So I can text on an airplane?
Not exactly. Since passengers still aren’t allowed to use the cellular connection of portable electronic devices, they can’t send SMS texts. Any communication has to be over Wi-Fi with a messaging app that provides similar functionality like WhatsApp or Viber. Of course, if your plane has Wi-Fi, you can also email, tweet, and update Facebook as much as the bandwidth aboard allows.Can I make a phone call?
For now, that’s not allowed on domestic airlines. Many people think allowing voice calls is a bad idea, but some travelers don’t think it’d be a problem. After all, fliers have had the chance to make calls in the past—remember the Verizon Airfone that used to be installed in every row? Another reason voice calls might not cause chaos? They’re already allowed on some airlines.Reasons:
The general assumption is that we must disable our mobile phones – some more begrudgingly than others – as their signal interferes with navigation instruments, and could even cause a crash. But is that really true?One anonymous flight attendant certainly thinks not. "Betty", interviewed last week by Vice, said: "Nobody turns off their phones. I don’t, even. All of those commands are really just precautionary. Keep your phone on. No one cares." We imagine her employers are grateful she remained anonymous.
"It’s crazy how dirty people are on planes. They aren’t aware they’re in a public space. Those bathrooms are the most disgusting places on the planet."
"Don’t drink the coffee on airplanes. It’s the same potable water that goes through the bathroom system. We recently had a test for E. coli in our water and it didn’t pass."
"If I find a passenger attractive, I’ll offer them free drinks and try to get them drunk and flirt. You’ve got four or five hours to kill and you’re probably never going to see them again. Unless they find you on the internet, which does sometimes happen."
"It’s not nearly as glamorous as people let on but you figure that out pretty quickly. The worst part is really the pay, especially at the beginning."
"I had a pretty famous rapper who got overly intoxicated before we even took off and couldn’t even buckle his own seatbelt."
Read the interview in full
Patrick Smith, a US pilot and author of Cockpit Confidential, strikes a far less blasé tone – but agrees that the rule is more an exercise in caution.
"Could a device interfere with the flight? It depends on the gadget and how and when that gadget is used," he said.
Taking the example of laptops, Smith says, though an old computer can emit harmful energy, the greater risk they pose is becoming "high-speed projectiles during a sudden deceleration or impact".
But for phones, which is at the crux of a businessman or keen tweeter's journey, Smith says: "Can cellular communications really disrupt cockpit equipment? The answer is potentially yes, but in all likelihood no, and airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are merely erring on the better-safe-than-sorry side."
He continues: "Aircraft electronics are designed and shielded with interference in mind. This should mitigate any ill effects, and to date there are no proven cases of a phone adversely affecting the outcome of a flight. But you never know."
