I was on US 1474 (TPA-PHL) last night and upon landing one of the F/As announced that cell phone use was now permitted during taxi to the terminal, however one could still not use other electronic devices (handheld games, CD players, etc.).

I wonder if they're saving a step and implementing one of UA's policies, rather than carrying out research to see if cell phone use upon landing would create a problem.

Was told by the F/A on my LGA-PIT flight last week that as of 10/26 customers will be allowed to use their cell phones upon taxiing to the gate after landing. Of course I find this to be just another irritant to the flying experience of late. Come on, are you really that important that you can't wait until you get off the plane to use your nauseating cell phone? I know I don't want to hear mine ring and don't wish to listen to another fool talk loudly about his/her business dealings. Guess those types of people don't know about decorum and manners.

I like to use my phone upon landing to call:
(800) 943-5436
which is the US automated VRU. Actually I think US has one of the best VRU's in the industry. I don't like the VRU's that only allow you to talk to them, and do not allow touch tone entry. I often use this to get connecting gate information, or if in the case of a delay, enter option 2 to see if I have been reprotected on a later flight, and if the re accommodation is in F class.

Being able to do this during taxi will be easier than having to do it while gathering items and getting off the plane, etc.
You can also use this VRU to look up flight schedules, e.g. if you are arriving in early and maybe can take an earlier flight in a hub, etc.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by trvlr64:
Was told by the F/A on my LGA-PIT flight last week that as of 10/26 customers will be allowed to use their cell phones upon taxiing to the gate after landing.
</font>
Do cell phone stop interfering with flight operation as of 10/26? &lt;g&gt;

Depending upon the airport, I often do this anyway to arrange for my car pickup. Now I can do it without slouching under the seat in front of me. I see it as a win.

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Don't feed the trolls.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by trvlr64:
Come on, are you really that important that you can't wait until you get off the plane to use your nauseating cell phone? I know I don't want to hear mine ring and don't wish to listen to another fool talk loudly about his/her business dealings. Guess those types of people don't know about decorum and manners.

</font>

AMEN! I'm with you! Irritates the hell out of me.....just like the ones that can't manage to turn it off while they're boarding and trying to stow their bags with one hand, not to mention the rudeness it shows to the gate agents and flight attendants.

"Hi...we just landed...the flight was good...tell Petey to pick me up....did you feed the dog?...are the kids in bed?...did it rain today?" These are the important calls that we will hear from the taxiway to the gate. I rue the day if cell phone technology (and the FAA) ever lets us make phone calls while in flight!

If the call is not important enough to use the Airfone...that call can wait until you are out of the plane.

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Regards,
Roo

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by BigRoo:
[BI rue the day if cell phone technology (and the FAA) ever lets us make phone calls while in flight![/B]</font>

OH MY GOD. Can you imagine a plane full of people yakking all the way from PHL-LAX on a transcon!

"I rue the day if cell phone technology (and the FAA) ever lets us make phone calls while in flight!"

That is the day I buy stock in Bose. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

It can be annoying, but in my case if I fly into FLL. I can call for a ride while we are taxing in, and my ride be there about time I get off the plane and get outside. So I'm all for this. Also, it's not that bad, I have flown NW many times since they started this and only a few people actually use their phones.

As one of the self-important phone users who makes his living via cell phone, I love the convenience of calling my ride when I land to better time my airport departure - or just to take a few minutes and go over a few voice mails left for me while I was in flight.

I will, however, personally lead the protest to the steps of the Capitol, if necessary, to stop in-flight cellphone usage. People talk loudly, about unimportant things. And let's face it, my million-dollar deal is important to only one person on that plane - ME. To everyone else, it's more noise in an already noisy world.

Why does anyone need to call for a ride? Doesn't your flight have a scheduled arrival time?

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"Yippie-kay-yay, Mr. Falcon!" -- John McClane, Die Hard II As Seen on TV

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by JS:
Why does anyone need to call for a ride? Doesn't your flight have a scheduled arrival time?

</font>

Whoa there, y'all. No one needs to be justifying their cell phone use - to anyone. Beyond incessant ringing or beeping, which can get out of control, talking on a mobile is no different than talking to the person sitting next to you. What's the next step, shushing idle chit-chat. Come on now.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by dcjono:
talking on a mobile is no different than talking to the person sitting next to you. </font>

Now that's where you are wrong. Most people don't talk on a cell like they do to a person next to them. They talk about 50% louder.

The only time it could get really annoying after landing is if someone uses their cell during the entire 30 minute wait for your gate to open up at PHL because there's either no jetway operator or there's another plane at your gate. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

It's official, effective immediately:

http://www.usairways.com/about/press/nw_03_1010.htm

US AIRWAYS EXPANDS ONBOARD CELL PHONE USE POLICY

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 10, 2003 -- US Airways announced today that it has expanded its onboard cellular phone use policy to allow customers to use their phones sooner after landing.

