[CONSOLIDATED] United WiFi and phone calls: WiFi Calling, VOIP apps, & etc discussion
 

Apparently my friend is a really bad citizen - ignorance not being an excuse for breaking the law on a UA 1225. (Still currently mid flight)

He made a whatsapp call - while his phone was in airplane mode, over the onboard wifi. An FA that happened to stroll by scolded him saying he was "breaking the law!" - after which ensued an awkward silence as other passengers who couldn't realise what he was "doing wrong" are now giving him the look of some stow-away criminal.

I ask -
1. What law was he breaking?
If he wasn't breaking the law but merely a Airline policy - then,
2A. where is that policy?
2B. why say it's against the "law"

FA's may not like calls - but just because maybe UA doesn't let it, doesn't necessarily mean US Law doesn't. (Although It could be, she is correct though and my friend accidentally broke the law. In which case maybe UA should arrange some police to pick him up on landing :rolleyes:)

Thoughts - and clarification?

#UAgetwithit

It's possible the FA thought your friend was using a standard cell connection -- which is almost impossible during flight. Otherwise it sounds like an :rolleyes:verzealous FA making up rules laws yet again. It's best to just comply and then ignore this kind of thing to avoid being tagged as interfering with a flight crew (a Federal crime).

Of course he complied. He isnt one to get all confrontational. This is about analyzing what happened and discussing this publicly. The above questions require airlines to give clear answers... its 2015..

Making any sort of calls during a flight should be illegal.

Pretty sure voice communication is against FAA regulations.


http://www.faa.gov/news/press_releas...9&newsId=15254

Edit: More here:
Edit II:
idlechill states this below:

So, it's both against FAA policy & UA policy. FA did nothing wrong - no need to chastise. All answers found pretty easily through Google.

Funny.. i recall flights on older planes - qantas if i recall, having pay phones in the Avod system... not sure this is 100%.. might be missing something here...

Edit: Also note it says any airborne calls using cell phones - does that mean tablets are ok? - these laws sound quite outdated...

Dont know if i disagree... but thats a side issue.
Legal or illegal is the question.

Doubtful the VOIP calls are illegal, but they are against airline rules. I'd bet the FA thought your friend was making a call on the cellular network.

Phones in the seat back probably don't qualify as Personal Electronic Devices, so my guess is those calls and connections were and still are allowed.

Founds this on the United site:

http://www.united.com/web/en-us/cont...i/default.aspx

Cut and dry there for UA policy to me. Don't know about the feds.

I did the same thing using another app going from Beijing to San Francisco. The flight attendant was very nice and asked if I was talking on the phone and I said no I am using united wifi and showed her the top left of my phone. She was surprised but left me alone.
I am not sure sitting on seat 1A of a 747 helped my cause and the flight attendant's attitude! But it was all ok :)

Legal or not, making a call during a flight is extremely inconsiderate. Glad the FA put a stop to it.

More importantly, they were certified by the FAA to be used in flight.

^^

I have on multiple occasions attended web based business meetings over United WiFi from my iPad where audio was delivered over an https connection. I didn't need to speak, but I needed to listen and observe what was being presented.

Am I violating United's policy?

I'd say so.