There is a movement afoot to make cellphone use legal on airplanes. In concept I like the idea because if I am going to be stuck in a flying tube for a few hours it would be nice to have another distraction.
In practice the idea scares me. I hate the idea of being forced to listen to hundreds of people talking at once. It sounds like a perfect way to cause trouble. Can you imagine what the noise level will be like, especially since so many people yell into their telephones.
In the same vein I have no problem with the idea of using other devices that can be used quietly, such as Blackberries.
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Noooooo…. wait…
Blackberry’s, text messaging = yes
phones & loud jerks talking on them = NO!
Hi B2 and M,
From my perspective the problem stems from the large numbers of people who could be speaking simultaneously in a “normal tone of voice.”
And then when you add in the people are naturally loud or yelling to be heard and there you go.
Stewardesses, police, most passengers are against cellphones on planes, according to a report on NPR yesterday (Thursday), so I am guessing it probably will not happen. However, if there is enforcing people yakking once the plane takes off then it will just happen gradually.
The cellphone problem isn’t the technology’s fault — it’s the fault of manners-less folks who have no consideration for the other people around them. Cellphones just enable them to be more annoying. Solve the problem, not the symptom!
Hi Lucy,
Been there and done that. It is irritating.
Hi Charlie,
NoHo rocks. Sections are a good idea as long as there is some real space between the areas. No smoking sections often are ineffective because the smoke wafts over there anyway.
I flew recently and had the same thoughts. If people can chat on their cellphones on the planes, it will make the obnoxious noise pollution of rude cellphone chatterboxes that much worse.
People are already bad enough immediately before and after a flight. Like you really have to call someone the second the flight lands, before you’ve even gotten out of your seat?
If they do let people chat on their cells on flights, I hope they at least create “Chatting” and “Non-Chatting” sections, kind of like they do on Amtrak. They should even charge a fee for chatters. That would certainly boost sagging airline profits.
If you want to see what it’s like, just take a ride on the Long Island Railroad or Metro North.