On a cell phone how many seats do you take up? There are a lot of people who are sick of douchebags. Frankly we wish they'd just stop parking their cadillac escalades in handicapped spaces so we don't have to key their "cars".

Or, better yet, they could have different sections for different fliers. And it wouldn't matter if you were in the sleeping/quiet section or the loud/talking section, the airline could charge you a fee for choosing where you want to sit.

@bohemian: "Can you imagine being stuck next to some pretentious asshat on the tarmac for 13 hours while he conducts "business" on his cell phone loud enough to be heard through the entire plane?"

You have just described one of my scarier nightmares.

It's bad enough when we land and we are subjected to these buttmunches while we're waiting to get off the plane.

I voted NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

It'd be a real downer to be the guy whose laptop/iPod/pocket microwave caused the plane to malfunction and crash, so I usually comply, turning everything OFF and not just powering the screen down.

None of the problems in your post have anything really to do with the cellphone or where it can be used -- they have everything to do with the behavior (dare I say 'classyness') of people around you.

To expect someone sitting at the table next to you to put their own communication lines on hold in order to talk to you is both rude and selfish. To get a pleasant conversation in a restaurant is great... to expect it from others is wrong.

Now we have mobile communications and you CAN actually communicate with people who want to communicate with rather than any random person nearby you. You CAN still do as before and talk to people nearby, or you can use alternate communication methods. They choice should be yours, or theirs. It is rude to make someone's choice for them.

Many of these 'rudeness' issues are a matter of perspective... the perspective that YOUR preferences of not having people talk on cellphones near you is more important than THEIR preference of communicating with someone who matters to them.

Look at your perspective carefully. It is just as rude to be disgusted that someone is talking on the cellphone in a line as it is for them to be on the phone. When they deal with the clerk they should be communicating with that person, but while standing in line there is no reason they should not be able to communicate with who they want to.

Stop being so selfish with a fake "I am polite" hat on.

Agree with Sunshine1970. If they go with this, I'm getting Bose headphones for when I fly.

_____________
We had boarded in Los Angeles, and had completed all of the safety announcements, the door was closed and we had actually pushed back from the gate. While doing a "sweep" to check for seatbelt, and carry-on compliance, I ran into a noisy man making a business related (real estate deal) on his phone. I asked him very nicely: "Sir, would you be so kind as to discontinue your call right now, and stow your telephone for takeoff? We have already pushed back."
To which he yelled: "I have two god-damned corpses in the hospital, and someone else dying. I need this phone on with me at all times."

That did it!

I told him, that his situation was far too serious for him to be flying today, so I went to the interphone, got the captain to pull the plane back, and two very big ramp agents came in, pulled him out of his seat, and sandwiched him between themselves as they marched him off the plane into the waiting arms of LA's finest. He was arrested and charged with violating two federal avaition regulations. That was the most expensive phone call I'm sure he ever made. Whether his situation was real or fabricated, I don't know, nor do I care. He was a pest, and therefore, a threat to his fellow passengers, and I removed him so they didn't have to deal with him.

The other was on a vacation.
I had settled into my business class seat, and was enjoying the pre flight hospitality that is available when I get that lucky! Mind you, the plane hadn't left yet, and the door was open so the phone call was totally legal. It was simply her loud voice that was objectionable.
A woman dressed in a very nice high end business suit across the aisle took out her cell phone, made a call and began yelling at the person on the other end. She was detailing business plans for what was obviously, Sarah Lee Foods. She kept ranting about one point in particular.

After she hung up, I turned to her and said:
"That is a perfectly horrible business plan, and is sure to fail."
To which she yelled:
"That's none of your f**king business" (a bit turse for a "high end" woman, unless she's a call girl from Madison Avenue)
So I asked her, "Then why did you make it my business by yelling it all around the cabin for the rest of us to hear?"
I watched a couple of other passengers nod in agreement.

So I said, "Continental Bakers is going to pay me very big money to hear everything about it, too." I left her in astonishment, and sat back, enjoyed my warm nuts and orange juice, and then drifted off to sleep on my way to New York!

