Hang Up -- Congress Won't Allow In-Flight Cell Phone Calls

Some business travelers will be disappointed, but others prefer the current rules' peace and quiet.

By Martha Lynn Craver, Associate Editor, The Kiplinger Letter

April 25, 2008

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.