Effective immediately, customers now can turn on and use cellular phones, two-way pagers and PDAs onboard US Airways while taxiing to the gate, once advised by the flight crew.

No changes to the pre-departure cell phone usage policy have been made. US Airways customers still can use cellular phones and other approved electronic devices until the aircraft door is closed.

US Airways’ new wireless communication onboard use policy applies to all US Airways and US Airways Shuttle flights systemwide. The revised policy does not apply to US Airways Express flights at this time, pending completion of further testing. Cell phone use while an aircraft is in flight still is prohibited per Federal Communications Commission rules.

US Airways is the nation’s seventh-largest airline, serving nearly 200 communities in the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America. Most of its route network is concentrated in the eastern U.S., where it is the largest air carrier east of the Mississippi. US Airways, US Airways Shuttle and the US Airways Express partner carriers operate over 3,400 flights per day. For more information on US Airways flight schedules and fares, visit US Airways online at usairways.com, or call US Airways Reservations at 1-800-428-4322.

Reporters needing additional information should contact US Airways Corporate Affairs at (703) 872-5100.

Copyright © 2003, US Airways, Inc.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by BillMorrow:
That is the day I buy stock in Bose. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif</font>
Except that noice-cancelling headsets specifically don't block voices...

"Except that noice-cancelling headsets specifically don't block voices.."

My Bose II's do a fine job of blocking out voices. I always have to take them off to understand the FA's. Don't know if this a function of the noise-cancelling feature or just good ear phones, but they do the job.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by A320 EOW:
It's official, effective immediately:

http://www.usairways.com/about/press/nw_03_1010.htm

US AIRWAYS EXPANDS ONBOARD CELL PHONE USE POLICY

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 10, 2003 -- US Airways announced today that it has expanded its onboard cellular phone use policy to allow customers to use their phones sooner after landing.</font>

So, did US abandon this policy? Or was the FA who yelled at me from his jumpseat halfway up the plane just clueless as to policies his airline enacted 2 months ago? I'm betting on the latter.

Since the company doesn't even give its employee's email, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't get the memo. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by CPRich:
So, did US abandon this policy? Or was the FA who yelled at me from his jumpseat halfway up the plane just clueless as to policies his airline enacted 2 months ago? I'm betting on the latter.</font>

I can report that I have used my cell on landing twice since the policy was implemented. The latest being 11/28. I only heard the announcement about being allowed to use cell phones on landing once out of six segments since the beginning of November.

Safe Travels,
Chris

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by CPRich:
So, did US abandon this policy? Or was the FA who yelled at me from his jumpseat halfway up the plane just clueless as to policies his airline enacted 2 months ago? I'm betting on the latter.</font>

Were you on a puddle jumper or a barbie jet? For what ever reason you are still not allowed to use the phone on those.

From the web site:

US Airways’ new wireless communication onboard use policy applies to all US Airways and US Airways Shuttle flights systemwide. The revised policy does not apply to US Airways Express flights at this time, pending completion of further testing.

http://www.usairways.com/about/press/nw_04_0309a.htm

US AIRWAYS EXPRESS IMPLEMENTS EXPANDED ONBOARD CELL PHONE USE POLICY

ARLINGTON, Va., March 9, 2004 -- US Airways Express announced today that it has expanded its onboard cellular phone use policy to allow customers to use their phones sooner after landing, following approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. The expanded policy was implemented on US Airways mainline flights in October 2003.

Effective immediately, customers now can turn on and use cellular phones, two-way pagers and PDAs onboard US Airways Express aircraft with 20 or more seats while taxiing to the gate, once advised by the flight crew. Customers traveling on 19-seat Beech 1900 aircraft will be able to use cell phones once the flight has parked at the final destination.

No changes to the pre-departure cell phone usage policy have been made. US Airways Express customers still can use cellular phones and other approved electronic devices until the aircraft door is closed. Cell phone use while an aircraft is in flight still is prohibited per Federal Communications Commission rules.

US Airways is the nation’s seventh-largest airline, serving nearly 200 communities in the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America. US Airways, US Airways Shuttle and the US Airways Express partner carriers operate over 3,200 flights per day. For more information on US Airways flight schedules and fares, contact US Airways online at usairways.com, or call US Airways Reservations at 1-800-428-4322.

Reporters needing additional information should contact US Airways Corporate Affairs at (703) 872-5100.

i dont know why people made such a big stink about this. the people who think they are so important that they need to be on their phone as soon as the plane touched the ground are the people who turned on their phones during taxiing before it was kosher. and we all know they existed...

i have found a great way around the phone calls though. i give an email to anyone who wants it that has links directly to my flight status page on whichever carrier i am on. they dont even have to enter the flight numbers, it just shows up.

[This message has been edited by gitismatt (edited Mar 09, 2004).]