FC NOW: The Fast Company Weblog
October 4, 2005
Flying the Jabbermouth Skies?
Federal lawmakers are reconsidering restricting airplane travelers from using their cell phones while in flight.
Should business -- and other -- travelers be allowed to use their cell phones while on airplanes? Take the Fast Company poll.
Posted by Heath Row at October 4, 2005 1:01 PM | Category: travel |
5 Comments
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Imagine flying across the country without a meal and next to a teenager blabbering on about breaking up with her boyfriend. I think I would rather drive.
RGH
www.rghsblog.blogspot.com
I'm with RGH. I had to sit next to a teenager once who was quiet only when she had to shut off her cell phone. When we were on the ground (pre-takeoff and post-landing), she had that thing glued to her ear, jabbering away.
But really...allowing people to use cell phones inflight seems like a really good way to put even more people off of flying. And it's not just a simple matter of "if you don't like it, just ignore it." It might be simple to ignore one mildly annoying person. But it's much more of an effort to ignore several extremely annoying people -- the ones using their cell phones with abandon, talking just because they can, intruding on the personal sound space of those around them who are trying to read or listen to their iPods, etc.
If they want to allow cell phone use on airplanes, restrict it to first class only. If you can afford first class, then you probably are important enough to have issues that need attention in mid-air.
I like the Airphone idea much better. If you need to talk to somebody, be prepaired to spend $4/minute to do so. That should (and does) keep the chatter down to an acceptable level.
People shouldn't be allowed to talk on their phones on a flight, but I do think text messaging should be allowed. A lot of people are quite adept at it, and they can get a lot of work done that way. It wouldn't bother anyone, and hardcore work junkies could still feel productive.
of course not. Enough with the cell phones. If the cell phone companies want to, why not charge triple the roaming charges for the fools who have to pick up their cells and call their moms and tell them they are 40,000 feet over Kansas, or the Azores, or over K Mart? I, for one, do not want to be driven NUTZ by someone talking on and on about their lousy marriage, last lost-deal, the truck full of toilet paper that broke down in Fresno, or mother-in-law problems.
Sleeping on planes is my escape. Please, I pray you: NO CELL PHONES ON AIRPLANES !!!