Comments on: House committee moves to ban in-flight cell phone use

The House Transportation Committee approves a bill that would prohibit in-flight cell phone use for good.

[JCPayne]

Great so now people will rush to the Lavatory just to make an illegal phone call????

[kingrah1]

LMAO

[Travis Ernst]

Yet we have no problem with the 400Mhz (if I recall, I need to double check that bandwidth) AirFone's that the planes have?? First Gen was 400; Newer ones were slightly different. You don't have "protection" (open broadcast) on that bandwidth as you do on cellphones from scanners FYI under law.

Yet we still will have people talking loudly, or kids with their MP3 players (fully legal on airplanes) blasting away. This law is worthless legislation at it's finest! Are we going to put gag's on the passengers to make the flight quiet as well?

Am I the only one that sees this bill as a complete and utter waste? The FAA *could* have passed a FAR barring use in flight, but they were smart and didn't. They knew cell's posed no danger. The Industry for YEARS has told us to turn the phones off (FCC policy) in flight. The individual airlines can have their own rules and enforce them, this didn't happen. Big Brother is tossing his weight around AGAIN.

[tripwilliams]

The only reason we have any direct testimony of the victims of 9-11, are the heart-breaking calls from the passengers of flight United 93 to their loved ones. If for that reason only, this is a bad idea. I also wouldn't be the least bit surprised if this was just a way to get people to use the planes own phones that cost a fortune. It's all about money.

[kingrah1]

They are not banning cell phones, they are just limiting their use on the plane. If the plane is hi-jacked then that is a good excuse to use a cellular phone on the plane

[Dalkorian]

They specifically allow texting and email, which the terrorists hijacking the plane won't be able to overhear. Feeling silly yet? Don't terrorize everyone just so you can chat with your buddies on airplanes about last night's TV shows, annoying all around you. OK?

[kingrah1]

what about the new thing where the airplane has a service that routes the phone calls through them??

[Travis Ernst]

I think Jet Blue was testing that. You still have the existing FCC regulation banning Cell use in airplanes unless the system has a DOE-E (exemption) tag on it. They don't want people tripping hundreds of towers at once. With the airplane relay you wouldn't be. It would use their phone system to connect you to the communications grid. It would have limitations I would imagine of the number of phones it could handle and they would most likely surcharge you for using it (it's not your "home" system). Most likely it would also work as a ONE WAY (directional) and you would not be able to receive calls. I'm trying to think of a 747-400 trying to handle the phone demands. It would be taxing.

[emoslayer6224]

This reeks of low level corruption, but I kind of agree with their complaint. But technically, they migh as well ban al talking on airplaines. That would be rather extreme, so I dissagree.

[aka_tripleB]

Making a law would not stop the airlines from monetizing airbound calls; in fact, it will make the airlines' system the only way to legally call someone. And how would you enforce such a law? Have police roam the aisles? That would be not only be a watse of tax payer money, but actually creates other problems. Sure, it'll probably only be the air marshall enforcing the law, but there are real safety reasons why you're not suppose to walk around during a flight.

And even if this law gets passed, there is a very good reason that a judge could use to overturn this law. One could argue, while we do not have the "right" to talk on a cell phone, congress also doesn't have to autority to take away the ability without having a reason to do so. If people don't want people talking on planes, they will ask the airlines to ban cell phone. Airlines do have the right to do that, but it would be wise to either have passengers hold a vote whether phone can be used, or clearly designate which flights allow phone.

But when I first read the headline, it made me think that the government is planning something nefarious seems how they are banning something that is already banned. Why else can you explain redundant laws? It's either that, or they're just wasting our money making useless laws, kind of like how it's illegal to fish while sitting on the back of a giraffe in Illinois. I don't even think it's legal to own a giraffe, so it's pointless to make laws about fishing from them.

[bluesk1d]

You know, I dont have a problem with this at all. People are incapable of not screaming into their phones especially if there is even a little background noise.

[willdryden]

At 30,000 ft, a single cell phone will try to lock into 12,000 to 15,000 receiving stations. This creates quite a problem for the cell phone providers. If 100 people did this all across the country, it could tie up all the cell receivers and drop calls for the people on the ground. Since only radio people working on cell systems truly know the problems, they are the ones who should decide. The ban should stand except in emergencies. Even the cell phone providers agree.

[Joliet Eddie]

I hope that this ban is somehow put into a formal ruling. If the FAA is ever allowed to approve cell phone use in flight, flying will become dreadfully annoying. The last thing that I need in flight is to have to listen to some else chat away on their cell. And with ambient noise in the cabin always high, you can count on those users raising their voices to either be heard or because monitoring their own voice level will be difficult.

[sunwatcher]

Unfortunately we live in a world now where people aren't decent or courteous enough to keep their mobile phone calls discrete or short. There are plenty of inconsiderate people who will hold an hour long conversation around others who just want to get through a flight without being disturbed unnecessarily. This legislation needs to go through. What valid reason is there for making an inflight phone call anyway, outside of a real emergency?

[alegr]

This law will eventually be considered unenforceable. Will those who fake a call (just talk into non-working phone) be prosecuted? If not, what's the purpose of the law? How annoyance of a person faking a call is any different from an annoyance of a person actually making a call? If it's not different, then how it's possible to ban faking a call, or just talking to myself, which can look like talking on the phone?

[ev61]

Just as I much prefer to be in a bar without smoking, I would be really annoyed if everyone on my flight was talking on the phone. That being said, it should not be a law that I cannot allow a legal product to be used in a location if I own it. It should be up to the airlines if they can make it work for them, and the government should only get involved after the fact.

[kylebuttermore]

i agree i hate when people dont shut up on there cell phones!

This not only bans cell's, but the airlines also.
The airlines phones saved the Capital on 9/11.
Also it will make tickets go up.

[willdryden]

Actually, it was the passengers that saved the capitol. The fact is that they acted too late to save the aircrew and themselves. Five guys with boxcutters VS. 200 people with all their carry on luggage. I would have beat the hyjackers to death before they got onto the flight deck.

[renaistre]

If we're moving from an issue of safety to an issue of courtesy, how does our government have the right, not to mention the nerve, to pass this ban? If there really are technical problems that would go along with using the phones from 30,000', that is also an issue that needs to be looked at. But to ban them because they are annoying? Give me a break! Of course they can be annoying, but that's an issue for the airlines or even the passengers themselves to deal with.

[willdryden]

It is not as easy on an airplane as a city bus. After 45 minutes, I threw a cell phone out the door when the bus stopped. Can't do that with an airplane.