PDA & Mobile Phone Use in Plane Now Acceptable

[Jonathon Watkins]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://edition.cnn.com/2004/TRAVEL/ADVISOR/04/14/bt.phone.in.flight.reut/' target='_blank'>http://edition.cnn.com/2004/TRAVEL/...in.flight.reut/</a><br /><br /></div>In the recent "<a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=27059">Boeing To Put Wireless Internet Access In Airplanes</a>" 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:<br /> <br />"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."<br /><br />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!

[Jeff Rutledge]

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.

[Zack Mahdavi]

Pretty cool.. now I have to wait for the FAA to be as forgiving! :)

[Kacey Green]

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)

[jimski]

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

[Shadowcat]

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

[Zack Mahdavi]

That's strange. I always use my Pocket PC on flights all the time.

Using a Pocket PC on a plane has never been a problem for me either..

[Jonathon Watkins]

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.

[jalm1]

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.

[gorkon280]

Never been asked to turn off my e740 or my 5555. The 5555 has that nubbin on top that looks like an antenna too.

[Jerry Raia]

This is all nonsense anyway. I'm a pilot, the last time i checked when im flying an approach in the worst weather down to the runway, I fly right by all kinds of cell towers, microwave antenas and every other kind of antena. It has no effect. The truth is the FAA is too lazy or inept to test all this stuff so its much easier to just ban it.

[aviator]

So it's official – you can use your PDA/phone freely on a plane in the UK


Unfortunately this is not totally correct.
I have been flying weekly from Gatwick to Frankfurt on British Airways for a couple of years and as I have a P900 (and previously P800 etc) I decided at the beginning of this year to check out this issue since I was always being asked to turn it off in flight.

I managed to get the issue escalated to the senior safety officer who reviewed the case but unfortunately this was the recent decision made by them.

http://free.one.picturehost.co.uk/BAFlightMode.jpg

lets hope in light of this CAA decision that BA change their policy!

[Jonathon Watkins]

Thanks for that Aviator - very useful, if not very encouraging. :?

The CNN article does mention the airline's reluctance:

But some flight crews still fume when they spot a passenger toying with a computer phone. Airlines from no-frills JetBlue to United and British Airways have their crews scanning the aisles for them.

"How do we know which mobile is on, and which is not?" a British Airways spokeswoman said. "It is not for our crew to decide which mobile can be switched on and which not."


I suppose it's why the article starts off saying that travelers may need to reach for the new guidelines to counter them. Not quite fully there yet really. :?

[aviator]

If I can find the source CAA document (not easy on their site) I might give that a go tonight on my way home, but I guess the BA policy overrides the CAA in this particular case.

anyway, I have long since given up trying to use flight mode and now rely soley on my iPAQ 4150 for inflight entertainment :)

thanks for pointing this out though as its still a topic that interests me both as a passenger and as a private pilot

[Kevin C. Tofel]

I'm flying out of Philly to Phoenix this evening to attend the Pat Tillman memorial service at ASU tomorrow....returning first thing Sunday morning......this will be the first time I fly with my PPC, so I'm REALLY curious to see what happens. I will be checking my one bag, so the ONLY carry on item will be my Tosh.....hmmmm....... :roll:

At the very least I can disable the 802.11b radio, which I would do regardless...no point in wasting battery life.....we'll see what happens...

KCT

[arnage2]

i was told to turn off my 2215 once, i explained y it was ok. When i get an ms smartphone, i can imagine that it will stir some contraversy aloft.

[Sven Johannsen]

I think we are likely to see some changes coming up. Now that the airlines have figured out how to profit from radios, it will be harder to explain why the revenue generating WiFi access doesn't affect flight systems, but the BT and cell phone does.

I have no hard source to reference, but I have seen on numerous occasions that the cell phone concern is not so much an FAA issue but an FCC issue. A cell phone at altitude has the potential of accessing many more towers than one on the ground. That can put a strain on the network. Not so much if you or I do it, or if a pilot in a private aircraft does it, but if every business traveler in every airplane aloft was doing it..which they would..it could be problematic.

