Sadly, it will come to pass...
 

Got into it with a telecommer on another thread about this.

It will come to pass whether or not people want it merely becuase someone will smell the economic blood in the water. People may even come to adopt it and use in flight. Sad though - one of the last bastions of unreachability. An island of peace, to be invaded by boorish jabbering masses.

No phone call can be that important.

Already Saw it Happen
 

I was on a flight from FLL to BGM last month and one passenger just kept talking and talking on her cell phone before take off (she was LOUD, SWEARING and being truly rude). She was peeving the whole plane off. Everyone put up with it until we started to taxi and she was STILL on the phone. This was a Turboprop flight (so there werent that many of us) but she had at least 10 people SCREAMING at her about hanging up and how rude she was to the rest of the plane.

Personally I hope they never approve them (or they have a special cabin for those who want to use them). Nothing I hate more than listening to other people's cell phone conversations!

I think making it hurt in the pocketbook is a great way to go. If the cost is astronomical it will keep "chatty cathy's" from abusing the service while allowing for quick and truly meaningful calls (appologies to anyone named cathy). Then perhaps we won't be subjected to inane one-sided conversations in the middle of the night and we can all get some sleep! :)

DD

I'm sure it will happen too. For economic reasons. But for all who are whining about cell phones here, I've yet to hear why this would be worse than the existing Airphones? If the price is the same, the utilization won't be much more than it is already. Yes receiving incoming calls is easier on cell phones, but you can do that with Airphone if you register. I've seen people receiving calls on Airphones once or twice.

To me, the big unanswered question is will the person calling the airplane share in the payment of the call? That's the way it works in Europe and other places with calls to cell phones. This would deter many calls made to cell phones on the airplane. To make this work, the caller would have his call interrupted by a media server that announced that he would be billed at X-dollars per minute for this call to an airplane. Most people would hang up at this point unless it was really important.

Also, what about current cell phone usage on trains? We don't always get to choose a "phone free" section on a train. So we either see people get up to stand in between cars to be polite when they are on the phone, or we get people who talk quietly to be polite, or we get people who aren't polite at all and share their conversations with us. We live with this on the train, bus, elevators, and many other places where we temporarily can't hide from these loud talkers. So what is so horribly wrong or different about airplanes?

I think if I received a call on an airplane I would get up and stand somewhere to talk rather than speak next to my seatmate. In this respect, cell phones are better than the airphone which is tied to a cord.

I just thought of something bad though. Some people are bound to lock themselves in the lav to have a call in private. I can see other passengers banging on the lav door..."Get off the phone! I gotta pee!".

Well, if it were expensive, I'm sure that would help. But a cell phone is far less cumbersome. I think many people who will be able to have their business calls paid for by their employers will have carte blanche to yack and I don't find having to listen to business calls any less annoying (sometimes it's worse as it just seems people are trying to demonstrate how important they are and what important work they do).

Well that's my point. People who have carte blance use the Airphone today. Heck I even use it myself from time to time. I try to be quiet, but sometimes in the business world if you want to be responsive, you need to stay in touch no matter where you are.

Well, perhaps I'm missing something or just not observant, but I haven't seen anyone use an Airphone in at least two years. I don't even see them on many planes.

[QUOTE=stimpy] Also, what about current cell phone usage on trains? We don't always get to choose a "phone free" section on a train. So we either see people get up to stand in between cars to be polite when they are on the phone, or we get people who talk quietly to be polite, or we get people who aren't polite at all and share their conversations with us. We live with this on the train, bus, elevators, and many other places where we temporarily can't hide from these loud talkers. So what is so horribly wrong or different about airplanes?

I think if I received a call on an airplane I would get up and stand somewhere to talk rather than speak next to my seatmate. In this respect, cell phones are better than the airphone which is tied to a cord.
QUOTE]

My vote..cell phones would be banned in any area where others are tightly compacted...all forms of "public" transportation, elevators, small restaurants and so on. But then again I am also an advocate of "adult only" flights. I have very few times in my day where I am not meeting with a client or others and I look for little moments of solitude, plane rides, in elevators, at restaurants and so on. Will advocate anything that keeps quiet!

As far as you would get up and move. First, Kudos for just knowing that is the right thing to do. If more people would recognize that it would be 1/2 the solution. But think about on a plane, particularly a small one, how many times you cant move, turbulence, take off, landing and a decent amount of climb time. And if you are on a turboprop or CRJ there isnt far to go anyway...

The Solution
 

Wait...after reading my own post I have THE solution...if you are flying and want to use your cell phone, go out on the wing...that is the new cell phone lounge *smile*

Thank goodness I've only had to do it twice at a cost of $40 each time or else I would be in serious financial crisis. :D

I believe it will happen, and I think that after some time, there will be efforts to reduce the impact on other passengers. Perhaps through a device that will allow you to shield your voice or through having cell phone use zones.

