kdhurst380

My view on the subject is that of course, the rules are there to be obeyed and breaking them is unacceptable (I fly often enough with many airlines to know that someone re-reclining their seat, after being un-reclined, potentially impeding my exit p***es me off royally), there is a level of decorum that one must adopt, be firm and be careful with words. A crew member could say "I have already asked you to turn that off, please do so", would be enough, using any word that you might in conversation at your local pub makes the crew member in question as bad as the person ignoring the request.

You can be firm but to use a potentially offensive word to a customer is completely unacceptable, I know that in my own customer facing job, it would be considered gross misconduct for tarnishing the brand. If I'm sworn at or given abuse from a customer, I firmly (tone of voice no longer friendly) but politely ask the customer to stop using said language, and there hasn't been a single instance where they haven't.

I do question some of the cabin secure taboos however, we're not allowed to use Kindles and the like, I could hold a new gen one with the strength of my little finger, but I can continue reading my 1000 page hardback that could knock someone out if the RTO autobrake kicks in, also impeding situational awareness and causing a potential obstruction to somebody's exit. I know that one of the reasons we're told to turn phones off is situational awareness, so why is someone with a book allowed to turn on that reading light above their head and completely render the whole exercise null and void? the mind boggles.

BingBongBoy

This thread makes for sad reading...

HIDDY

I shall leave that to your imagination.

stueys

My personal view is that a kindle with wifi turned off is no danger to anyone. It's a passive device. Think the same applies to a mobile phone in 'flight' mode.

Having said that I also recognise that it's impossible to expect crew and pax alike to understand the nuances of every electrical device out there. Fairly certain my parents would have no idea their phones even have a flight mode as an example. So the easiest, and safest, policy is turn everything off. To be honest I'm fine with erring on the side of caution at 500 mph and 20,000 feet. Not a great place to find things going wrong.

You should have listened to the crew, period.

skwerl

"To wake up or turn on your Kindle: Slide and release the power switch again.

To put your Kindle to sleep: Slide and release the power switch. (Other keys and buttons are locked in Sleep mode.)

To turn your Kindle off: Slide and hold the power switch for four seconds until the screen goes blank and then release.

To reset your Kindle: Disconnect your Kindle from any power source, and then slide and hold the power switch for 15 seconds before releasing"

_nate

I think HIDDY's comment is spot on (although I am astonished to hear that a gentleman of such maturity behaved anything other than impeccably) - BA's Cabin Crew excel in relating to passengers in a way that suits them, building rapport and understanding, and there are two sides to that coin.

I do find myself testing the limits of rules on occasion, though I admit I have not blatantly ignored repeated instructions from the crew. If I did anything that induced the sort of humbling comment that the OP describes, I would appreciate the candid advice and would take the opportunity to properly apologise at an appropriate point. I am sure, then, that relations would return to normal, and I would be quite sure not to repeat any offensive behaviour.

Clearly, the OP disagrees with this approach.

skwerl

The FCC come in to play because cell networks don't much like fast moving signals with a wide area of propagation

pteron

Agree with others re the crew and regulations - they are not the ones to be argued with or to modify the regs. Eventually the CAA will catch up with the technology and maybe modify the regulations but I wouldn't hold your breath - they tend to ultra conservatism and CYA syndrome.

Of course, any electronic gadget that responds to a soft switch to turn it on is never truly off - there is a significant amount of electronicery needed to detect the soft press and boot the rest of the device up. This includes idevices, Kindles etc.

If I put my iPod nano on a watch strap, do I need to turn it off? There is just as much computing power in say a Suunto watch, would I need to turn that off?

We don't have 'planes falling out of the sky and this of course re-inforces the widely held belief that the regs are poppycock. People forget to turn their phones off and upon discovering it at the end of a safe flight decide it was a pointless request. It's only going to get worse over time and I suspect that a hundred mobiles all screaming at their cell base stations may well have deleterious effects on some of the nav-aids.

Speedbird218

It is totally unacceptable for the CC member to say " you are really taking the piss now" to a customer, even if its meant in jest.

I have worked at check in at T4, had to do invol downgrades from F to J, J to M, invol offloads etc got abused from irate pax. At no point would i lower myself to be abusive to the pax who ultimately was paying my wages.

JDiver

OK, yes, my apologies to the OP, and I appreciate the technical correction In "standby" there is no EMF of any sort emanating from the device, and the "e-ink" or whatever is ready to reactivate when the switch is turned on.

I'm not sure when the electronics ban rulings went into effect, but I do recall when CD players became portable - Swissair (at the time) indicated there was interference from the player IF (44 kHz iirc) and it affected navaids whilst in flight (I think they used a Convair 990 "Coronado anteater" to test this).

Whether it was leaky electronics or poorly designed navaids, the ball began to roll, and like a snowball... well, you get the picture, in spite of the somewhat hyperbolic simile.

Not to mention, when have you ever known bureaucracies to willingly diminish their power and regulatory influences? Particularly when it would require expensive testing to do that - and I doubt anyone wants to pay for that, whether regulatory agencies, consumer electronics or navigational aids manufacturers, or airlines.

sunrisegirl

Sadly things seem to have got worse since those days.

Thankfully the vast majority of our passengers are lovely but it's an almost daily event now to be verbally abused for little or no reason. Often for something as silly as not being able to give a free upgrade.

And no I would never be verbally abusive to a passenger. But let's remember none of us were onboard when these exchanges took place.

Genius1

Totally agree.

The rules are the rules. You need to turn your electronic devices off for about 30 minutes of your life. Rather simple.

I agree that the crew should have acted a little more professionally, but then you should have behaved more appropriately as a passenger.

HighLife

That is a good attitude ^ Anyone in this sort of job who can't manage to retain his or her sang froid is not suited to the job. I know I would have trouble doing it and I go on Buddhist retreats occasionally

It appears obvious to me that with the huge increases in passenger numbers (and it isn't over yet by a long way) coupled with cost-cutting aggressiveness from the airlines (think Ryanair-style baggage regulations and far less flexibility with tickets than there used to be) then incidences of rude passenger behaviour are, sadly, only going to increase. Probability alone guarantees that. I don't buy these arguments that there was some sort of golden age in the 1950s when we were all polite to each other. In those days guest houses in Clacton hung signs on the doors saying 'no coloureds'... and an air ticket was only affordable to Lord and Lady Muck anyway.

timezonehopper

Completely agree. Strangely enough, I flew LHR-MAN tonight (before reading this thread). Flight was pretty full. 10 mins before landing the crew did the usual pass through the cabin and the guy sitting 2 seats along from me was asked to switch off his Kindle - he actually put it into standby. Then, as soon as the "cabin crew, seats for landing" announcement was made he opened it back up and resumed reading. I told him that it needed to be off and he once again flipped it into standby. The second the wheels were down he had it open again.

JDiver

I guess what remains unsaid is we should be let in on what these people are reading - it must be positively riveting! Come on, share!