It's no secret I don't like to fly, but I know that it really sucks on a train when you've got a jabbering yuppie who can't put his cell phone down. If I had to listen to that on a plane where I'm already stressed out, I think I'd probably be a bit less tolerant. I think most people are only interested in this argument because of the data piece of it.

If people would get out of bed with Web 2.0 and realize that there is an offline world, it wouldn't be so bad. I for one am very confident knowing that I can get maps and directions with MapPoint, read and respond to emails in Outlook, and access my file server virtually through the magic of "offline files", and read thousands of books and documentation from MSDN or ebooks that I've loaded. There's not much I can't do when I'm without the internet for a few hours or days. Hell I just made it all the way across the country and back (by car) without needing to dial up at all.

NO!
I do not need people chattering away all through the flight.

No No No No No.

I never want to see them permit it on flights. If you want everyone to know what it will be like, have them take a NYC subway ride in the morning above ground. It's amazing in the worst possible way. The volume is really crazy at times. Picture that for up to five hours straight. What a terrifying thought.

The persistent drone of the engines, screaming children, and the music through my headphones pretty much drown out any chatter, so that part doesn't bother me. However, my understanding is that mobile phones can cause very minor interference with the cockpit radio. Multiply that by a hundred and I definitely support the ban, especially since people would be more likely to make calls as the plane is coming in for a landing, precisely when the pilot needs to clearly hear the tower.

This has to be one of the worst ideas ever.

I was horrfied when I first read about it last year and it sounded like the FAA was seriously considering it.

But then I realized that even if they do go ahead with it at some point, it won't last for more than a week or two. After the first few in-flight "passenger murders another passenger" incidents, they'll have no choice but to revoke it.

They will have to start keeping a separate statistic for in-flight homicide rates.

OK well...here is what i think...in australia they are going to allow DATA only which is fair enough for those who need email and messaging etc ec....but no voice calls. This way people can continue to communicate but minimize the distraction to others...


D