Why won't PAX turn off their mobiles when instructed

[medhead]

you need to compare apples with apples. car accident is low probability, but the consequence can be anywhere from zero to catastrophic (death). the same applies to the phone in the plane... low probability and the consequences could be anything from zero to catastrophic. except we know that car accidents leading to death happen all the time. and we know it doesn't happen with phones/planes.

A risk rating determined so as to the consistent with the Australian standard compares apples with apples. Such a rating is based on consequence and chance of occurrence. IIRC the consequence is graded according to the scale of event, ie a couple of people dead has a lower weighting than an A380 full.

what am I supposed to do? tell him he needs put his seat up for his own safety?

As I said safety rules are put in place to cover all situations. Next time that guy reclines 3D won't be able to move. So yes you are supposed to tell the guy to get his seat upright.

BTW what aircraft was this?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

A risk rating determined so as to the consistent with the Australian standard compares apples with apples. Such a rating is based on consequence and chance of occurrence. IIRC the consequence is graded according to the scale of event, ie a couple of people dead has a lower weighting than an A380 full.



As I said safety rules are put in place to cover all situations. Next time that guy reclines 3D won't be able to move. So yes you are supposed to tell the guy to get his seat upright.

BTW what aircraft was this?

rj145. but we had a three hour delay. everyone was tired and so those that could try and sleep did so. if it had been a full plane the. you adapt the safety accordingly, so of there is someone behind, then he doesn't recline. there was no point me telling him in this case. he only had himself to injure (by not being able to adopt the brace position as quickly as possible).

 

[JohnK]

hmmm... guess I don't get the whole 'I need to control other people' thing

Not about control. The following is a brilliant answer.

I reckon mobile phones should be confiscated and stowed at boarding

Problem solved for all involved....

 

[codash1099]

Here's another view of the whole subject:

Aeroplane mobile switch-off ruled by fear of the unknown - The Drum Opinion (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Here's another view of the whole subject:

Aeroplane mobile switch-off ruled by fear of the unknown - The Drum Opinion (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

thanks for this... although I disagree it's necessarily 'another view'... it's certainly my take on the whole thing. I'm glad the author put the statistics into perspective... 32 potential problems over 10 years compared to millions and millions of flights.

and he notes it is also a little about crowd control. something I have said I don't understand why some AFF'ers are so willing to get involved with.

 

[Skyring]

Don't get me wrong, I like my holiday from phone and emails, but the phones and other electronics can't and don't effect aircraft systems. What they should do is stop the lies and start saying it is a PITA to have to hear conversations and chirping mobiles, so set them to silent and don't call. This might get people behaving like adults as they treated like them.

If there was a safety issue, then there would be safeguards. Devices would be confiscated or put in secure, shielded buckets of water.

It's not safety that is being compromised so much as politeness and consideration.

As for Chinese folk yakking on their mobiles, if that is the way they live their lives, then that is how it is. I'm certainly not going to change a culture with a few dirty looks.

I'd like a bit more honesty from the airlines - some flights now have onboard wifi, so why say all devices should be in flight mode while airborne?

 

[The Rok]

If there was a safety issue, then there would be safeguards. Devices would be confiscated or put in secure, shielded buckets of water.

It's not safety that is being compromised so much as politeness and consideration.

As for Chinese folk yakking on their mobiles, if that is the way they live their lives, then that is how it is. I'm certainly not going to change a culture with a few dirty looks.

I'd like a bit more honesty from the airlines - some flights now have onboard wifi, so why say all devices should be in flight mode while airborne?

If the reason for phones being turned off during taxi, take off & landing is so that passengers are alert and aware in case there is an incident then why not done right out and say that. Put it in your briefing. Don't lie about it.,

 

[oz_mark]

I'd like a bit more honesty from the airlines - some flights now have onboard wifi, so why say all devices should be in flight mode while airborne?

On many devices (such as iDevices), flight mode allows the use of wi-fi and bluetooth. So, you can be in flight mode and use wi-fi.

 

[The Rok]

On many devices (such as iDevices), flight mode allows the use of wi-fi and bluetooth. So, you can be in flight mode and use wi-fi.

On all my iDevices flight mode disables Bluetooth & WiFi?

 

[mkentwell]

On all my iDevices flight mode disables Bluetooth & WiFi?

After you select Flight mode, you can usually go in and manually turn on BT/WiFi

 

[Skyring]

So you can. How strange. I would have thought that Flight Mode meant all radio transmissions were disabled. So what does FM actually do, besides nothing?

 

[mkentwell]

Initially FM does turn off all transmissions, fairly sure you cant manually turn your data and phone access on manually, so it does 'protect' them.

 

[chrisb]

So you can. How strange. I would have thought that Flight Mode meant all radio transmissions were disabled. So what does FM actually do, besides nothing?

It does turn off all the radios. However you can turn wifi or bt back on if required. It makes sense. On a flight you might want wifi for the gogo service but obviously not mobile service.

Apparently some carriers don't mind Bluetooth headsets in flight.

 

[straitman]

On many devices (such as iDevices), flight mode allows the use of wi-fi and bluetooth. So, you can be in flight mode and use wi-fi.

On all my iDevices flight mode disables Bluetooth & WiFi?

Mine also.

Going back in and turning them back on though is a deliberate intent to breach the rules.

 

[oz_mark]

Mine also.

Going back in and turning them back on though is a deliberate intent to breach the rules.

Something like Q streaming wouldn't work very well if you couldnt turn wi-fi on...

 

[Skyring]

It does turn off all the radios. However you can turn wifi or bt back on if required. It makes sense. On a flight you might want wifi for the gogo service but obviously not mobile service.

Well, WTF? If the phone is pumping out radiation, then what does it matter if it's for a cell network or wifi? Radio is radio.

From what I read, the real danger is that radio signals from electronic devices could interfere with unshielded control cables in unpredictable ways. That makes sense to me, because computers can interfere with each other if they are poorly shielded, and if they are deliberately radiating, then that's a problem right there.

But the way round this is to shield your critical cables and equipment from stray radiation.

It makes no sense to tell people to turn off their devices, because some won't, and some won't know how to, and some won't understand the instructions. There's always going to be a few devices switched on and radiating. What makes wifi and bluetooth signals any less dangerous than cell calls, I don't know, but I suspect there's very little difference.

 

[chrisb]

Well, WTF? If the phone is pumping out radiation, then what does it matter if it's for a cell network or wifi? Radio is radio..

I wasn't arguing the logic behind it, just stating facts. Plenty of aircraft have wifi on board for customer use. Plenty of pilots use iPads on board for various in flight reasons. It is what it is.

With 300+ people on a flight you have to assume that someone on fairly much every flight has left a mobile, ipad, 3G wifi gateway or some other gadget turned on and chatting to the mobile networks.

 

[opusman]

Well, WTF? If the phone is pumping out radiation, then what does it matter if it's for a cell network or wifi? Radio is radio.

Cellular/GSM is much higher power than wi-fi.

 

[Skyring]

Cellular/GSM is much higher power than wi-fi.

Citation needed.

 

[oz_mark]

Citation needed.

Based on my phones battery consumption, it makes sense!