[muaddip]

Get this, if you are looking for bonehead policies check out Aer Lingus. I recently flew them to Ireland for a wedding and in their magazine they have listed that you cannot use Gameboy's, DVD Players or other electronics that utilize a laser. Now unless I am mistake there is NO way in HECK that a GBA or DVD laser will effect anything on a plane.

Needless to say it P'ed me off to no end since I was unable to play my GBA that my wife got me for Christmas. :(

This is what is shows on their website, but in the magazine it specifically said Gameboy and DVD player.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For safety reasons, we may forbid or limit operation aboard the aircraft of electronic equipment, including, but not limited to:

* cellular telephones;
* laptop computers;
* portable recorders;
* portable radios;
* CD players;
* electronic games or transmitting devices, including radio controlled
toys and walkie-talkies.

Operation of hearing aids and heart pacemakers is permitted.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am sure they will find a problem with pacemakers next and you will have to switch those off during flight. :wink: :lol: :twisted:

I think the GBA maybe because some of the newer planes have the built in games now, but only in the upper classes, I think. Oh well, I was still able to use my 2215 with no hassles.

[GoldKey]

I've always thought it was silly. My wife constantly has her phone in her purse when traveling and usually forgets to turn it off. If it was such a concern, they would have some type of scanner to check for these on a plane.

[dmy]

Another pilot piping in..... I'll leave the debate over the interference being real or not to others, In my opinion there's no issue besides a cell phone swamping the ground receivers.

But I will say, as the CAA or FAA may be concerned, they can list all of the guidelines they want... as can the airlines. But like any rules, there's always a loophole, to wit the FAA Regulation drilled in to every pilot::
Federal Aviation Regulations, Part 91, Section 3, Paragraph a: The pilot in command of an aircraft is directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft.
And I promise you there's a similar reg in those of all other countries.

Now, there's more under 91.21(a) and 91.21(b)... which lists what cannot be restricted, and there's another section that isn't at the tip of my tongue that says the "operator" has the authority in commercial operations (e.g. United Airlines as opposed to the pilot on flight 1412).

But in the end, the FAA and the Pilots rely pretty hevily on 91.3(a), and puts everything in the lap of the guy flying the plane. Yes, this means that a pilot can usurp and ignore any other regulation if he/she believes it's in the interests of the safe operation of that aircraft... PERIOD. I myself have refused the instructions of Air Traffic Control and requested an ammended clearance because what I was told to do was patently unsafe. I've never been called on the carpet except for once... and the FAA agreed with me after a short conversation with me, the tower controller, and the captain of the DC-10 bound for Hawaii.

It all comes down to what that guy up front thinks people. If you're told to turn it off, you can wave whatever piece of paper you want.... if the captain agrees with the flight attendent (and the team will likely back each other) you're toast. That captain can have you arrested by federal marshalls on landing with a quick radio call, and it really doesn't matter what anyone else says.

By the way..... I'm putting on about 10K miles a month right now (as a passenger on business, not a pilot) and listen to music and read eBooks on my 2215 on all my flights.... never been asked to turn it off except once just before landing as I was taking it out to turn it off. Note also that United Airlines now allows you to use your cell phone after landing while taxiing (before the engine is off) and they annoiunce that on every flight these days.

D.

[Jonathon Watkins]

The 'Economist' magazine had an article about this subject, and they said this:

CONTRARY to popular belief, mobile phones do not pose a safety threat to airliners. On an average transatlantic flight, several phones are usually left switched on by accident, and the avionics systems on modern aircraft are hardened against radio interference. No, the use of phones on planes is banned because they disrupt mobile networks on the ground. An airliner with 500 phones on board, whizzing across a city, can befuddle a mobile network as the phones busily hop from one base-station to the next.

8O Fair point really. :lol: