Answering a question from a business audience, Mr. Kellner (CEO of CAL) stated his preference of not allowing cell phone use during flights.

Having listened to a lot of boarding-time conversation, 95% are totally useless, inane, overly-long, and mostly unneccessary. I see most conversations as a way of passing time by someone who can't be bothered to read something. Instead, they have to bore whoever they're talking to to keep from being bored themselves.

It's like cell phones in cars. People used to have to pull into a service station with a quarter for a pay phone if there was an important or necessary call to make.

What gets me is if there were really important call to be made, the Airphones would be raking it in. But since most travellers have decided they don't want to spend money on inane or trivial conversations, the Airphones are being yanked out. Letting cell phone being used no board means the most useless conversations have to be heard not only by the person being bored on the other end, but by those sitting next to bored individual.

Now - don't get me wrong - I'm fly internationally for the oil and gas business, and I have to stay in contact with associates, friends, and family, but I seem to manage it without having to have a cell phone on a plane in close proximity to other people.

End of rant. I'll duck into my foxhole now...