U.S. Department of Transportation to Pursue Ban on In-Flight Cell Phone Calls

I guess I'm the one person who doesn't see a problem with talking on the phone. To me it is EXACTLY the same as holding a conversation with an actual person sitting next to you, which isn't illegal. How about instead of having crazy laws that could get in the way of people being able to hold important emergency conversations: "My flight is delayed" or "The plane is about to crash and I just wanted the last words you hear to be I love you", lets just use common sense. If a person is having an unnecessarily long or loud conversation tell them to please be quiet or if that doesn't work get the flight assistant to do it. Have it be a policy for the airlines to advise everyone to keep phone calls short and not disturb fellow passengers.

I just find it really weird that in a country where we can't get guns that kill people outlawed we can ban phone conversations because they might annoy people...

Saturn1217 said:

I guess I'm the one person who doesn't see a problem with talking on the phone. To me it is EXACTLY the same as holding a conversation with an actual person sitting next to you, which isn't illegal. How about instead of having crazy laws that could get in the way of people being able to hold important emergency conversations: "My flight is delayed" or "The plane is about to crash and I just wanted the last words you hear to be I love you", lets just use common sense. If a person is having an unnecessarily long or loud conversation tell them to please be quiet or if that doesn't work get the flight assistant to do it. Have it be a policy for the airlines to advise everyone to keep phone calls short and not disturb fellow passengers.

I just find it really weird that in a country where we can't get guns that kill people outlawed we can ban phone conversations because they might annoy people...

Click to expand...

It's not exactly the same, that's the difference. You and another person next to you when having a conversation are even subconsciously typically aware of the surroundings and adjust (again even without realizing) to them. Sure, not everyone does it or to the same degree, but for the most part that's part of human nature. On the phone, it's a fairly different thing where you aren't really in the same environment in your mind anymore. Some people still adjust of course, but it's not as natural and not nearly as common as it is with a normal face to face conversation. In a very confined space without any exits and essentially in the middle of nowhere where people are generally in the same position often for a long time the impact of that difference is much more pronounced.

mtneer said:

There were a lot of phone calls from passengers on hijacked planes on 9/11 and they weren't exactly flying low to avoid radar.

Click to expand...

They were not making those calls when they were at cruising altitude.

Hitch08 said:

Sorry, but this literally made me laugh out loud.

Click to expand...

*phone

mtneer said:

There were a lot of phone calls from passengers on hijacked planes on 9/11 and they weren't exactly flying low to avoid radar.

Click to expand...

I fly almost weekly. Cell signals at even a few thousand feet above major metropolitan areas are either non-existent or sporadic at best.

Annoyances on planes

Since when does the FCC or the Department of Transportation have the right to govern bad manners? This is the United States, right? For a minute or two, given the overwhelming attitude in this discussion, I thought we were in China.
Talking on a cell phone in flight is not a safety issue. If the person is yelling, or causing a safety issue, then he should be dealt with. They deal people who shout and otherwise disrupt flights by arresting them, and turning the plane around as necessary. Making or receiving a call on a flight is not a safety issue. It should NOT BE GOVERNED BY LAW.

This stupid law will probably pass, despite my objections, but it's just wrong.

Seriously, let's ban crying babies, seats that don't recline more than 0.25 inches, people who sneeze loudly, kids who kick the seat from behind, people who fill up the overhead bins before I get on the plane leaving me no room at all for my carry on luggage.

If the airlines want to ban calls, that's different. it's their plane, and it's up to them to make flights comfortable for passengers. If they ban cell phone calls, I'm ok with it.

squirrelist said:

I can understand the DOT banning phone calls if there was a technical or safety reason. But why should they make a law for people to be courteous? As far as I see it, this is no different than talking on the phone in a theater. Theaters ban phone calls in the theaters not because of law but because it is disrespectful to others. Airlines can (and probably should) do the same thing.

Click to expand...

But they won't. Not when they can make a metric f***ton of money in deals with cellular carriers to have service in the air.

MacRumors said:

... plans to pursue a ban on in-flight phone calls ...

