Air passengers rail against allowing mobile-phone calls on planes

By A.W. | WASHINGTON, D.C.

ONE by one, airline passengers’ privileges have been taken away: free checked bags, free carry-ons, complimentary food and drink, on-board entertainment. Now, with the advent of “basic economy” class, some flyers are even losing the ability to choose their seats, sit with family members and accrue qualifying miles toward elite status. So it is rather interesting that when passengers are offered the chance of a new privilege, their response seems to be an overwhelming “no thank you”.

The issue at hand is the use of cell phones on planes. America’s Transportation Department recently sought public comment on whether it should continue to ban calls from mobiles in the air. More than 8,000 people weighed in before the deadline in February. And in an era when it’s hard to achieve public consensus on just about anything, this issue seems to unite people to an uncommon degree.

Of the last 100 public comments submitted, for example, just one was in favour of calls on planes—and only if airlines agreed to strict regulations and imposed “no-call periods” during takeoff, landing and safety demonstrations. The others were emphatic in their disapproval.

“A thousand times NO!” wrote one business traveller. “As a person who must travel 80k miles annually for business, I can think of nothing worse than sitting next to some soccer mom who wants to yap for 4 hours straight until wheels down.”

Business travellers might see the potential for extra productivity if they can make calls on board. But some fear that gain would be outweighed by the added distractions. One wrote, “Many business travellers take the fly time to get work done and I believe the cell phones in the air would be highly disruptive.” Flight attendants—the people who would be most subjected to phone chatter—were particularly vehement in their opposition to relaxing the restrictions.

The comments follow a plea from the Global Business Travel Association, a trade group representing travel managers, not to allow mobile-phone conversations in the air. On February 6th, the group sent a letter to the new transportation secretary, Elaine Chao, urging her to impose a clear ban and noting that the majority of its members oppose on-board calling, even if only specific rows are designated for phone use. The group also pointed out that “According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the interior of a jet aircraft at cruising altitude is between 85 and 100 decibels, which is about the same volume as a lawn mower or a garbage disposal. In order for a passenger to have a phone conversation over the roar of jet engines they would be required to practically shout, which would be severely disruptive to fellow passengers.”

The airline industry, as usual, opposes government regulation and would prefer that carriers be permitted to make their own decisions about phone use. But most have said that even if calls were allowed they would not lift their individual bans, in accordance with customers’ wishes. “We have heard clearly that they do not want such calls to be part of their onboard experience at this time,” United Airlines wrote in a comment submitted to the Transportation Department.

There seems to be something exceptional about planes in this regard. Mobile phone access has been increasing quickly on other modes of transit in America, with little in the way of complaint. Subways in cities such as Washington, DC for example, are adding mobile phone service. “Riders have told us they want the ability to maintain wireless communication at all times while riding Metro,” explained the manager of the DC system in December. New York has recently added free Wi-Fi in its underground subway stations, allowing for internet calling and services like FaceTime and Skype. Intercity trains and buses offer internet collections that allow for the same, even when cell phone service is weak. (Flyers are not allowed to use such services, even when they are logged onto the plane’s Wi-Fi.)

But there is one crucial difference between a passenger jet and a train. As a commenter to the Transportation Department pointed out: “On a train or bus you can always move to another seat if you are annoyed.”