Mobile Phones & Electronic Items on planes

[samh004]

Then you can't really say your opinion is right if you haven't researched it??

Here is a couple:

http://www.casa.gov.au/wcmswr/_assets/main/fsa/2003/sep/33.pdf

http://www.casa.gov.au/wcmswr/_assets/main/fsa/2006/apr/13-15.pdf

If you want to look into it further, do a search on the CASA website and also FAA.

Nick

I never said my opinion was right, I just said it was an opinion.

I will read the articles you have linked.

 

[straitman]

I don't have enough money or time to buy journal subscriptions and read them to realise what tests they've been doing over those years.

Try Google :!:

 

[Postcode]

On my recent AA flights it was announced if it has an OFF switch use it during take off and landing. I did. And I'm here to tell the tale.

 

[Groundfeeder]

I don't believe there is any safety issue using a GPS receiver during the cruise period of the flight. It would be no different to using a Gameboy, PSP, MPS3 player or laptop computer. However, it should not be used until after the seatbelt sign has been extinguished and should be turned off again when the PA announcement is made to switch off all electronic devices.

However, if an FA instructs a passenger to turn it off, they passenger is required to comply with the request. Even if the request seems unfounded due to it having no more risk than many other electronic devices that are permitted to be used on board.

Many many moons back I tried my hand-held GPS I use for work against the B734 window to see if it worked with the reduced signal access. Worked fine but couldn't handle speed over 1000kmh! FA spotted me and asked what it was so I told her about it and she left. About 5 min later she asked would I like to go up to the flight deck as the Capt wanted to see it. Turns out he wanted to buy one so I spent 2 hours in the jump seat explaining and comparing it to their (much, much betterer) differential system!!

 

[mysavings789]

Just came back from a trip and yet again observed a few passengers blatantly ignoring the "safety" rules:

ipods on all the way through take off/ascent
mobiles on when landing

Should I actually be worried about this. It seems negligent of airline carriers to trust passengers to do the right thing, if it really was a safety risk I mean. There are always people who think it is incredibly important for them to do something and they are an exception to the rule.

Is it even a risky activity?

My understanding is that its impossible to check every type of electrical equipment, and so they ask you to turn everything off.

Should I be worried when I see this happening. Or just bite my tongue

Maybe the staff are tired of reminding them for nth time. I understand your concern, I suggest you write to the general manager. Explain the possibilities of their loss if they totally ignore it. You may also suggest better idea on how to improve their service. Remember, there's nothing wrong in expressing your ideas at least you've done your part. Speak and be heard.

 

[mannej]

I do feel for the FA's on this issue. There are certain parts of the world where people do ignore the requests and when I have witnessed it I do feel very uncomfortable. On Saturday going between KUL and HKG, a local gentleman had his phone on in his pocket and was using bluetooth headset which looked like earphones to talk with another passenger onboard. I was ready to kick a stink but before he gave me any ammo to do so, and a little bit after push back, he turned both off. I have heard other stories too regarding this, and I often wonder what if something was to go wrong.

For those who refer to Mythbusters, as great as it to try and say they tested it on MythBusters, in reality their results probably do not hold any great credibility in the real world

 

[2muchplastic]

....For those who refer to Mythbusters, as great as it to try and say they tested it on MythBusters, in reality their results probably do not hold any great credibility in the real world

+1. I watched that episode, and though those guys do try really hard to replicate "real life", this particular test they did for me was not at all accurate. It was just a mock up of a very old coughpit - not that of a modern airliner.
And how could it be a proper test, given how hard it would be and how much it would cost to test properly - it's just a TV show.

 

[Warks]

After my trip back SYD-PER on DJ last Friday I was going to start a thread titled something like "D#$%heads with phones on in flight" but this thread was sitting there at the top so I can post here.

I was in the aisle seat (737 so nice for a 4.5 hour flight!) and Mr Important was in the middle seat. About halfway through the flight he starts pulling his phone out of the pocket and mucking around with it. I assumed it was in "flight mode" and he was just going through old SMSs and deleting. Then he must have got an SMS saying he had a voicemail as I saw him put the phone up to his ear. He spent the rest of the flight occasionally sending and receiving SMSs. I realised after a while he had TWO phones on and was shuffling between them. One looked like a Nokia N95 and the other was something that looked like a cross between a phone and a Garmin Etrex GPSr! He couldn't keep his hands off them. To be fair he seemed to be looking at photos and other stuff on his phones most of the time but I foudn myself in the old Australian quandary. We are not a nation of 'dobbers' and I felt that if I pressed the call button and put him in I would have to sit for the next two hours next to a very resentful person who may well have waited for me outside the airport with a Bowie knife once he got his bag back!

What made me indulge in self-analysis was asking myself why did it annoy me so? I felt very uncomfortable about it. I can't say he was disturbing anyone with noise but I think it's because I believe in rules are there for a reason. They may not be just or sensible but if everyone ignored them it would be like traffic lights in Cairo. There as a guide only.

