WhatFinger

"Dude, I'm calling you from 30,000 feet!"

Transportation Dept. moving toward allowing phone calls on flights

By Dan Calabrese ——--December 9, 2016

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Wait, I'm confused. I thought the reason we had to always turn off our cell phones - or put them in airplane mode - was that the cell signals mess with the aircraft controls or something. No? Or is it a matter of calls only being possible through the inflight wifi that soaks you for another $9.95 on top of everything else? (Not that I hesitate to pay it. Not at all.) Apparently the bigger concern is that one person yakking on the phone will be annoying to the other passengers. This is a complaint about cell phones that's never made sense to me. If two people are sitting next to each other having a conversation - in which case you hear both ends of the convo - that's perfectly fine. But when you have to hear half the conversation because the other half is on the other end of the phone, that's intolerable? Tell me another one, America.
At any rate, it looks like we're getting closer to finding out:
The proposal won’t become final until agency officials analyze what is likely to be a torrent of public comments, many expected to be strongly opposed to calls in closed cabins. Airlines also could veto the move, and DOT could decide to ban all such airborne communications. Some frequent fliers already are salivating at the prospect. “I’m going to start saving all my billing questions and help desk inquiries for the plane. My whole row can suffer with me on hold,” said Michael Greene, a Chicago-based sales specialist for GE Healthcare. “We’re all going to start learning a lot more about the people we get seated next to,” he said. Phone calls on some flights are technically possible now using in-flight Wi-Fi services provided by companies like Gogo Inc. andViaSat Inc. Most Android and Applesmartphones are capable of calling over a Wi-Fi signal, and such calls also are possible via web-based Skype and Google Voice services. Federal restrictions and airline rules, however, outlaw such voice communications.
Commuters on trains and buses already have cellular services available. In response, Amtrak and commuter railroads have introduced “quiet cars” to limit noise, including the din of cellphone conversations. Gene Russianoff, staff attorney for the Straphangers Campaign, a New York-based subway rider-advocacy group, says passengers have come to expect access to cell service at underground stations. It is viewed as “another miracle of daily commuting,” he said, adding passenger have grown accustomed to it. “I don’t think it made much difference to the riding public,” Mr. Russianoff said.
If there's no safety reason to ban calls, there's really no reason to ban calls. Sitting on an airplane instantly puts you at maximum annoyance anyway. What difference does it make if someone nearby starts speaking words? Most people read or listen to music, but there's always some sort of noise. A person talking on a cell phone can't hold a candle to a screaming child - and yes, I've been that parent - and passengers all understand that it simply comes with the territory of being crammed into this flying sardine for however many hours.

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The real challenge is to improve in-flight WIFI

The real challenge is to improve in-flight wifi. It's OK, but it's rarely good enough run YouTube or anything else you have to stream online - let alone Skype, which is already technically available but difficult to use in practical terms because of the spotty connection you get up there. I don't really get that. If you can put a router on a plane, why can't you make it work well with a strong signal? It's not like you're in a gigantic space. That said, I prefer texting and e-mail to phone calls anyway, so don't go randomly dialing my number. But I can see how it would be a real boon for people in business to at least have the option of using otherwise dead time on a plane to knock out some phone calls. It's hard to get any writing done because the tiny space doesn't even leave you room to work on your laptop. You might as well talk on the phone. Just not to me.
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Dan Calabrese——

Dan Calabrese’s column is distributed by HermanCain.com, which can be found at HermanCain

Follow all of Dan’s work, including his series of Christian spiritual warfare novels, by liking his page on Facebook.

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