Oh and btw, I did write it in a letter to Continental Bakers ;-) And I've not purchased a Sarah Lee product since.

__________

I couldn't agree more. If you are a loud bitch or a bastard in your business or personal life, you better THINK TWICE about starting up on a cell phone and forcing that attitude on others, unless you want to get criticized, humilitated, beat up or arrested, and perhaps not even in that order. To be fair I am often critical of many things FA's do, and my friend and I don't always agree on those, but he is absolutely right here - every passenger has a right to peace and safety and enjoyment on a flight, and that supersedes the selfish needs of an overgrown bully or brat to control others with their little toys.

I don't want to hear about some box wine bitch's shopping adventures while the airlines still charge 5-6 bucks for a single beer.

People just don't get the fact that they aren't important...at all.

I remember when cell phones had numbers and a digital display of numbers and have to be connected to the car to work...those grim and beautiful days.

And it might provoke fights during the flight (no rhyme intended)

Sorry, I'm just enjoying the heck out of all these "luddite vs. asshole" threads. LOL

Let them use it in the bathroom or a separate padded room. It's a neurosis that many of these people have. The mouth is always going but the brain is rarely engaged.

And for your rhetorical question about class struggle... do you live in Russia or Siberia? "Ordinary people", nay even teenagers, have had affordable cellphones for OVER 10 YEARS. I had a Motorola flip-phone back in 1997 for $28/mth. Nowadays, I even see "homeless" people with 'em... wth?

If we make talking about making illegal things like talking loudly at any time whatsoever, goodbye any possibility of free speech.

I mean, seriously, this isn't your house. If it were, I'd agree with you that the cops should remove some nutbag yelling at his cellphone from the street at midnight. This is an airplane, very clearly a public space, and very clearly a public space that people have made a personal choice to use or not to use. You won't die without an airplane, and you won't find every day of your life uncomfortable without one, either. You know, unlike having a place to live.

A house may or may not be a personal choice, but it sure is a lot harder to just get up and move when the neighborhood is trashed, so I'm with you there. But if you find that airline "A" is too noisy, take airline "B" or wear the earplugs. Simple as that. Banning VoIP (or just plain talking) outright is ridiculous. Passengers should have a choice to take either the airline with the talkers, or the one without.

hey you could make a business out of this lol!

Ba bing! Cha ching! You offended 10 other people? That will be $2000 please...no, you can't leave the airport until you pay, thank you.

Let me use an analogy with you. If gang bangers pull up outside your house / condo / hut / whatever at 2 in the morning, and blare their rap music, it is NOT your responsibility to put in ear plugs and shut up about it. You have to WORK the next day.

BOTH are examples of DISTURBING THE PEACE. COPS are used to deal with the gang bangers, airplane staff should deal with the cell phone offenders. Period.

I am a tech support person and enthusiast, and I will still tell you the fact we have technology doesn't mean it should be used in a way to disregard or piss off others.

People in the 1950's didn't get 500 foot long phone cords and carry their phones around with them everywhere in the house at all times and shut out people in front of them and all other activities so they could talk 24/7, at least not 99.9% of people. Why should they now, just because they CAN?

I've FOUND IT! The PERFECT solution for dealing with a CELL PHONE OFFENDER near you!

[www.knockknock.biz]

Give them a ticket. And do it as visibly, publicly and loudly as possible right after they hang up, or even better, when they are still on the phone lol.

PAY ATTENTION:

YOU ARE NOT TO TRAP OTHER BYSTANDERS in public and further in confined spaces into YOUR PERSONAL conversation that DOES NOT involve them. It is RUDE. And if you are HONEST about it, YOU DO NOT LIKE IT when they do the same thing to YOU.

PARTICULARLY when you are having a LOUD or HEATED or UNPLEASANT or SEXUAL or POLITICAL conversation.

It is not acceptable on TRAINS, in someone else's CAR, in line at a cashier, in a MOVIE, etc. etc.

BUT if you proceed to do so anyway, then you have earned the SHARP and LOUD rebuke of others around you, telling you to either turn it off, or reacting to whatever you said. YES your conversation DOES now involve those standing around you. They aren't invisible just because you are inappropriately and inconsiderately on the phone in front of them when you shouldn't be.

