Got to make that call? The airlines might let you
Airlines are starting to relax rules on cellular phone use, in light of studies that suggest there is far less danger to onboard communication equipment than had been feared.

Delta Air Lines in the United States, for example, now allows passengers to use mobile phones inside airplanes while they are at the boarding gate. Once the plane doors close, though, phones must be shut off.

The airline studied the issue for eight months before making a decision. "We concluded it was safe," airline spokesman John Kennedy told the New York Times.

The ruling is expected to make boarding faster in many cases, since there has been a growing tendency among travellers to hang back at the boarding gate to make last-minute calls before getting onto airplanes.

There is no indication of when-or if-mobile phone use might be allowed on airlines in flight. Airline executives don't like to admit it, but their in-seat telephones with their sky-high rates are good money-spinners.

And the official position of the US Federal Aviation Administration? Spokeswoman Kathryn Creedy explain:"Mobile phones and other personal electronic devices, everything from laptops to Furbys, cannot be used in the critical phases of flight, which are defined as 10,000 feet and below, and during takeoffs and landings."But airlines are free to enforce their own policies on the ground, she added.