It was one small step (no giant leap) for airline passengers Thursday, as the Federal Aviation Administration announced it will allow limited use of electronic gadgets during takeoff and landing.
The change, which most airlines are expected to implement by the end of the year, means travelers will no longer be instructed to power down all devices as the plane pushes back from the gate or begins its descent. Angry Birds may sling shots, typists may type, and readers may read whatever is already stored on the device.
But passengers still may not talk on their phones during any part of the flight, no matter what.
And they will only be allowed to send and receive data — texting, emailing, surfing the web — using the airline’s on-board Wi-Fi service. Which means that on most flights, there will be no Internet access below 10,000 feet, because most carriers, including Delta, use a technology that doesn’t work at lower altitudes.
Finally, laptops will still have to be stowed during takeoff and landing, simply because they’re heavy enough to cause injury if things get bumpy.
Each airline will set the rules for its planes, within the parameters set by the FAA. Regardless of what’s allowed on paper, flight crews are still the final authority, a Delta spokesman said.
At Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport Thursday afternoon, travelers met the news with attitudes born of 24-hour connectedness. Some hailed the move as progress, saying it was high time the loop was closed. Some, to the contrary, rued the loss of that 20 minutes of forced detachment.
Still others mocked the notion that phone calls should be left out of the deal.
“I don’t know what you would gain with the new regulations, honestly,” said Hans Delly, a 44-year-old Atlanta tech consultant who flies frequently. He sported an iPad under his arm, although he was only at the airport to drop off his mother. “The issue is, I want to be in communication.”
Lauren Morrill, 30, was on her way to a book festival in Las Vegas, suitcase in tow. An author of young adult books, she had left her Kindle at home, and was bringing only three other devices: her iPad, her iPhone and her laptop. She thinks she’ll be okay without the Kindle because she has the Kindle app as well.
"I'm excited because I now travel with my iPad and one hard-copy book to read just during taxi and launch," she said. (For this trip: The Book Thief.) "So now I'll be happy to leave my book at home."
She said she spends eight to 10 hours a day using her devices, about half of it on her laptop. She flinched and laughed as she totalled it all up: “That sounds bad out loud.”
Constant traveler Robert Kell, 44, said he spends “just” two hours a day on his portable devices. A regional sales manager from Greenville, S.C., he’s flown through Atlanta every day the last two weeks.
Being able to type or possibly send messages on board without interruption will be a boon, he said, possibly doubling his productivity on short flights. But he’s fine with the continued ban on in-flight calls.
“I’m glad you can’t talk” on the phone, he said. “People talk enough. It’s distracting.”
One airline and travel industry analyst said that’s how most people will see the continuing calling ban.
“You know what? that’s fine,” said the analyst, Henry Harteveldt of Hudson Crossing. “Airlines going back to the 1980’s had telephones on the plane, and they were never used. So we don’t want it.
“In our research we’ve never had a significant number of passengers saying they wanted to be making calls from the plane. It was always about the data, it’s never been about the voice. Quiet airplane cabins are happy airplane cabins.”
Don’t tell that to Layne Womich, 28, a 911 supervisor from Byron, Ga. She flew into Atlanta Thursday for EyeCon, a Vampire Diaries convention, and, as far as she’s concerend, phones are still for making calls.
But her friend Nadine Lam Watt, 33, a blogger, is conflicted about whether she even wants in-flight Internet access. “We’re already in a place where people don’t ever turn off,” Lam Watt said. “So it was nice to have a time when you had to. I guess it’s a sign of the times.”
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