As a frequent-flying geek I read with interest that JetBlue may soon roll out Internet access on its flights. When reporters raised the possibility of passengers making Internet phone calls, the airlines stubbornly dug in their heels:
One potential pitfall, from a regulatory and technical standpoint, is that the connectivity would make it possible to make voice-over-Internet phone calls using services like Skype. American and Alaska will not allow phones calls with their services
Airline industry analysts and some passengers also object:
Onboard phone calls are “one of those ‘just because you can doesn’t mean you should’ types of technologies,†Mr. Harteveldt said. “The last thing you want is to be in a crowded tube at 35,000 feet for two or three hours with some guy going on and on about his trip to Vegas.â€
“I absolutely would not be in favor of voice,†said Jeff Haber, a real estate lawyer in Los Angeles who added that he would like Internet access in the air, even if he had to pay for it. “One of the things that’s nice about airplanes is that people aren’t on cellphones all the time.â€
So, screaming babies are okay, and if a drunken lout wants to share his Vegas trip with his seat buddy (and the rest of the plane), that’s okay, too. But if you talk to someone who doesn’t happen to be on the plane, that’s somehow rude? Give me a frigging break!
Telling is this little fact, buried at the end of the story:
[Some passengers] are strongly opposed to the prospect of dozens of chatty passengers in a confined space, which was one of the reasons the F.C.C. decided against lifting the ban on cellphone calls in planes.
Look: plane flights aren’t exactly the luxury they used to be. Too many airlines treat their customers like cattle (and I’m not just talking about those with unique boarding procedures). Flying is just not fun anymore. It’s a gauntlet, pure and simple. Airlines and the government have done enough to ruin air travel on their own without pinning the blame on cell phones.
As for the courtesy of other passengers, that certainly didn’t stop airlines from once offering in-flight phones. Airlines only yanked them when it was clear customers weren’t going to pay their sky-high rates.
I’ve already discussed how cellphones don’t present any danger to planes. As someone else once pointed out, if phones posed a true danger, no one would be allowed onboard with one. So if the FCC’s only reason for banning them isn’t a technical one, why the hell wouldn’t they be allowed? Why shouldn’t they be allowed?
I should have the freedom to use my gadgets any way I choose as long as they don’t interfere with the plane. If I have to hear roaring engines, screaming babies, and loud conversations anyway, what’s a phone conversation going to add (assuming one is foolish to attempt one over all the din). Of course, I’m sure bandwidth won’t be sufficient for a voice call anyway but that’s beside the point.
The issue has a lot more to do with the lack of respect airlines show their customers than it does with any technical reason. To pretend cellphones are dangerous is nothing more than lying to the public.