Click to expand...

I don't really give a flying f--- either way.

Squeak825 said:

People that are worried about everyone talking on the phone while in flight is forgetting one critical thing: most cell phones can't reach a tower reliably while cruising.

That means that the airlines would have to put into place their own microcell on the plane to provide reception -- like they do for wifi.

And access to that won't be cheap or free.

Click to expand...

Definitely true, but also let's remember voice can go over wifi quite easily using existing apps (and natively in iOS 8, apparently).

Ralf The Dog said:

If you jam the cell phones, you would jam the inflight electronics. This would not be good.

Click to expand...

Different and discrete frequencies. A mobile in flight electronic jammer is NOT same as phone jammer. Phone jammer having that ability gives wannabe terrorists an ez "down the plane" card. Not sure what you'r basing your electronic knowledge on?

cjmillsnun said:

But they won't. Not when they can make a metric f***ton of money in deals with cellular carriers to have service in the air.

Click to expand...

They're going to make money off data one way or another. If voice is disallowed, they'll sell you a few MB of data for a gazillion dollars

Squeak825 said:

People that are worried about everyone talking on the phone while in flight is forgetting one critical thing: most cell phones can't reach a tower reliably while cruising.

That means that the airlines would have to put into place their own microcell on the plane to provide reception -- like they do for wifi.

And access to that won't be cheap or free.

Click to expand...

Wifi calling.

Saturn1217 said:

I guess I'm the one person who doesn't see a problem with talking on the phone. To me it is EXACTLY the same as holding a conversation with an actual person sitting next to you, which isn't illegal.

Click to expand...

HUGE difference. For one thing, as others have pointed out, there's context with people next to you and you don't YELL THE WAY PEOPLE ON A LOUD AIRPLANE ARE LIKELY TO DO ON A PHONE CALL.

How about instead of having crazy laws that could get in the way of people being able to hold important emergency conversations: "My flight is delayed"

Click to expand...

"In case of emergency" is the flimsy justification people use for having their damned phones on at the movie theater as well, and it's a bogus argument. 20 years ago, did everyone just die spontanously every time they left their house because they didn't have a personal telephone on them? Also: do you know that text messaging exists and can be used to convey such "emergency" information as "My flight is delayed" << not an emergency by the way

or "The plane is about to crash and I just wanted the last words you hear to be I love you", lets just use common sense.

Click to expand...

Please, get a grip. Also, I'm gonna take a wild guess that in this 1 in 100,000,000 situation, the person just breaks the rule without any fear of being punished?

The source article states:

The Department of Transportation said it is developing a notice of proposed rulemaking on in-flight voice calls, but has yet to make a determination on what the notice or any final rule will say. An earlier version of this article cited a DOT spokeswoman as saying that the notice of proposed rulemaking would lay out the department's objections to passengers making and receiving calls. On Monday, the department said that spokeswoman was incorrect.

Click to expand...

Not that it will make any difference to this discussion...

This is stupid. Y'all are missing the real issue here.

Leave it up to the airlines. We do not need the feds telling us when we can and can not use a cellphone - assuming there is not a technical/safety reason.

thebroz said:

Since when does the FCC or the Department of Transportation have the right to govern bad manners? This is the United States, right? For a minute or two, given the overwhelming attitude in this discussion, I thought we were in China.
Talking on a cell phone in flight is not a safety issue. If the person is yelling, or causing a safety issue, then he should be dealt with. They deal people who shout and otherwise disrupt flights by arresting them, and turning the plane around as necessary. Making or receiving a call on a flight is not a safety issue. It should NOT BE GOVERNED BY LAW.

This stupid law will probably pass, despite my objections, but it's just wrong.

Seriously, let's ban crying babies, seats that don't recline more than 0.25 inches, people who sneeze loudly, kids who kick the seat from behind, people who fill up the overhead bins before I get on the plane leaving me no room at all for my carry on luggage.

If the airlines want to ban calls, that's different. it's their plane, and it's up to them to make flights comfortable for passengers. If they ban cell phone calls, I'm ok with it.

