Cellphone Use On Planes Coming Soon?

s31523 writes "A while back it was reported that cell phone use was given the OK on Emirate airlines. The BBC is now reporting European agencies back the use of cell phones in air. Plans have been developed to introduce technology that allow cell phone use on planes without any risk of interference. A spokesman for the UK regulator Ofcom said there were still many stages to pass through before final approval was given to the roll out of the plans, but the regulator said that the technology could be implemented next year."

And you thought you loved half hour train rides

[Cryacin]

Now we get loud mouthed cellphone jabbers AND 13 yr old SMS kiddies beeping away during the entire duration of Sydney and LA... I can forsee 15 hrs of absolute murderous psychopatic bliss.

Uh...you can do that now

[TheAxeMaster]

My phone has "airplane" mode where it doesn't transmit/receive, so I can still use it for its camera/music abilities.
 
On to the more important aspect: I hope this never gets implemented and for the most part I don't think it will. Lots of people like to sleep on planes and won't be able to with others yammering on their phones. Plus there is the extra time and cost for airlines to install the equipment to relay the signals. God only knows what "roaming" means at 38000 ft.

Cell phone free flights please

[OrangeTide]

I refuse to fly until an airline offers a cell phone free flight. I don't want to sit in a tiny tin can for 4+ hours listening to some dork yapping about god knows what, when there is no possibility of getting away from him.

If I can't "just walk away" then the only alternative is an ass kicking, and I assume if I punched someone out on a plane they would arrest me on the ground as a terrorists or something.

Re:Cell phone free flights please

[l2718]

Second that!

It's bad enough on trains and busses. Also, I don't think airline staff (that is the flight attentands) will want to mediate the disputes between people loudly yapping on the phone and people who want to sleep quietly. I suspect that till now the airlines were rather thappy to say "the government says you can't use your phone" and not have to worry about this. In the future they'll have to come down on one side or the other.

Re:Let me be the first to say

[Jarjarthejedi]

"If some guy next to you is annoying, just ask him nicely to not be."

If we lived in a society where people tried to be nice to one another then you'd be right, the rants would be dumb.

We don't live in such a society.

It's pretty clear from the way people act with cell phones on the ground that this is going to be an annoying change on airplanes. Who here hasn't seen/interacted with someone who talked excessively loud over their cell? I see (more hear) those people every day, are they magically going to vanish on airplanes? Same goes for people who talk forever.

We already have passenger's irritating other passengers without care on airplanes. My last flight we had someone who couldn't get a particular movie to play on the (obviously cheap) entertainment system. It was an old movie and (in my opinion) not very good but they kept complaining until the pilot decided to reset the system just to shut the guy up. After the reset he was fine, his movie played. Everyone else started getting random movies and the sound system didn't work but he was quite happy with himself. Add that to the multiple people swinging their luggage about without care while we were on the ground, the guy who went and got something out of his luggage when we were on the final runway, and the person who complained about the food and the trip was a quite unpleasant 9+ hours. Now add on someone talking on a cell phone for the entire trip, they don't even have to be that loud but they, or someone else, is always talking. Tell me, do you want to fly on that airplane?

mithra save us

[misanthrope101]

I'd rather someone be allowed to surf the web next to me, goatse and all, than be allowed to gab on their cell. I even hate it that they can use their cells in the terminals. Why does anyone need to call to say "I'm on the ground now"? Obviously we can't rely on people to be considerate of others, but up till now we could rely on airline restrictions for a little peace. I vote we allow text messages, but no voice messages. Everyone gets to play the quiet game. Shut the hell up.

Re:Uh...you can do that now

[Martin Blank]

I've seen flight attendants get very upset with passengers who swear that their phones are in airplane mode, and who offer to show the current setting. Some of them do not allow for anything that looks like a phone to even appear operational.

They also miss the wireless notebooks that are operational and probing for their home networks.

Re:I can guarantee this for the USA

[Anonymous Coward]

Right, because people from Mexico and Canada are just dying to come kill US citizens...

But, back on topic, I will be rather irritated with this, but I guess the paperback and mp3 player will have to save the day like they useually do.

Re:mithra save us

[misanthrope101]

Can't they seen on the monitor that the plane has landed? I've picked up many people from the airport, and never needed a phone call to find out that their plane was on the ground. If I'm not in the airport to look at the monitor, a phone call isn't going to get me there any faster.

Earplugs

[feepness]

Pssst... you can wear them the entire time you're in the airport: http://www.earplugsonline.com/ [earplugsonline.com]

Those earplugs + noise canceling headphones + a sleeping pill if you want = Transoceanic bliss.

Throw in a PSP or DS and a movie or two and you are good to go. Just don't forget to bring some spare batteries.

Compromise with text

[shmlco]

Allow SMS/text messaging only. No voice. Then we can have peace and quiet, and bozo business types who're afraid to be out of touch for an hour or so can still communicate with their underlings.

Re:Let me be the first to say

[QuickFox]

So what do you think is the best way to handle some irrational jackass on that horribly enclosed space that is a commercial passenger airliner?

The best solution is to allow cellphone usage in the seats at the back of the plane and forbid it in the seats at the front. You choose where to sit depending on your needs and preferences.

9/11 Anyone?

[anarking]

Gee... I thought we could already make crystal clear calls from 25,000ft up on cell phones based on the calls from supposed passengers on 9/11!

Oh wait... someone actually tested that with cell phones and none worked at all...

Funny isn't it how they were all made through Verizon and how chummy Verizon has been with DHS and the other agencies. hmmmmmm...

Re: Wait, what?

[Black Parrot]

Are they just making the rules up randomly or something?

Pretty much. The idea is to make people feel safer because they are doing something.

Or less safe, if some important unconstitutional legislation is up for a vote.

Re:Let me be the first to say

[hedwards]

I don't see why this was modded informative. Cell phones have been a problem for quite a while. I have one myself, and I rarely use it when there are other people present.

I take it from your post that you don't actually fly ever, because nobody that has been on a plane in the last few years would take those positions.

I am personally a large man, while I don't have a whole lot of extra flab, I do take up my entire seat, and more if we're talking about a 737. When somebody is taking up more space than is in a seat due to being obese they should be charge for the extra space. I barely fit in a seat as it is, and that's with the shoulders I was born with. I shouldn't have to forfeit any of my space because the person next to me chose to put on a lot of weight.

You do have a bit of a point with babies, but it is still a miserable way to fly.

As for the phones, they are basically a menace to any sort of restful flight. The vast majority of cell phone users don't realize that you don't have to yell into them to be heard. I have one myself, and most of the time I can't hear myself and the microphone still picks it up sufficiently for the other party to hear my clearly.

Limiting the cell phone use on plans to a specific walled off area would be fine by me, but expecting me or the flight attendants to moderate how loud is too loud because people invariably don't care is fundamentally unreasonable.

Re:Compromise with text

[Mythrix]

And if you can apply the same rules to babies, we'll be all set!

I'm amazed and disgusted...

[mi]

That the "freedom-loving" slashdotters are all — posters and moderators — claiming to be happy, that the big lie [economist.com] of "cell phones may interfere with safety equipment on board" is being used to stop their fellow passengers from using their cell phones on the planes.

Evidently, the ends justify the means... Lying to millions of travelers to prevent a tiny minority of them from being inconsiderate, while at the same time offering them an option to pay $6/minute for the same sort of inconsideration...