Jeez how many times do we have to go over the cell phone thing. If they really caused issues, they would be outright banned from being carried on. Do you really think everyone really turns their phones off when they put them away? The avionics and flight systems are more than capable of dealing with the interference from all sorts of electronic devices. Even pilots in the cockpit leave them on (this confirmed by numerous airline pilots)!
The FCC, on the other hand, doesn't like people trying to use their cell phones from 35000 feet. They tend to pick up too many ground stations (versus the one that you get when you are actually ON the ground).
But, if Alec was using the phone after the door closed, and even after a polite reminder, then he's just a pompous jerk. But that behavior doesn't limit itself to hollywood celebs. We see it all the time with any average Joe....