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Flight Mode not accepted in some aircraft |
SL1210
Joined: Jun 12, 2003
Posts: 17
From: London
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On a flight back from Thailand the chief Stewardess came over to me and my girlfriend and enquired what phones we were using, I said to her that 'all was ok as I was using the phone in flight mode'. The Stewardess’s reply was to ask if our phones were SE P800 or P900, to which I replied both. She turned on her heels and no more was said for the rest of the flight.
This was a Thai Airways flight, so I guess it really is down to the individual companies as to how they police things on their flights.
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masseur
Joined: Jan 03, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Sydney, London
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after my last post in this thread I faxed and email 4 different BA departments about this subject pointing out alot of the comments in this thread.
I simply asked what is the official policy regarding using mobile phones with flight mode capability during flight and why.
3 came back within a few days saying official policy is no phones are allowed to be switched on regardless of flight mode capabaility.
The 4th person picked up on this issue and has escalated it through several levels up to what she said was the highest level that can deal with this which is some expert safety and policy manager in BA.
I am due to get an update this week and I am told if it is positive and a new policy is made to allow such devices the subject will also be included in new flight and cabin crew training.
I'm not holding my breath though 
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sensei
Joined: Dec 12, 2003
Posts: 68
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To me it looks like some airlines are trying to make money by forcing customers to use their added service. Boeing working with a few airlines are looking into implementing WiFi into the systems so that 1st class passengers can remain in contact. Surely Wifi bluetooth etc, would all cause the same interference? It is probably more of a cynical ploy to get people to use the phones provided on flights to generate more revenue. If airlines were really bothered by mobile phones being switched on, then they could fit shields to the plane to stop phones gaining any reception so customers have no point in having their phone on. While I do believe there is no point in having your phone switched on to receive calls, I doubt you get a decent signal at 12,000 ft or whatever, I think the airline industry must have a unified plan so customers know where they stand, so that if one airline finds no problem then all airlines should follow and vice versa. You could be breaking the rules with 1 airline unknowingly cos another airline you use is perfectly happy. Ever wondered why BA have been suffering recently. Remember what happened to the dinosaur.... |
masseur
Joined: Jan 03, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Sydney, London
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I finally got a reply from BA... not what I would call forward thinking but its their airline I suppose!
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[ This Message was edited by: masseur on 2004-04-15 11:05 ] |
anish
Joined: Jul 19, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: India / England
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They have a point though don't they, If they allow phones with flight modes to be used then they have to check each and every one using a mobile phone to ensure they are using it in the flight mode which is tedious. Also some people might misuse the liberty and switch back to phone mode to make ''Urgent'' calls endangering the safety.
Another issue will be other passengers who are ignorant of flight mode etc might complain and then they need to convince them as well which will be much more hard.
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masseur
Joined: Jan 03, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Sydney, London
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I can see their point to a certain extent but other airlines seem able to deal with it and it doesn't address the issue of people using laptops and hand helds with BT and wifi turned on. These are also radio transmitters.
Indeed I now convert my DVDs to work on the ipaq and use that on board so its no big deal if I can't use my P900 because that was mostly what I wanted to use it for. However I rarely think about turning BT or wifi off on my ipaq until half way through the flight when I notice the blue light is flashing! also several cabin crew ask what is that blue flashing light and even when I explain I am not asked to turn it off. seems very inconsistant and in flight mode I am not even trying to use a radio transmitter!
anyway, rules are rules and since I need to use BA every week and now have an official answer I will have to do as they say.
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masseur
Joined: Jan 03, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Sydney, London
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regarding flight mode, it seems the "British Civil Aviation Authority has decided passengers in planes under its jurisdiction should be allowed to use these portable devices as a calendar or photo viewer because they do not interfere with the electronic circuits and radio systems used by the pilots." according to this CNN article
I wonder if BA will wake up now
(still trying to track down the relevant CAA document for this)
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batesie
Joined: Feb 13, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: London, UK
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post it when you do find it masseur, im going to spain in 4 weeks, and again in august...
This message was posted from a P900 |
masseur
Joined: Jan 03, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Sydney, London
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I've long since given up trying to use flight mode and now use my iPAQ for videos and music each week on board.
But there is still a certain curiosity to all this for me so I continue to follow the story.
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randomyachtie
Joined: Jun 09, 2003
Posts: 101
From: Plymouth UK
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fyi
This is a link to the results page of the poll which is being run by cnn as to whether we should be able to use flight mode mobile phones. You can vote using the link to the artical in masseurs post above.
http://edition.cnn.com/POLLSE[....]ates/redesign.top.exclude.html
doh links dead, will try to fix it, or you can find it on the cnn page, sorry.
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[ This Message was edited by: randomyachtie on 2004-05-07 14:47 ] |
richy240
Joined: Jan 24, 2003
Posts: 465
From: Houston, Texas, USA
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I recently flew from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Houston, TX on AirTran, a discount airline based in Atlanta, GA (all USA). The woman next to me didn't shut off her SE T300, but changed the profile to "Meeting". (Needless to say we didn't crash.)
I, however, put my P900 in Flight Mode and was not questioned even once. I was questioned on a Continental flight to Denver in February, but explained that the phone was equipped with a "Flight Mode" that disables all radio transmissions. The flight attendant looked at me like I was crazy, but didn't argue with me. I continued to use the phone, in Flight Mode, for the remainder of the flight.
I agree with the CAA (as stated in the CNN article linked above) that it is the airline's responsibility to train their employees on new technologies regarding mobile phones and the related radio transmissions.
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ricky
Joined: May 06, 2004
Posts: 52
From: Mumbai, India
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Can we make a list of Airlines that allow phones in flight mode & also airlines which dont, post ur replies pls !!! |
scotsboyuk
Joined: Jun 02, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: UK
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I recently flew with American Airlines and they actually announce, during their pre-flight safety announcement, that it is acceptable to use devices with wireless features as long as the wirless features can and are disabled.
Even though I didn't use my P900 it was nice to know that I could.
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davidgweeden
Joined: Mar 22, 2004
Posts: 26
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I recently flew to Prague and the attendant new nothing about flight mode and said "mobile phone, must switch off...." can't see whats the problem as its functionality regarding comms is the same as say an mp3 player.... |
DJcreamz
Joined: Jul 09, 2004
Posts: 463
From: Luton / UK
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Yes but dont some airlines have strict policys on other electrical equipment i.e cd players, especially during take off (i know through experiance this is the case on easy jet)
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Posted: 2004-02-25 14:32