I had to wait behind a very nasty bitch in line for food yesterday, screaming into her phone about how Obama is trying to kill all old people, etc. Technically I would have been within my rights to start screaming in her face with an opposing opinion - she forced that conversation on me whether I liked it or not...she got lucky.

I answer the phone at work and LOVE it when I can't be reached. Heh heh.

@Scoobatz: I've never understood the people at work that will carry on loud conversations about extremely personal business...

@JamieSueAustin: All of the annoying traits in your list are done by douchebags that use cell phones. All douchebags with cell phones are douchebags, but not all cell phone owners are douchebags. Some of us will put our phones on silent in quiet places and send texts rather than calling, turn our phones off at the movies, and hang up to be polite to the various clerks we deal with throughout the day.

Some people are jerks. That fact will not change whether or not I'm using my cell phone. So, I do my best to be polite while taking advantage of all the great things my phone offers.

@lordmorgul: And politeness ended with it?

All the things mentioned have to with being polite to the people around you. I don't want to hear your end of a private conversation that you are half-screaming so the person on the other end of the cell phone can hear you. It's also the height of rudeness to talk on a cell while in line at a store or restaurant. I'm sure your call can wait those few minutes for you to finish your business.

@Rachacha: yes, but when you're on a plane are you really going to discover something so urgent it can't wait until you land?

I mean, why stop at overflowing toilets, screaming babies, and FAs straight from some totalitarian training camp--yes, by all means, let's make flying an ever increasing BAD experience.

I need to fly next week, and have not been able to find a cat sitter for my two hellions--so I'll bring 'em with. When/if the cell phone call ban is lifted, I'll fly just for the hell of releasing them into the cabin--they are trained attack cats and hone in on anyone on a phone. They jump into your lap and just sit there to stare at you unnervingly for a few minutes before starting to paw at your face with claws becoming increasingly unsheathed. Somehow, when they were kittens, that behavior was rewarded, so now they do it every time when I'm on the phone--cell or other.

Cells on a plane?

Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherfucking cells on this motherfucking plane!

There is no FAA regulation requiring cellphones to be off during the rest of the flight, the requirement is only that they not transmit. Since flight attendants are not all technical gurus they are not expected to be able to verify that any of hundreds of cellphone models is properly configured for safe use in flight -- hence they will mostly give you a hassle about having a phone on whether it is safe or not.

So you honestly owe Rachacha an apology for you being an idiot.

Oh wait...

Go ahead, make your VoIP call and play "angry passenger roulette."

or something like that.

No, No a thousand times now. "only if people don't be jerks", jerks don't know they're jerks so why would they not be jerks and not talk on the GODDAM CELL PHONE! What do people have to talk so much about? I see nothing but young women with cell phones glued to their ears while driving at 7:00 AM in the frickin morning. WTF are you talking about at 7:00AM? The talk just because they CAN talk, they have NOTHING of ANY SUBSTANCE TO SAY. I know, I have listened to my 27 year old daughter. It's just mind numbing.

@TheOtherBob:
I love doing that.
I don't do it with strangers becuase I value my life.

But when I do it to rude family members, you can make very obscene "other half" conversations that literally demand the user to get off the phone before they start laughing.

@bornonbord: What you say is true: Text or E-mail in an emergency situation is not always possible when your only point of contact with a school is a landline, or if you need to alert someone of something and make sure that they have immediately received the message.

Add to that, not everyone uses text messaging. Personally, I have no need or desire to text anyone, and hate it when people text me. If it is urgent, call me, if not, shoot me an E-mail and I will get to it when I get to it.

And then there's the topics. I once sat across
the aisle from a woman who called no fewer than
five people to tell them how "Jamie gave me ringworm.''

@UGAdawg:
Is it bad of me that i get a sense of glee when phone-chatters get cut off due to the tunnels on BART?

"...so I told her that he was just crazy, talking all like that and... hello? hello? I can't hear you!.... hello?"

