Would you use your mobile on an aeroplane?

Question

Emirates are to trial technology that will allow passengers to use mobile phones on their flights, potentially from January 2007.

Ryanair will begin a similar service as of mid-2007, looking to charge calls at a comparable international rate, and encouraging those who would use it to switch their phones to silent or vibrate as a courtesy to other passengers.

Should airlines allow passengers to use mobile phones?

Answer 1

No, they are a pain! Its bad enough in the train where you can move away but in the confines of a plane....NO!! lol

Answer 2

I have learnt that using mobile phones qhile the plane is going can accidentally alter the flight path and the pilots can go way off course. investigations were done in the past few years to see why pilots ended up landing planes at airports they weren't supposed to. A Ryanair flight went to Derry instead of Belfast last year and the result was someone was using a mobile phone and sent them off course. Maybe it is possible to use them. I would do it if the text or call was very important and only if it was totally passed as safe to do so. I don't really want to disturb others or to have to pay top rates to use my mobile.

Answer 3

well personnaly I would only use a phone on a plane when A: I've won the lottery as it would cost a small fortune to make a call and B: they are the type that are built in to the plane as the arials for the phones are built external to the plane and shielded from electronics.

Modern planes are "fly by wire" which means that the things you see move on the outside are not actually directly attached to the things that are being moved in the cockpit.... there are lots of motor/servos on a plane that receive and transmit information to and from the cockpit... and these signals are travelling along heavily shielded data cables to processors stored somewhere on the plane which are told what to do by the cockpit.

Have you ever left your mobile phone near your tv/radio/speakers when your phone receives a call, you get a funny noise.. thats that power of the radio waves go to your phone inducing a voltage in to the electronics which either directly make your speaker hum or interrupts the electronics controlling it that intern makes the hum.... now think of a small enclosed area like a cabin filled with 100 or so phones all either in calls or just exchanging date with the network.all within about 15meters of electronics keeping you in the sky..and bearing in mind they advise not use mobiles in your car as the metal body work bounces the waves around, abit like a very weak microwave.... now your on a plane with a 100 of them.

And thats another thing you are usually about 10,000 meters or whatever above the nearest cell,,, I cant get a signal when im on the ground sometimes.??

I think you have gathered that is a very long NO.

Ps: I think i once heard that on a plane they have several backup systems just incase of a failure.. and apparently its not unusual to lose a couple of those primarys on a trans atlantic flight.....argh!!! where's my parachute.

Answer 4

I didn't think you were supposed to because the waves generated by the mobile phone would interfere with the waves generated by the equipment in the cockpit that lets the pilot(s) talk to headquarters or wherever and the other equipment they have like the GPS thing they use when it's very foggy up there. And plus I think talking on the mobile phone in an aeroplane would be disrespectful to the other passengers who are trying to sleep or read or something.

Answer 5

my buddy tried it and he said there was no signal. The towers point down and out , not up.

as far as letting people use for a charge in flight if they develop the technolgy, they let people use them now til the door is closed and during taxi after landing, at least here in the States. Its mildly annoying hearing people say " I just landed! I'll call you when I get my luggage! Love you! " In flight calls would probably be less irritaing because the white noise of flight masks sound anyway,
I for one like the oppurtunity to shut my phone....and the outside world...off for a couple hours on a flight. Internet access would be kinda nice though on a really long flight.

Answer 6

Many people oppose the idea because it would be highly disturbing to hear other people's conversations in-flight. However, it is a goo idea b/c a passenger can tell the person on the other end of the line, "I am flying over Bermuda". "This is a cool view of the icebergs" or "This sunset is romantic". I think airlines should have designated portions of the aircraft which allow users to phone.

Answer 7

I can see phone rage transferring itself into Phair rage. So we will now have a little child (I always feel so sorry for the parent who is desperately trying to shut it up!) yelling its head off and kicking the back of your seat; a bloke laughing his socks off (loudly) whilst watching the in-flight movie with his headphones on; the not so hygienic chap next to you snoring; the lady on the other side waking you up so that she can clamber across you to get to the loo; and now, apparently, the idiot at the front of the plane (and I don't mean the pilot) screaming at the top of his lungs about little Pikey's last technical assault on the architectural wonders of a Mammoth House the firm are attempting to build in the far reaches of Bridlington. But wait - he must check the details and yes - we are going to be treated to every last one of them. VERY, VERY LOUDLY!!
Would I use my mobile phone? Probably not.
Would I be likely to strangle the person using one in my vicinity? Oooooooooooooh yes!
If airlines are trying to raise the body count, this is the way to go about it!

Answer 8

i havent used my mobile beacuse cause emirates are to trial technology that will allow passengers to use mobile phones on their flights, potentially from january 2007

Answer 9

haha, yes i think thats a good idea. i know i'd use mine.

assuming, of course, that by 2007 we're still allowed to bring mobile phones on planes at all.
heh.

Answer 10

Yeah why not? Emirates already have phones in the seats so you could use them. I can't see a problem with it. No difference to those that use them on a train or a bus etc etc

Answer 11

NO it,s bad enougth when you go to the cinema with Mobil,s going off all the time surly people con Waite till thy get off the plane