PRINT
EMAIL
COMMENT
DEL.ICIO.US
DIGG
OUR PREMIUM CONTENT
The Kiplinger Agriculture Letter
The Kiplinger California Letter
Kiplinger's Biofuels Market Alert
Kiplinger's Retirement Report
SUBSCRIBER HELP
CURRENT LETTER
What to Do
With Investments Now
PREVIOUS ISSUES
The battle over in-flight cell phone use is heating up, but Congress is digging in its heels. The European Union recently announced it will allow cell phone use by air travelers, putting pressure on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to lift their ban on cell phones calls. But even if the agencies do decide that the devices don't interfere with the plane's equipment after all, members of Congress have introduced legislation to make sure cell phones stay banned, though more to protect other travelers than for safety concerns.
"Now is not the time to consider making the airline passenger experience any worse, and using cell phones in-flight would do just that," says Jerry Costello (D-IL), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation. The bill, H.R. 5788, is called "Halting Airplane Noise to Give Us Peace Act" -- or HANG UP for short.
Foreign carriers, including British Midland Airways, Air France, Australia's Qantas Airways and the Irish airline Ryanair, are holding trials and making plans to allow cell phone service in the air. On March 20, Emirates became the first carrier in the world to allow passengers to use their cell phones during a flight.
Proponents say U.S. carriers will be at a competitive disadvantage if they do not offer the service. It would also increase productivity, allowing passengers to get work done while traveling, says Paul Domorski, CEO of EMS Technologies, which supplies equipment for the service to the airlines. The airlines, for their part, say that any decision should be made by the individual airline based on passenger needs and preferences, not by Congress. Providing the service could result in a new revenue source for the airlines.
Opponents contend the vast majority of business travelers recoil at the idea. Unlike on Amtrak, an airline passenger does not have the ability to change seats or go to a different car. Text messaging and Internet use is favored by most business travelers, and the House bill would not ban those services. Some U.S. carriers such as American, Southwest, Alaska, Virgin America and JetBlue are testing the use of Wi-Fi to connect laptops and other portable devices to the Internet.
For weekly updates on topics to improve your business decisionmaking, click here.
POSTED BY: Tim Skinner (April 26, 2008 10:17 AM)
I applaud carriers ability to offer their customers another service. However, human nature requires some common sense and manners on the part of those how would use the phone is required.
To use the technology most efficiently, I would suggest the conversations be limited to texting. If the aircraft is equipped to allow cell communications they should use this capability to allow use of laptops to send/receive email or surf via connecting with the use for a small fee (remember the cell phones in the seat back in front of you.
Those who are compelled to use voice communications they must remember their newest strange friend may not appreciate being in a three way while only being able to be two thirds of the entire transaction.
E-Mail Article
Print Article
Reprint Article
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
