I was on a United flight just a few days ago when the purser announced "...electronics must be unplugged during taxi, takeoff, and landing because we don't want people tripping over those cords if we have to evacuate...".

To be fair, the article is from 1996. Laptops weren't as widespread, and tablets didn't exist.

As for low-hanging fruit, what's easier to implement: retrofitting all the planes with new seats etc, or having people put away their laptops?

Is the criteria here what's easy or what saves lives?

By your logic, it's incredibly easy to just require that no one use laptops or tablets until 10,000 feet. Or at all.

I think that would be the prudent thing to do - at least during taxi (since FAs can't really check right before takeoff), takeoff and landing. It is clear and simple to enforce.

Unfortunately, the cat is out of the bag so this won't happen until after a bad incident where these things cause big casualties.

Additionally, that's not how aviation is regulated.

1. Passengers want to use their PEDs.
2. Airlines want authorization to allow such use to accommodate customers.
3. FAA approves use with conditions and restrictions that reasonably address identifiable threats that such use would introduce.

Forum members go about it differently. They see a regulation and compare and contrast with other policies and regulations and ask, "why not?"

If regulators were required to go back and reevaluate every existing regulation each time a new one was being considered nothing would ever get done. That's not part of the process. Rationalizing conflicting regulations, or at least those that handle similar situations differently, would be done as a completely separate set of rulemaking.

Or maybe it'll never happen at all. @:-)

Luckily, we live in a world where the odds of any kind of incident causing injury/death on commercial aircraft are quite small indeed.

Knock on wood...

Because of all the safety precautions and lessons learned over the years :)

Going back to the keyboard vs no keyboard thing, I think it might have to do with the way you're holding your device. You're not holding your device as securely while you have a keyboard out and typing with one or more hands, whereas with a standalone tablet, you're holding it with at least one hand, and the other hand is free to impulsively grab onto it if you think you're about to lose grip. Not to mention that if it has a keyboard, people may be tempted to place the entire device on their lap instead of holding it as instructed.

As to what is and what isn't a tablet ... I have a SurfacePro 3 and sometimes I'm working like crazy on it from the minute I sit down until at the gate. When FA questions me about it, I say less than 2 pounds and keyboard detaches (with demo), and they respond "Is so hard to tell these days." Then I say, tablet can't stand open on their own, either needs a case that props them open or a kickstand on the back of the tablet. Usually elicits "Good to know" kind of response.

Every once in a while they persist, and I just close and tuck away.

My favorite line ever from a FA "Per the FAA, if it is bigger than an iPAD it has to be off and away." I told her the FAA would never write a regulation naming a particular product to compare to.

This is one where a bit of common sense and acting like an adult go a long way.

People think of all kinds of reasons to disobey simple rules which they don't like or don't think matter because they read an article by some guy who said something.

But, one of the reasons why US commercial aviation is so safe these days is that overall the rules make sense and are enforced uniformly.

The fact that you may see no difference does not mean anything. Imagine if the FA had to walk up the aisle and have a legal policy discussion with each passenger as to why each aspect of the departure safety requirements matters.

The 2-pound limit is, of course arbitrary. But, everything is arbitrary. Make it 2.1 pounds and someone will tell you that his 2.2 pound device is just 0.1 over.

If safety really mattered, all devices over a few ounces would be stowed for departure and landing and there would be strict weight limits for anything stuffed into the OH. But, that is not practical.

Unfortunately, aircraft are not buses. So, it's not possible to just pull over to the curb and give some numpty the boot. So, the rules are enforced by the crew and FAA gives wide latitude to oral crewmember instructions.

I have not seen anyone here suggesting the use of a device over 2.0.... so I'm confused as to why this idea that people are trying to "get away" with something is coming from? Has anyone here suggested disobeying the rules?

Unless I misread this thread, not a single person here has suggested it is ok to use a device over 2.0 pounds during this critical phase of the flight.

Yes, most of the low-hanging fruit was taken care of years ago. But seat reinforcement, and lap/shoulder belts/airbags, and better clearance around exits, and changing the FA to pax ratios, are all much more lower hanging fruit than whether someone has his 2.1 pound laptop out at takeoff and landing.

But that's not how aviation is regulated. When operators want to add PED policies the FAA does take that and say 'let's look at seat reinforcement, etc., instead'.

Similarly, enacting rules to allow PED use do not prevent changing in rules for seats, belts, and exits. They are unconnected in the rulemaking process.

Doesn't change one iota my opinion about how much energy, time, resources, and yes, IBB posts should be spent on who's got their laptop or tablet open on takeoff vs. what we should be doing to truly increase safety in the skies. :p

I have tripped over my own phone charge on a flight. And this was just me trying to use the lav. No emergency evacuation involved.

That may be how you define it, but it's not a real definition.

These days, the only difference between a tablet and a laptop is the marketing around it.

http://www.samsung.com/us/computing/chromebooks/

The title of that page is "Samsung Chromebooks: Ultra Light Tablet Laptops | Samsung US".

Tablet or laptop?

Or do each of those words define a set of a features, such that one device could be both?