Aeroplane mode

[Guest andysalmon]

Flew with British Airways yesterday on an internal flight and they refused to allow me to use the MPx despite them being aware of the radio off/aeroplane mode. Anyone else had problems :?:

[Guest neuronisis]

I took my SPV when i flew over to Thailand, felt a bit self conscience playing some of the games';return 1" onmouseout=window.status=''">games as i had a few concerning looks from other passengers. So i decided to put it away.

The thing is all the smartphones i know, SPV and MPx200 have aeroplane modes on them. I just think it would be a real pain if the steward/stewardess has to look at your and/or everyone elses phone to make sure this mode is on. I just can't really see this happening, it's easier for them to keep it as a ban on all mobiles. This sucks as i tend to get very bored on flights that take 10+ hours! :lol:

[Guest ferret]

I remember a thread about this *ages* ago. Try a search becase it was quite interesting.

I don't think there's a definitive answer, and at the end of the day, the captain/stewards etc have the final say and it differs from company to company.

[Guest abatis]

If we had one of those blocky palm-phone looking things they would not think twice about letting you use it. Therefore it is shear prejudice on the crews part if they don't allow it. Now I do see the hassle for the crew to check. What they need to do is just announce at the beginning of the flight that cells should be off or set to airplane mode. The reality is that on most flights some lunkerhead has his cell on in the briefcase anyway. They can't do much about that so at least we have a way to meet the safety requirement. It is a matter of education - theirs.

What they never ask about is laptops with built in Wi-Fi like my Dell. Does wi-fi cause any problem? What if someone forgets to turn it off?

[Guest smittyofdhs]

I just had this happen on a short flight from San Francisco, CA to Palm Springs, CA. I was in first class so I immediately I asked the first class flight attendant if I showed him the phone was in Airplane Mode would he allow me to read ebooks while in flight. He was real cool and allowed me to do it. Of course, during the flight they coach flight attendants come by and start giving me s***. SO I tell them "go talk to Jerry, he'll explain it to you"...of course they didn't like that response.

We had a lengthy discussion about the issue. Below is some notes of the convo...

First off, it's not really even a safety requirement. The plane isn't going to go down because you have your cellphone on. Likewise, the cockpit and equipment are all shielded so interference is not the concern. The only issue is with satellite and analog phones. Not many use analog phones anymore and the vast majority of us are not rich enough to afford satellite phones. He said the main issue in the US is the cellphone carriers bitching about who gets the service as you pass over different carrier's areas. It's only a matter of time before they do as the previous poster said, at the beginning of the flight it will be "turn off your cell phone or turn to airplane mode". They can't continue to allow PPC/Palm users to use their wireless-based devices in airplane mode and not allow smartphone users. He also said the best way to get this changed is to send an email or comment card to the airline. They won't figure out until we let them know.

[Guest Deere Johnny]

Planes won't crash or have problems becuase someone leaves their phone on - that is hogwash. The reason that the FAA doesn't allow cell phones is becuase people will be talking on them and not listening to the flight attendants go through the safety speach (which we all listen to, right?). I for one am GLAD that talking on cell phones isn't allowed, because I don't want to listen to some guy/gal next to me who doesn't seem to understand that you don't need to yell on a cell phone for an entire 5 hour flight. I hope they never lift the "talking" part of the ban.

However, when Motorola gets their act together and delivers a phone with SM2003 and BT, and either AT&T gets their act together (doubtful) or T-Mobile finally gets smart and has the MPx220, I will finally get one and you can bet that I will be using my "phone" on flights to organize my days and life - I can't wait to ditch this brick, er, PocketPC I have lived with for nearly 3 years and just carry one small device around.

BTW - not to hijack this thread or anything, but is it just me or do like 98% of the people that have cell phones not understand that you can have a "normal level" conversation with them? Much to their dismay, I have actually walked up to people on their phone and told them this. While I may have pissed them off at first, they quited down, their party I am sure appreciated it as well, and everyone around me was giving me a silent applause.