@Orv: There is a big difference between talking on aplain with your seat mate andtalking with someone on a cell phone:
1) On a cell phone, people tend to talk louder. Add the background noise of an airplane and they will practically be yelling.
2) When people talk on a cell phone, they tend to forget that they are in public, and proceed to tell their college roommate about the "hot chick that they 'banged' last week", and how now their genitals are inflamed and burning (ore telling their lover how much they enjoyed their "goodbye nookie", or talking about an important business deal that you know should be private, but you can't help listening to.
3) If you talk to your seatmate, you can engage in a social interaction.

I realize that. But most of the people who complain loudest about cell phones are old enough to remember when only upper class twits had them. Hence my theory that a lot of the antipathy towards them is leftover class war stuff.

@Robbiedrama: Just because you are in airplane mode it does not mean that you are not emitting some Electro-Magnetic waves. Yes, in airplane mode all of your transmitters are off, but you still have a microprocessor that is spewing out EM Emmissions. Granted, it is probably not enough to interfere with aviation electronics, but leaving your phone on and in airplane mode it is in violation with FAA regulations during take-off and landings.

NO NO NO OH GOD NO

Unless your name is The President of the United States you have little need to be in constant contact with others and I think the The Prez might not even need 100% contact rate.

@TinkishDelight: Nice Lewis Black Reference!

when you're on a flight and you're supposed to sleep all night and wake up refreshed in your destination, and there's some asshole chattering away the entire 9 hour flight, you're liable to kill the motherfucker! couple that with someone who yells into their cellphone, and you are guaranteed more passenger to passenger violence!

also, i don't know where you are, but even the people begging for money on state street in madison have cell phones. there's not much of a class difference when everyone has one?

... I mentioned to someone the other day the store she was headed to had closed 15 minutes ago and she looked at me like I was nuts.

For long, loud, self-indulgent crap that can easily be discussed another time hell no. (ie no way, omg like, no way, she did what?) Most calls that I hear commuting consist of this garbage, I certainly don't want to have to put up with in on a flight.

@strathmeyer: I hate cell phones. I hate them with a deep seated passion. Why? Because people are RUDE when they use them. They seem to think that their conversation is priority over everything happening around them.

SEVERAL times a day I come across these scenerios:

1. Cell phone user talking loudly.
2. Cell phone user laughing loudly or re-reading texts outloud in a "quiet" place.
3. Cell phone texting tone set to long bars of music, cries, and other loud noises.
4. Cell phone users throwing up the "Just one minute" finger right in the middle of a conversation while the other person stands there looking offended.
5. Cell phone users ignoring people who are trying to assist them (clerks, drivers, etc.) because they are too busy on the phone.
6. Cell phone users who can not maintain eye contact becaus they are obsessing over their cell phone (some cell phone users are worse than adhd children when it comes to eye contact)
7. Cell phone users forgetting to turn off their phones while in "quiet" places -- classrooms, movies, hospitals..
8. Cell phone users talking on their phone during dinner while other people try to have polite conversation with them.
9. Cell phone users talking on the phone instead of watching the road or WORSE wavin their hands while talking on the phone giving them impression that they want others to go around them or make some other traffic manuver.
10. Cell phone users chiding everyone around them that doesn't have or want a cell phone.

If someone else's phone conversation is a signficantly annoying part of your plane journey, I'd love to know what your secret is to getting such an incredibly pleasant flight.

If you do have an emergency where you have to contact someone for being late, shoot a text message or e-mail. Please. For peace and prosperity.

Wish they'd also do that in restaurants like they used to do with smoking sections, it's no longer relaxing to sit down and read while you're eating thanks to loud cellphone people.

@bornonbord: What you say is true: Verizon has had Cell phone access in the tunnels of DC's Metro system for years, and I understand that the other carriers are placing repeaters in the tunnels as well. Being on ATT I am looking forward to this for the rare phone calls that I need to make to the school or neighbor to alert them that I will be running late because the train is stuck in a tunnel.

As an aside - what's to stop someone from yelling into a personal voice recorder for most of the flight while electronics are being used? It would be about as annoying as a phone call due to the loud voice needed to overcome the engine sounds. This is permissible today. Fortunately, 50 people generally don't try to do that at one time.

