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FAA Officially Allows Airlines to Expand Use of Personal Electronics on Commercial Flights

elemenoP said:
What's the difference between "below 10,000 ft" and "during actual take-off and landing roll?" which per the text is the new rule?

Also, it says "put away books and magazines," does that mean print ones as well? And the graphic says "put away heavy devices" but the text doesn't mention this. How much does a heavy device weigh?

This is all so vague, it's worse than the old rules.
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The reason for devices being stowed during take-off and landing roll is not because of their electronic danger but because they can become a physical danger in the cabin and become airborne and possibly injure someone. Printed material would be included in this.
 
parseckadet said:
Is it just me, or is this requirement that you not even be holding a paper book or magazine during takeoff and landing new? I've never heard that one before.
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I've heard of the rule, but it's pretty unenforceable unless you're within eyeshot and earshot of the seated flight attendant, because they're not walking up and down the aisles during the takeoff roll.

Otherwise, I'm all for relaxing the new rule. The way it worked before, they made you turn everything off as soon as they closed the cabin door until you reached 10,000 feet. I remember one flight where there was a long line for the runway and it was over an hour before we took off. All the naysayers say we can't live without technology for 10 minutes, but it's often longer than that, and Sky Mall isn't going to keep my mind occupied that long.
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Yep, everyone who says "can't you live without for 10 minutes" has never departed from [insert any east coast airport here] during peak times and sat on the runway for an hour.
 
levitynyc said:
I don't fly much, but weren't you always allowed to use these devices with the exception of during takeoff and landing?

Also, how are they going to enforce that the devices are in Airplane Mode?
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I often wanted to turn on my phone at arrival just find that I didn't shut it down in the first place.......enforcement?
 
dBeats said:
I fly all the time. The rule is actually from the point they seal the main door until 10,000 feet you are not allowed to use any electronic device. So if they seal the door, and you're in line to take off for 2 hours, you can stare at your iPad but you can't "turn it on".

On the way down it's the same, from 10,000 down until the main door is unsealed. So if you land and taxi but, say the airline cheaped out on gate fees and has a few less gates, then you get to sit on the tarmac and stare at your iPad but not "turn it on."

So it's pretty huge, and I'm willing to forgo the 5 minutes of actual takeoff and landing time even though we all know it doesn't cause any increase in danger whatsoever between the shielding on the plane's electronics, and the shielding needed for certification for smart devices. But you know the one time a plane goes down during takeoff/landing someone will try to sue the airlines claiming "rampant use" of "radiation emitting" devices caused the problem, and somehow that's the airline's fault.
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Exactly. It is not the 15-20 minutes for an on-schedule flight...it is the potentially several hours due to delays. I fly several times a month, and each of my trips generally involves layovers, so every trip is 4 flights. The time absolutely adds up and is significant.
 
omg read people! MUST BE HELD. Translation = its ok to be holding them.THe word NOT is definitely NOT PRESENT

parseckadet said:
Is it just me, or is this requirement that you not even be holding a paper book or magazine during takeoff and landing new? I've never heard that one before.

Otherwise, I'm all for relaxing the new rule. The way it worked before, they made you turn everything off as soon as they closed the cabin door until you reached 10,000 feet. I remember one flight where there was a long line for the runway and it was over an hour before we took off. All the naysayers say we can't live without technology for 10 minutes, but it's often longer than that, and Sky Mall isn't going to keep my mind occupied that long.
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dBeats said:
...
On the way down it's the same, from 10,000 down until the main door is unsealed. So if you land and taxi but, say the airline cheaped out on gate fees and has a few less gates, then you get to sit on the tarmac and stare at your iPad but not "turn it on."
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Not exactly. In practice, as soon after the landing has transitioned to taxi the flght crew lead announces welcome to x. you may now use your phones. but keep your seat belts on.

