work, is to join their conversation.
The right way to do this would be to set aside a small area (perhaps right by the bathrooms) where people can, when the fasten seat belt light is off, walk over and use their phones.
The idea of having to sit on a plane listening to my neighbor saying, “Hi! I’m on a plane! Where are you? At Starbucks? Cool!” is horrifying.
I have a bluetooth motorola e815 phone from verizon which I can tether via a bluetooth connection to my laptop or PDA for surfing the internet. It’s lightning fast in EVDO areas and about 112k baud elsewhere.
On my last flight from Dallas to Seattle it was great. I surfed most of the way there on my laptop with my phone sitting in my computer bag at my feet.
Yes, that violated airline policy. But we wouldn’t be having this debate in the first place if there were any safety issues involved. And as long as you don’t have your phone to your ear what do they know?
As for being bothered by others using their phones? I’m no really that worried about it. I had to listen to some old lady talk about her grandchildren on the last flight. I’m not sure what the difference is. Yes, there is that chance that you’ll end up sitting beside some corporate sales type who spends the entire flight on the phone. Get a pair of noise reducing headphones or an iPod.
I definitely DON’T want a separate phone “lounge” on the plane. Last thing I want is some young corporate type with a window seat to be tripping over my legs every time he wants to make a phone call.
Personally what will make my airline travel better is the following:
1. Better and more reliable luggage service. I’d like to see the airlines allow handchecking of a moderate amount of luggage at the gate like they do on small commuter flights so that you only go through the regular baggage claim for big luggage.
2. Video on demand. I flew on a LanChile flight 2 years ago that had video on demand for all coach seats. You had a LCD monitor on the seatback in front of you and a remote control mounted to your armrest that you could pull off and manipulate. There were about 25 movie choices and a lot of other things like video games. I haven’t seen anything similar on US flights but maybe I’m on the wrong airlines. I almost always fly American, Alaskan, or Continental for frequent flyer miles.
3. Better food service.
Oh, by the way, if any of you reading this do any sort of regular flying and/or buy airline tickets online. Go check out http://www.seatguru.com
It’s a great site that lets you see online diagrams of the seat patterns for every plane on every major airline. You can see the good and bad seats with comments on which seats won’t recline or have shorter legroom. And you can do things like find which seats have power ports for laptops.
Tiff may be onto something, but I’d flip that proposition…if you want to use a cell phone you have to pay $10 extra for the flight. After all, the restriction came as a result reports of cellphones interfering with navigation systems. The $10 fee would go to pay for shielding navigation components.
Or better yet, much like Continental sells the headsets for $5, they could sell a personal device that shielded signal interference for $10. The fact that they look a lot like a reinforced trash bag, must be worn over the head and sealed frequently causing auto- telephonic asphixiation is pure coincidental.
I don’t own a cell phone.
I can only think of two things that would be worse than being forced to listen to someone’s cellphone conversation while trapped on an already uncomfortable airplane.
The kid behind you kicking your seat, and the baby with the full diaper.
I just got back from Australia. The people who sat behind me, couldn’t sit still for 5 minutes. Between kicking my wifes seat, and yanking on the back of mine, we were at wits end.
Add a cellphone conversation or three in there, and there would have been violence.
Broadband internet? yes.
Cellphones? an emphatic no.
He likened widespread cell phone use to smoking, which was allowed on airplanes for years before being banned.
Oh, come on. Smoking was banned on planes for the same reason it’s now banned in Houston restaurants: it’s an involuntary health hazard to nonsmokers. Cell phone use is annoying, but it’s hardly the same thing. The passengers aren’t flying the plane, after all!
I’ve heard various explanations for the current ban. One, touted on the TV show Mythbusters, is that there’s a small risk of interference. Another is that lots of active cellphones on a plane wreak havoc with “handoffs” as the plane flies over a city. And of course, there’s the conspiracy theory: it’s to force you to use the expensive Airfone system.
None of them really hold water. The Mythbusters did show that a cellphone signal could interfere with avionics, but only older avionics – not more modern devices. There may be some merit to the handoff concern, but folks (including on the hijacked flights of 9/11) have used cellphone service on airplanes without apparent problems, And if the conspiracy theory is true, why aren’t they allowed on flights without Airfones?
I think it’s just overcautiosness, coupled with the annoyance factor. If so, Kuff’s blathering/no blathering sections idea is a reasonable solution, provided they put a bulkhead between the sections, as with coach and first class. With their no-first-class planes, Southwest would be poised to take immediate advantage!
Or better yet, much like Continental sells the headsets for $5, they could sell a personal device that shielded signal interference for $10.
Are we unclear on the concept of radio wave propagation? A “personal” device that “shielded” a cellphone would render it nonfunctional!