I like this plan, but only because they will likely scream when they get shocked, which will trigger a more powerful shock, ad infinitum.

No - end of story.

Some trains run with a "quiet car", in which cell phone use is not allowed and conversations, if any, are supposed to be quiet. It works well, the quiet cars are used and enjoyed by a good number of people. It would be interesting to see something similar on planes... seperate planes probably isn't economically feasible, but a seperate section, adequately partitioned, no babies allowed, etc. is probably something that a number of flyers would like, and perhaps even be wiling to pay a small premium for.

Nope. As the dropped calls increase, they'll start YELLING "Can you hear me NOW?! This crappy phone is broken AGAIN!!!!!!!!! Maybe if I talk LOUDER you'll HEAR me!"

@Orv: All sidetone aside, people still generally talk a lot louder on their cell phones. What are you some cell phone company CEO?

Had that happen! Nothing like people hearing you punch the phone number you intended to dial in. LOL!

@shepd:

Just for the anal.

Be careful how you use a phrase like that.

@Orv: I have not read any of the other replies yet but, people seem to talk louder on the cell phone. plus, if I can hear the other guy's responses it may at least be more interesting.

@Orv: If ridership keeps increasing, will they add new cars? possibly one of the new ones can be silent?

It is bad enough when irresponsible parents bring a child on board they know they cannot control and that child cries the entire time.
We do not need more noise on an aircraft.

If people want to communicate they can send emails, chat, or txt message. Voice is not needed.

@bornonbord: What you say is true: Whoaaaa now, that last thing...you need to hear about and report back here.

What's so important that it can't be taken care of at the terminal before leaving, or after landing?

Yeah, when I don't have headphones on I'm wearing earplugs. Personally my primary auditory annoyance on planes is the over-loud speakers for when flight attendants do their spiels, and I HATE overly-chatty pilots.

Also: Just because YOU do not understand something does not mean that the other person is lacking in the ability to explain it.

@Sunshine1970: Get the Able Planet variety. Have a pair myself that I picked up for $50 and they work better than the Bose ones by far.

"Glare" is another fun phone term.

I have some of those in-ear-canal earbuds I use on the bus. They block engine noise better than my noise-canceling headphones.

Maybe cell phone makers could build a feature into their phones which drops the call if the person's voice goes above a certain level? After enough dropped calls, folks will figure out how to talk reasonably.

[en.wikipedia.org]

They are available at your local dollar store in multipacks for under $1. Wear them and go on with life. You're not flying the plane and if it is making an emergency landing you'll feel it, so your ability to hear others is unimportant. If you can't be bothered to value your comfort at at least $0.25 a flight, don't be surprised when others around you don't care much about it either.

If the plugs bother you, bring the earmuffs from the rifle range with you (BTW: These are great for use with earbuds--total sound isolation AND music).

I question why these items are not sold on the airplane itself for greatly inflated prices. I'm sure all the people who are saying no to VoIP calls would buy them for $10 a pair on most flights, should they have forgotten them.

@YouDidWhatNow?: You have to leave the beer *in* the bottle or it doesn't work. I know, bummer.

@h3llc4t has a slow work day: Maybe it's just me, but I hate when people listen to my conversations. Even at work, I try my best to be quiet. Nobody needs to know my business.

On the other hand, there are so many people willing to let you know every possible, insignificant aspect of their lives. I really don't get it.

If they allow one to talk on VOIP or cellphones while in the air, I wonder how many more planes will be forced to do an 'emergency landing' due to passenger fights breaking out due to cellphone calls.

For example If I sit next to you on a plane and just said "Yeah...uh huh, No hahahahahah of course not hahaha. What, you're kidding, too funny..." for like 20 minutes straight it would probably get a bit annoying regardless of the phone or volume of my voice.

If they had room to shove a tiny phone call closet beside the tiny bathroom I would be okay with people making phone calls from inside it. That sounds potentially disastrous, so they might as well stick to no cell use.

It's the lack of proper sidetone that causes people to screech into the cellphone. In particularly annoying cases, I'll suggest to the person that they "let the RF link do the work", which usually results in a odd stare...

And once it was over, the weeping started.