Regardless, file the mandate under security theater, like fuel pumps with "no cell phone use" signs. Danger is everywhere.
 
giantfan1224 said:
What's the difference between that and yapping incessantly with their seatmate?
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Or trying to have a conversation with you the whole flight. I've been able to avoid this of late thanks to large headphones always being on top of my ears, thankfully. Sure, an introduction and some nice chit-chat is fine, but maybe I want to watch my movie and not talk to you anymore, bro.
 
jdag said:
Exactly. It is not the 15-20 minutes for an on-schedule flight...it is the potentially several hours due to delays. I fly several times a month, and each of my trips generally involves layovers, so every trip is 4 flights. The time absolutely adds up and is significant.
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I had a flight from Detroit to Chicago last week (again next week too) and the time I was actually allowed to read on my iPad was about 20 minutes. From the time the forward door closed until we landed was 1.5 hours.
 
If there wasn't a breakdown in society and people actually knew how to behave in public, I wouldn't have a problem with this.
Sadly the last couple generations are filled with self-centered ass holes.
 
Turn on airplane mode (which turns cellular, wifi, and Bluetooth off) then turn on wifi. Cellular will remain off
 
Didn't know you weren't allowed to make onboard calls. I just assumed it was because there was no signal.

Aw well no facetime on board a plane for me now.
 
OneBagTravel said:
I know haha. People are so locked into their devices it's kinda sick when you step back and observe human behavior.

The only thing I like out of this is that I can listen to music or podcasts the whole time.
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OMG YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOUR MUSIC OR PODCASTS FOR TEN MINUTES!!!!!!!!1111ONE

Sure, unplugging/disconnecting is something we all should do from time to time, but don't judge people who choose to use the time that they are sitting confined in an airplane as part of their plugged-in time (especially if you do it, too).
 
dav465 said:
Didn't know you weren't allowed to make onboard calls. I just assumed it was because there was no signal.
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It's both. Onboard calls are not allowed (phones have to be in flight mode) but you don't get a signal up there anyways.

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halfapie said:
What about VOIP or facetime/skype like apps?
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The FCC has nothing to do with VOIP. That's up to the airlines if they want to block it on their on-board WiFi.
 
dBeats said:
I fly all the time. The rule is actually from the point they seal the main door until 10,000 feet you are not allowed to use any electronic device. So if they seal the door, and you're in line to take off for 2 hours, you can stare at your iPad but you can't "turn it on".

On the way down it's the same, from 10,000 down until the main door is unsealed. So if you land and taxi but, say the airline cheaped out on gate fees and has a few less gates, then you get to sit on the tarmac and stare at your iPad but not "turn it on."
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I swear the actual flights to DFW are shorter than the time it takes planes to taxi to and from the terminal. :rolleyes:
 
yg17 said:
The FCC has nothing to do with VOIP. That's up to the airlines if they want to block it on their on-board WiFi.
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Do airlines block VOIP from their Wifi? I always assumed I could fire up my magicjack app on my iPhone at 39,000 feet and make a call but I never have because I didn't want to be "that guy".
 
Tiger8 said:
Yapping with the next seat neighbor is usually a few minutes affair, I have seen people who just 'hang out' on the phone... for hours
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I've had people next to me who wouldn't stop yapping (to me) the whole time. I was trying to come across as not interested in your travels and tried politely to read a magazine or ignore them but it continues sometimes.

Most of my phone calls are brief, and I don't talk loud like some people do.
 
yg17 said:
The way I see it, as long as the baby who always seems to be seated in the row behind me is allowed to cry and scream under 10,000 feet, I should be allowed to listen to music under 10,000 feet.
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Yeah, people should stop having babies... and also be less egotistical.
 
levitynyc said:
I don't fly much, but weren't you always allowed to use these devices with the exception of during takeoff and landing?

Also, how are they going to enforce that the devices are in Airplane Mode?
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You can blame MacRumors for the confusion here. The FAA annoucement clearly states:

"Electronic items, books and magazines, must be held or put in the seat back pocket during the actual takeoff and landing roll."

As long as you hold your device, or place it in the seat back pocket, you can continue using it. This means listening to music on your iPhone, or reading on your iPad should be allowed during takeoff and landing. What seems to be NOT allowed is the use of your laptop on your tray-table during takeoff and landing. This is presumably so that heavy, unsecured devices do not cause any physical harm.
 
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