Should I be more like others and just flaunt rules that I don't believe in? I guess I already drive at 5km/h over the speed limit on freeways. It's a slippery slope they say.





By the way I once got chipped by staff at a petrol station in Townsville for talking on a phone INSIDE a car that was being refueled by the driver!:shock:

 

[Nov0caine]

I'm not too perturbed by the use of phones on planes... I think in-flight technology is advanced enough to withstand any cellular interference with the circuitry of the air craft. Also, with iPhones being so popular you've constantly got people with their phones on playing with their games and apps... I've never tried calling anybody though...

 

[samh004]

I'm not too perturbed by the use of phones on planes... I think in-flight technology is advanced enough to withstand any cellular interference with the circuitry of the air craft. Also, with iPhones being so popular you've constantly got people with their phones on playing with their games and apps... I've never tried calling anybody though...

Most people with iPhones use flight mode on a plane, which stops the transmitting devices inside working.

 

[mannej]

Also, with iPhones being so popular you've constantly got people with their phones on playing with their games and apps... I've never tried calling anybody though...

iPhone's do have flight mode do they not? I for one makes sure I have flight mode switched on prior to boarding.

 

[Warks]

What I've noticed is that hardly anyone reads on flights now. Maybe the newspaper on the shorter flights but books are hardly seen. I think I was the only one on my flight (mind you it was Tattoo Airlines) reading a book without pictures.
Most were staring at the screen in front or at their iPod/Blackberry/iPhone or laptop if you could manage that.

So once phones are 'legal', which appears inevitable, people will either text or blab or play games or surf the net. None of these worry me except for the blabbing. Might need a "reading room".

 

[JohnK]

So once phones are 'legal', which appears inevitable, people will either text or blab or play games or surf the net. None of these worry me except for the blabbing.

The more I use public transport the more I hate technology. Why is it I always get the talker sitting next to me? Just once I would love to have the listener sitting next to me!

Also why do people have to shout when they are using a mobile? Don't they realise that other people are not interested in listening to their life story.

Might need a "reading room".

Actually would much rather prefer if they had a mobile phone section sealed from the rest of the aircraft....

 

[2muchplastic]

.......Actually would much rather prefer if they had a mobile phone section sealed from the rest of the aircraft....

With an eject button on the wall outside. Anyone who cannot stay away from their phones for an hour or two needs, in my opinion, to take a good hard look at themselves.
Anyone who says "I can't live without my phone" or something similar, has serious problems.

I spend too much time on the phone, it rings seemingly constantly (and I'm not saying that to say "look at me I'm important - people ring me"), but that's part of my job, supporting users by phone.
So I very much enjoy the peace and quiet that a flight offers, and would hate to see it spoilt.

 

[simongr]

I spend too much time on the phone, it rings seemingly constantly (and I'm not saying that to say "look at me I'm important - people ring me"), but that's part of my job, supporting users by phone.
So I very much enjoy the peace and quiet that a flight offers, and would hate to see it spoilt.

You can turn off your phone any time that you want - you dont have to rely on being a metal tube to have an excuse to turn it off and get some peace and quiet...

 

[docjames]

Or they have a job where they MUST be contactable at all times (eg. doctor on-call ).


This doesnt mean that they should sit having a two hour conversation next to you on a plane/train/bus/tram/travelator/ferry etc:evil:, but to be able to answer a phone may be important.

 

[2muchplastic]

You can turn off your phone any time that you want - you dont have to rely on being a metal tube to have an excuse to turn it off and get some peace and quiet...

That's very true, but my employers seem to have very clear ideas about when I should be contactable.
My job can in no way be construed as being life or death. It's IT. But all the people I support (east of India to west of the Americas) seem to think that way when they can't get an answer in 30 seconds.

 

[NM]

But all the people I support (east of India to west of the Americas) seem to think that way when they can't get an answer in 30 seconds.

Then perhaps its time to reset expectations

 

[Warks]

Yes it does amaze how many people CANNOT reject a call. Some people use it to break the conversation they are having with someone I don't doubt! But many's the time when people have accidentally left their phone on in a meeting (or even on the plane) and when it rings they can't simply press 'reject call' but have to dash out of the room answering it (bit difficult on a plane I know) or crouch down in their seat and talk in a low voice, progressively getting back to normal and then loud and annoying.

I love having the power to hit 'reject'. Very few things are that important (calls from the missus excluded :mrgreen

 

[JohnK]

Yes it does amaze how many people CANNOT reject a call.

It is not so much about rejecting calls but it amazes just how many people get on a train and then start calling people randomly to tell them they are on the train going to the airport, or work, or what they had for dinner last night or tonight, or whatever and whatever.

When are these people going to realise that others around them are not interested in listening to their pointless drivel and would prefer some peace and quiet? Most of these calls should happen in private. But the same happens at work so I think it is a new version of the ignorance virus growing out of control....