05-07-2004, 03:00 AM
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Swami
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,303
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PDA & Mobile Phone Use in Plane Now Acceptable
In the recent "Boeing To Put Wireless Internet Access In Airplanes" thread, there were a few comments about how airlines would stop people using PDAs as they were claimed to be a risk to flight safely. Well, no longer as this CNN article comments:
"The next time a flight attendant asks you to switch off that handheld computer phone, keep smiling -- and pull out a copy of the latest plane safety guidelines. Clever computer and handset makers offer an option called "flight mode," which disables the radio. As a result, the British Civil Aviation Authority has decided passengers in planes under its jurisdiction should be allowed to use these portable devices as a calendar or photo viewer because they do not interfere with the electronic circuits and radio systems used by the pilots. The CAA says airlines should let travelers write messages, read documents and perform all other non-phone functions on phones that double up as computers, just as they can now work on a laptop, play on a GameBoy or listen to music on an iPod at cruising altitudes."
So it's official � you can use your PDA/phone freely on a plane in the UK. Gee thanks guys. :wink: Still, it's just in time for the next wave of integrated Pocket PCs such as the iPAQ 6300 and the Motorola MPx. 8) Chocks away chaps & lets hope the rest of the world catches up soon!
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05-07-2004, 04:01 AM
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,998
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About time! I doubt this will be adopted soon in Canada, so I'll wager that I'll be asked to switch off my iPAQ next time I fly.
Still, it's a step in the right direction.
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05-07-2004, 05:10 AM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 1,055
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Pretty cool.. now I have to wait for the FAA to be as forgiving! 
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05-07-2004, 05:20 AM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,097
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Yeah, I thought the FAA was also in on this untill I read the article, and then re-read the post.
It will be awsome when this is in North America (US CANADA MEXICO, based airlines)
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05-07-2004, 05:42 AM
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Philosopher
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 544
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I was using my Kyocera 6035 Smartphone three years ago and was only asked to turn it off once during flight (take about 75 flights per year).
After a brief explanation to the flight attendants as to how this particular device worked (the phone portion could be turned off while the PDA portion remained active) I was tapping and scribbling once again.
I have never been asked to turn off my iPAQ except during takeoff and landing
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05-07-2004, 05:43 AM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 225
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That's strange. I always use my Pocket PC on flights all the time. I've been on two round trip international flights the past two Christmases and I have never been asked to switch off my Pocket PC. I just wait until the take-off/landing period is over before pulling it out (I basically treat it like a laptop). I was afraid they'd think my AA batery extender was a bomb or something but no one ever said a word to me, either on the ground or in the air.
Edit: bolded words
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05-07-2004, 05:53 AM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 1,055
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Shadowcat
That's strange. I always use my Pocket PC on flights all the time.
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Using a Pocket PC on a plane has never been a problem for me either..
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05-07-2004, 06:00 AM
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Swami
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,303
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I beleve that ithis is more to do with PDA with built-in phones than pure PDAs. I have know friends who have been asked to switch off their 'phone', despite protestations that it was a PDA.
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05-07-2004, 06:23 AM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 97
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I have never been asked to turn off my PPC phone (although it has no antenna so it is rather hard to know it is a phone), and i have never been asked to not use, or turn off by blackberry while in flight over the last 3 years (i take about 100 flights a year) so i don�t know how big of a deal they really are. i could see some issues with smartphones that really look like phones or newer handhelds with antenas sticking out, but handhelds have become such common place here in the US for business and personal travelers that for the most part unless the flight attendant has a chip on their shoulder, they really don�t care what type of device. No body seems to mind when i type away on a blackberry, or the person sitting next to me, or across the isle. No one seems to mind with the old flip treo's. I think either the flight attendants 1) don�t care 2) don�t want to bother people 3) or believe that those with wireless enabled device will follow the rules and turn off the wireless functions.
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05-07-2004, 06:31 AM
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Philosopher
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 545
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Never been asked to turn off my e740 or my 5555. The 5555 has that nubbin on top that looks like an antenna too.
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