FAA to Relax Rules for Gadgets in Flight [WSJ]

[Fruitcake]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323300004578557683978941640.html

FAA to Relax Rules for Gadgets in Flight

Airline passengers irritated at having to turn off their devices could soon see some reprieve, with regulators set to allow wider use of gadgets in flight.


The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to relax the ban on using some types of personal-electronic devices at low altitudes, allowing passengers leeway during taxiing and even takeoffs and landings, according to industry officials and draft recommendations prepared by a high-level advisory panel to the agency.

....


Eventually, the draft envisions three different safety announcements before flight.

For those planes with limited built-in protections, passengers would be told to power off devices until they are advised it is safe to hit the on switch.

On many other planes, flight attendants would give the green light to use certain electronics from gate to gate, except in rare instances when the captain asks they be turned off because they could interfere with certain types of instrument landings.

And according to the draft report, passengers on the third category of planes would hear the following announcement: "This aircraft tolerates emissions from electrical devices for all phases of flight."

 

[RooFlyer]

Good luck in trying to get pax to turn anything off once they're used to having open slather on some flights.

 

[VHOEJ]

Stupid American logic. Good luck enforcing some of the 'legal' items, compared to the banned ones.

There is no reason for people to be playing with devices at take off and landing anyway. Keep the ban - if anything, people should be paying attention to what is happening at the most important parts of the flight.

 

[Fruitcake]

Keep the ban - if anything, people should be paying attention to what is happening at the most important parts of the flight.

In that case, of course, for consistency, you are also going to need to ban all physical reading material.

 

[quick_dry]

Stupid American logic. Good luck enforcing some of the 'legal' items, compared to the banned ones.

There is no reason for people to be playing with devices at take off and landing anyway. Keep the ban - if anything, people should be paying attention to what is happening at the most important parts of the flight.

equally, there is no valid reason for people to NOT be playing with devices, or at any phase of the flight.

I don't want a plane full of people yacking away into their phones - but as it is, we can have a flight 100% complying with the rules, and that same flight can be 100% full of pax loudly yacking away into their dictaphones while using their clunky old electric shavers... during takeoff and landing.

 

[Rebekkap]

There is no reason for people to be playing with devices at take off and landing anyway. Keep the ban - if anything, people should be paying attention to what is happening at the most important parts of the flight.

So explain to me why it's more dangerous for me to be reading my kindle than a heavy hardback book?

 

[AVC]

In that case, of course, for consistency, you are also going to need to ban all physical reading material.

No talking either. Sit up straight and face front!

Have to give the FAs some of those old fashioned 1 metre rulers (or yard actually).

 

[JohnK]

Just what we needed.

Give those addicted to gadgets more leeway.

 

[samh004]

And it's happened... or been announced at least.

As far as I can tell this just means you don't have to turn off your devices anymore (when implemented by your airline), unless specifically asked to.

Press Release – FAA to Allow Airlines to Expand Use of Personal Electronics

 

[Boris spatsky]

And it's happened... or been announced at least.

As far as I can tell this just means you don't have to turn off your devices anymore (when implemented by your airline), unless specifically asked to.

Press Release – FAA to Allow Airlines to Expand Use of Personal Electronics

Except as of Thursday US time, the FAA has stopped processing airline approvals for this. DL was first cab off the rank.

Will allow gate to gate use of small devices, but no tablets or laptops during takeoff or landing.

 

[cjm80]

Gadgets allowed on take off and landing in the US

Can't post the link (too few posts), the story can be found on the bbc website, technology section.

 

[marki]

Re: Gadgets allowed on take off and landing in the US

Thanks for that interesting article
But no phone radio use yet

 

[simongr]

About bloody time! This way I don't have to buy a magazine to read for the times on take off and landing (below/above 10,000 feet). If everyone moved to e-readers/tablets I wouldn't have people spreading out across the seats with their broad sheets. Just wish it had been the case when I was still freuently flying...

 

[simongr]

Re: Gadgets allowed on take off and landing in the US

Dupe thread -> http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ews/faa-relax-rules-gadgets-flight-51543.html

 

[Pushka]

Some of the posts in this thread remind me of my sister in law. Her views on other peoples activities are that if she doesn't want to use/do something, then neither should others.

For the life of me I've never been able to work out why a kindle switched to flight mode should be banned during take off and landing.

 

[samh004]

Re: Gadgets allowed on take off and landing in the US

But no phone radio use yet

And that's a good thing...

Providing airplane mode is toggled, not having to switch devices off will be useful, if it's every adopted worldwide (after a lot of testing I'm sure)... though it pretty much already happens.

 

[mono88]

Gives a whole new meaning to the just launched iPad Air!!

 

[JohnK]

Some of the posts in this thread remind me of my sister in law. Her views on other peoples activities are that if she doesn't want to use/do something, then neither should others.

That sounds like a good opinion to have.

 

[JessicaTam]

I am just waiting for all those "I told you they were ok to use" statements to appear.

FWIW, If airlines wanted you to avoid distractions for take-off and landing, QF wouldn't offer gate-to-gate IFE.

 

[nlagalle]

I am just waiting for all those "I told you they were ok to use" statements to appear.

FWIW, If airlines wanted you to avoid distractions for take-off and landing, QF wouldn't offer gate-to-gate IFE.

Big difference is that QF can override the IFE. They can't override your iPhone etc.

The main issues from potential interference (yes there are still chances however small) is you can be oblivious to announcements, and objects can be projectiles. You'll see that iPad size tablets are still banned but Kindles and smaller ones are ok for this reason.