Cingular doesn't want in flight use
 

There may be hope afterall. http://www.cnn.com/money/2005/06/16/...calls/?cnn=yes
Cingular should have a major vote on this issue, and they are opposed.

Nicely reasoned points, Stimpy.

But -

I think few people have concerns about present Airphone system because so few people use it. I believe this is due to prohibitive costs. Cellphones will likely have greater usage, regardless of cost premium, since so many cells are paid by businesses directly. There's not a specific expense line item to defend, unless a bean counter starts delving deep into account statements. And, for larger corporations, they will negotiate package rates/deals/rebates anyway, and will be even less likely to object. (Speaking as a procurement guy here...)

Regarding trains, unfortunately we do not really have a significant travel-by-train system in NA. Wonderful systems in other parts of the world, but not here. So, cell usage on trains in NA likewise is a minimal problem. Plus, ambient noice on most commuter trains I have ridden in the USA makes cell use, shall we say, challenged.

Buses - I haven't a clue. Last rode a bus in Taiwan.

Regarding getting up to take a call on a plane - where are you going to go? I'm being facetious, but... No congregating rules apply. If "everyone" is using cells, and "everyone gets up, won't the aisle be a bit crowded?

Your lav example really caused me pause. Boy can I see that happening...

I believe what we are all concerned about is further erosion of "private space." It is limited now. And even though being crammed on a flying aluminum tube with 200 of your closest strangers seems antithetical to creation or preservation of private space, flight time is one of the last vestiges of potential psychological solitude we have remaining to us. We've all experienced the ear-splitting ring tone of the boor at the next table in a nice restaurant. The self-important rantings of the "important businessperson" at the gate or on the tarmac. Most people seem to lack an intuitive grasp of their ability to non-physically invade others' private space. That's what the concern is. With planes being today's Greyhound buses, that is the fear.

Perhaps it will be so expensive it will turn out like Airphone?

Hopefully. I doubt it though.

OK, I'll counter your points. ;)

Every corporation I have worked for, large or small, has given it's traveling employees an AT&T Calling Card. This I have used many times with Airphone. We never see the bills for these calls. So no expense reports or bean counters involved, at least not in my experience.

I travel the world and ride trains all over the world. I'm not the only Flyertalker to do so. I think this is an appropriate point.

Millions do ride buses.

If everyone used phones, yes that would be a problem. If the prices are high enough, that won't be a problem.

If you want private space, go climb a mountain, go for a run, put on your walkman/IPOD, etc. Finding private space isn't really that hard. When we go to the airport and get on a plane, we are already giving up privacy and even civil rights (these days). I already listen to jerks talking loudly on airplanes when we are on the ground. If you aren't going to ban that, you shouldn't ban it in the air.

P.S., I was dining at a very nice restaurant the other day in LA and on the menu it stated "Cell phone use is prohibited in the dining room". That is a first in LA for me.

Maybe there's hope for civilization after all. :)

I have myself audited 'ees phone logs/expenses. Back when I ran turnarounds, I used said data to terminate a Director of HR, no less. He should have known better.

I ride trains offshore too. Alot. I agree that usage on trains in other parts of the world is a proper point of discussion regarding this topic. But, I am also of the opinion that other cultures are more cognizant of polite civil behavior than we Yanks tend to be. Not a general rule, mind you, but a tendency.

I'll concede the point about buses. Like I said - I haven't a clue on that topic.

Regarding "finding private space" - I've been called on chartered yachts in the Gulf of Mexico, tracked down in my hotel in the middle of the night in remote China, and paged while, ahem, attending to my private business in the lavatory, to cite limited but germane examples. There are many others. So, finding my own Luddite Shangri-La is not so easy at it might on the surface seem. And, please do not confuse the term privacy with private. I can find privacy almost anywhere, although I still am at risk of having my private space, even while enjoying my privacy, invaded in our overconnected world.

At least on a plane, presently, I am truly, blissfully, explainably without precedent or prejudice - disconnected. A refuge. Like all spots of personal paradise, bound eventually to be discovered, explored, and exploited for commercial gain. Likewise presently, my fellow travellers are also disconnected, unless by choice connected in conversation with a seatmate (well, sometimes without choice, but that is a topic for another thread!). So, we collectively share the possibility of existing, for even a short time, in an island of disconnected tranquility. Others may cringe at that lack of control, lack of connectedness. I relish the temporary technological isolation. Heck, I don't even crack open my laptop while on a plane. (Neither should any of you, for information security/industrial espionage reasons - yet another thread topic. Digressing, intelligent companies should consider BANNING use of cellphones to discuss business in crowded public venues. The likelihood of someone overhearing something of importance is, in my opinion, greater than the probability of it being picked up via signal.).

And, I agree cell use should be banned on the tarmac as well!

However, I would fully support wide open use of TEXT-based communication. SMS, email, the works, so long as no voice is involved. Far less intrusive or invasive.

I do hope you understand that I'm not being personal. Reasonable minds can reasonably disagree. Frankly, I respect your well-thought-out arguments.