On my flight back from Texas yesterday, the guy next to me was using his cell phone to send text messages during the entire trip. This wasn’t the first time I’ve seen this and it really doesn’t bother me since they aren’t yapping in my ear but it eventually got me wondering why does the FAA make us turn off iPods and other equipment during flight. It is not a safety issue [1] as has been demonstrated numerous times including the pilots themselves using cell phones [2].
Of course many of you including myself don’t want people talking on their phones but shouldn’t that be the decision of the airline and not the federal government? Do we want the FAA to also regulate which sodas and snacks are permissible?
Some airlines would probably allow cell phones while others would not. The passenger should decide for themselves what they want. But until the FAA and FCC [3]lift the restrictions, the passenger does not have that choice. I would guess that if allowed, the industry would gravitate to a standard where texting and emails were permissible but not talking. But then again they don’t allow texting in movie theaters [4]anymore!