You Might Be Able To Use Your Cell Phone On Your Next Flight If The Tests Are Successful….
Think back to you last flight, where you were sleeping, reading, eating or quietly watching a DVD on your laptop computer. This could now changes due to airline companies pushing the use of cellular phones on planes. Yeah it’s great to be able to communicate with the ground while your thirty two thousand feet, in the sky, but think how annoying it would be for the person next to you, trying to catch up on sleep after a long day of traveling. This could be possible very soon which might scare many people that want to be away from friends, family or work while traveling on a plane.
Put the blame on Qantas and Ryanair as they were one of the first airline companies that announced last year that they would be one of the first airlines testing the theory. Although after testing cell phone use on its Boeing 767, if cell phones didn’t interfere with navigational and communications systems they would let passengers bring limited cell phones aboard all of their fleet of planes. Passengers would not be able to make full calls on their planes but they would at least be able to send and receive text messages; which I think other passengers trying to relax wouldn’t mind.
This is where I think that many people would get mad; Air France announced that it will also be testing cell phone use aboard a plane, and if they don’t find any cell phone interference they will allow them onboard their aircrafts. Air France doesn’t want to just allow text messaging, they want to allow full calls.
Following on the bandwagon, Jet Blue; a large US Airline, announced that they might let passengers use their cellular phones to text message and check voice mail only. I’m glad to see that here; in the US passengers won’t be able to make full calls. I would be nice to travel on Jet Blue because they have DIRECTV on select flights, so you can sit back send a few text messages, watch television and in a few hours be at your destination.
In conclusion let the tests decide if cellular phones will be allowed in planes in the near future. I think that allowing text messaging is great but I do not accept of allowing full calls for the duration of flights. On select flights you can currently make calls using an Air Phone, generally found near your tray table but I think that the high prices of calls limited the use of Air Phones. One drawback is cell phone signals cannot make it from the ground up thirty two thousand feet or higher to your phone for calls, so in that case satellites will be in place to bring the cellular signal from the ground for around $2.50 a minute or higher. What do you think about the use of cell phones aboard a plane? I think text messaging isn’t a problem, but voice calls will be extremely annoying, while the person in the seat next to you is chatting away while you’re trying to sleep. Let me know if you think cell phones should be allowed for use on planes by leaving a comment below. Thanks!
(Credit Cnet Networks)
August 20, 2007 at 3:19
As much as I would like the ability to be able to talk on me cell during flight….I can only imagine a plane full of passengers all talking on their cell phones at the same time. Miserable!!!