Cell Phone Use on Planes: The pros and cons

Today's WaPost pointed out the other side of allowing cell phone use in airplanes:

"People who don't hesitate to talk in restaurants or other taboo venues will take their disrespectful attitudes with them to the skies and turn a once-quiet place of refuge into a noisy, office-like environment to the detriment of all," Archambault said. "Overuse of the devices, loud talkers and self-important businessmen who get a kick from showing off their power will turn our airplane cabins into intolerable chatterboxes, further removing, and perhaps eliminating, all the remaining vestiges of civility in air travel."

I don't necessarily disagree. I see bad mobile manners all the time. Earlier this year, a lady at a nice restaurant screamed at me when I politely asked her to take her mobile conversation elsewhere as my wife and I couldn't hear each other talk. (She got kicked out, I got dinner comped, and half the patrons in the restaurant applauded.) If in-flight wireless use on an airplane was limited to SMS/text messaging, mobile e-mail and other wireless applications, everyone would still be able to communicate QUIETLY!

Once the cabin doors are closed, voice calls should be terminated, but you should be allowed to use wireless connectivity or SMS until your fingers bleed.

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