Ease of Travel

In a USAToday.com article (reprinted by Yahoo! Finance), Cingular was reported to be opposed to the use of cell phones on flights because they “believe there is a time and a place for wireless phone conversations, and seldom does that include the confines of an airplane flight.” As the FAA considers allowing the usage of cell phones on flights, because they now pose no safety risk, we’re left to wonder if we really want the nuisance of cell phones ringing, people talking, and constant clicking in the small space on an airplane. This writer agrees with Cingular in that verbal conversations should be kept at a minimum simply because there isn’t much space on a plane and you’re voice will carry and, inevitably, piss someone off.

The only downside is that if the FAA permits the usage of cell phones, business-people will have no choice but to accept cellular phone calls because when they travel, they’re on company time and conducting company business. If the FAA allows it, the expectation is that business will be conducted on the plane.

However, it isn’t the FAA’s place to decide the fate of cell phones on planes when there is no safety risk involved. They shouldn’t be making decisions with regard to our general behavior, so the task of banning or restricting the use of cell phones should fall on the shoulders of the airlines themselves. Airlines should restrict the usage of cell phones as a matter of policy for the comfort of their passengers; it’s a solution that will appease the masses. Or provide ear plugs.