Click to expand...

Finally! It took 56 posts.

This is about big government telling you what to do. I'm OK if the FAA or whatever governing body says they won't allow in flight communications because it could interfere with the aircraft's electronic systems. Just like I'm OK with the government setting speed limits on roads. We do need the government to do this things. It's their job.

It's not their job to tell airlines to ban phone calls in flight because all the Macrumors readers find it annoying. If you read the article you'll notice that the airlines don't want it either. Let the airlines decide. If you want to talk on your phone in flight and get a headache from the loud-mouthed lawyer babbling on his phone all flight then pick Airline A. If you want peace and quiet on your flight then pick Airline B.

octothorpe8 said:

They're going to make money off data one way or another. If voice is disallowed, they'll sell you a few MB of data for a gazillion dollars

Click to expand...

I've flown Southwest, AA and Virgin America withing the last year and all had free wifi. My husband works overseas and Turkish Air and BA also had free wifi. I don't think the airlines will be charging for wifi. At least not yet. It seems to be a big selling point for now. Perhaps at some point in the future someone will and it most likely will be one of the discount carriers.

As for the topic at hand, I personally don't like the idea of cell calls on the plane. I'm with most everyone else in that there is enough noise without it. If it does go through then I guess I'll be investing in some really good noise canceling headphones. Right now my little ear buds are enough but with cells calls....

If left upto the airlines I suspect they will disallow it in coach but allow quiet calls in business and first class. Since I fly business class I won't like it. But I suspect the passengers will be demanding it. So I'm for the DOT passing the rule. Oh, by the way, to a couple of posters calling this a 'law', it's not a law. It would be a rule. Only Congress can pass a law.

Saturn1217 said:

I guess I'm the one person who doesn't see a problem with talking on the phone. To me it is EXACTLY the same as holding a conversation with an actual person sitting next to you...

Click to expand...

Not even close to the same.

If you shout loudly at someone sitting next to you, they will quickly lean away and tell you to stop shouting in their ear.

If you shout at someone over the cell phone, they will just shout back. Cell phones have limiting headphone volume (for legal reasons?). So the person on the other end of the cell phone conversation has no reason to be surprised that you are being a shouting loud mouthed idiot. In fact, they often become one themselves.

And most people shout on the cell phone so that they can hear themselves, since they can't see the listener nod apparently understandingly at much lower sound levels. It's the problem of no visual feedback.

Kids and phones should be relegated to the wings!

ghettochris said:

I was on a plane with free wifi, and you weren't allowed to do skype calls... That is the type of thing this argument is about.

Click to expand...

i was on virgin america and had no problem with FaceTime while in the air.

yg17 said:

No, you wouldn't get a signal. This is about whether airlines should be allowed to install equipment on board that acts as a mini cell tower and communicates with the ground via satellites. The technology exists and is in use by other airlines elsewhere in the world.

It would come at a premium and likely be a roaming call, similar to the way cell service on cruise ships works, which, last I checked, was north of $2 a minute.

Click to expand...

I thought it was about if you were allowed to make skype calls or voip calls with wifi, which is not allowed with any wifi on planes i've used.

InfoTime said:

Finally! It took 56 posts. .

Click to expand...

And after 66 posts, nobody but me apparently noticed that the article actually says that the DOT has not in fact arrived at a ruling on this issue. So there's no reason to get angry, unless of course you get your jollies from being angry.

OLDCODGER said:

Kids and phones should be relegated to the wings!

Click to expand...

where do they put all the fuel then?

nostresshere said:

We do not need the feds telling us when we can and can not use a cellphone...

Click to expand...

Depends on whether or not more flights have to make emergency landings or delayed departures/arrivals because passengers get in unruly fights. This already happens every year. No reason for our airport taxes to go up, plus cause more flight delays for the other innocent passengers.

firewood said:

Not even close to the same.

If you shout loudly at someone sitting next to you, they will quickly lean away and tell you to stop shouting in their ear.

Click to expand...

The person sitting next to you will tell you to shut up on an airplane as well if you shout on the phone, still don't see much difference.