Should Cell Phones Be Allowed on Planes? (page 2)

Should Cell Phones Be Allowed on Planes?

Posted by Claire | Friday January 14, 2011

Should cell phones be allowed on planes?

Oh no, you say. For safety reasons, you can't...right? Turns out, you'd be wrong.

Many airlines have equipped their airplanes for cell phone use, and the only thing holding passengers back from taking advantage of this technology is the law. However, as laws often go, they can vary from country to country. Several Middle Eastern carriers and British Airways offer the service already, with others in trial phase. So that's the technological question out of the way.

The bigger question, though, is would you want this? Would you want your seatmate jabbering away to her sister about the latest reality TV inanities while you're desperate for a jet lag-induced nap? Would you want a business man loudly issuing self-important musings to his assistant?

And here you thought the biggest problem with air travel was crying babies....

What do you think? Would you be in favour of lifting the in-air ban on cell phone use?

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16 Comments

	on January 14, 2011 LaurenBlair 128 said: I see new phone plans in the future: 300 free in-air minute, only $30/ month!
	on January 14, 2011 cathy3087 98 said: That's a good point you made Lauren about long distance! I wonder what your phone company will charge for a call made in the air...
	on January 14, 2011 LaurenBlair 128 said: Cathy I didn't even think about the security issue. I know I have trouble multitasking successfully when I'm on my phone, so I can't imagine trying to have a conversation (an important one if I'm paying long-distance while in the air) and trying to pay attention to safety instructions from the pilot.
	on January 14, 2011 Becky 13,128 said: Airplane signals travel at a different frequency than a cellphone, so technically it's not a security issue if we use cellphones on the plane, our cellphone signals won't make gibberish the communication between tower and plane, despite what they love to tell us. Having said that, I actually like that everyone has to turn off their phones when on board. I really don't want to listen to some booming voice making self important meetings over the phone...really, I'm with Lauren, can't we live with them off for a few hours? My only peeve is when they make you turn off your iPod during take off/landing... what is that!? For goodness sakes, the internet service that they have on board already available is the same service that my ipod would be using IF i had wifi turned on and was trying to browse the web. Obviously since they offer it themselves, that's not a safety risk either!! I personally don't turn off my music, I hide my ipod on my lap and have their on board personal tv on so they think I'm watching something, and all the while I'm jamming in my head .tee hee hee :-D
	on January 14, 2011 cathy3087 98 said: Absolutely NOT! That would be disastrous - and a surefire way to ensure I'm grumpy for the whole flight! It's obnoxious enough when someone is having a loud conversation on a bus or train, but on a airplane where you could be stuck for 12-14 hours at a time sounds like my nightmare!! And honestly, I do think that it poses a threat. For one thing, if people are on their phones, they (and people around them) could miss important safety announcements. And for another, if (god forbid) anyone is planning some terrorist actions, it could aid their plans when you can converse with people on other aircrafts or on land. That may sound a little extreme but I think that even the slightest threat is reason enough to keep the law. Horrible idea! The very thought of it gets me all riled up!
	on January 14, 2011 LaurenBlair 128 said: I don't fly that often, but I still don't love the idea of cell phones on planes. Can't we live with them off for a few hours?