@strathmeyer: Obviously, there's a difference. But jerks will be jerks and just because they're talking to a person instead of into a phone doesn't mean they have any more respect for the people around them.

/loves her cell phone, does not use it on the Metro.

@cc82: I remember the collect call commercials from the early 1990s, specifically the guy who is at the hospital and he calls a family member and goes "wehadababy, itsaboy" and then hangs up because it cost too much to be on a pay phone. That's what life was like before cell phones.

Oh goodness no.

There's a guy who works out in my gym who talks on his cell phone while he's on the elliptical machine(...), and there are days I want to strangle him. If his conversations were at least interesting, maybe it wouldn't be so bad...but, no, he's just killing time. Stuck on a plane with that? Kill me now.

But here's my solution. If someone starts talking on a phone, start talking back to them. Pretend they're talking to you. Since they're forcing you to be part of their conversation, don't just sit there like a wallflower. Join in!

[en.wikipedia.org]

Another fun one for you to discover: What "twist" means to a telephone.

Even my cheap LG 600 plays my own voice through the earpiece. If other phones don't this it's simply an issue of poor design.

The amount of umbrage being raised over this issue suggests to me that there's something else going on here. I think part of it is confirmation bias. When someone is being rude who isn't on a cell phone, people just think, "oh, there's a rude person." When someone is being rude who *is* on a cell phone, they think, "Damn cell phone users!"

thats great, especially if the person sitting next to me is trying to sleep because they didn't adjust to the time zone and are basically missing a day of sleep.

Or better yet, speakerphone :)

especially if the person I am talking to is on another airplane where theres a ton of background noise of other people yelling into their phones and amplified through my speakerphone for the people around me to hear and be annoyed by

Oh I just got a good idea

get your self a rick roll ring tone so when people call you, you can make those around you happy :)

or better yet, you can be the one who has the extra small bluetooth headset and you can be yelling into it because it is not very loud and the phone has a bad connection, people around you will think you are yelling at your self or the voices in your head :)

or better yet, text message, you know how some phones will play a ringtone when ever you receive a message, set the tone to be the sound of a baby crying, people love hearing that in restaurants , so why not a plane :)

or better yet, be the person with the obnoxious phone that blinks and makes a not of noise and also have the overly loud laugh and laugh at every message you receive weather there funny or not.

or better yet, turn the laptop speakers volume to the max then hold a skype call with 10 other people who have microphones with no noise canceling and noisy backgrounds and while your at it, talk about some nasty stuff to make everyone around you loose their appetite

@Orv: Personally I don't care much as long as I'm not in line behind some oblivious chatterbox blissfully unaware of the cashier's attempts to ring their sale or stuck next to someone that fails to understand the inside voice concept.

1-studies have shown people ARE louder on a cell phone than just talking or talking on a landline.
2- we know WHY that is : on a cell phone you cant hear your own voice through the ear piece so people are louder to make up for it.

3- lastly IT IS A FACT THAT PEOPLE ARE LOUDER WHEN TALKING ON A CELL PHONE. THAT IS THE DIFFERENCE. (sorry for the caps locks to people who read the article.)

And frankly, lots of folks talking to each other are pretty annoying on airplanes as well.

@pecan 3.14159265: If it weren't for my horse, I wouldn't have spent that year in college."

@Robbiedrama: That's different. Airplane mode is not officially FAA approved. It was Apple who said that it theoretically was fine, but that you needed to obtain permission or follow the guidelines from official governing agencies. The FAA has not approved airplane mode.

kinda like the "all congress is a bunch of crooks, except my senator, he's okay"...

@YouDidWhatNow?:

...bee garden, beer garden...whatever. You say tomato, I say STFU.

@gStein:

I know - the private insurer death panels are way better than anything Obama could create.

While we're not on the topic, what is the deal with beer gardens? I mean, everybody's all like "ooo, this place has a bee garden" and stuff...well, I planted cans, bottles, beer steins, even a couple pony kegs in my beer garden. None of it grows. NONE.

@MostlyHarmless: I considered choosing that option, but I know that as soon as it's allowed, people really are going to be jerks about it because the same people who are jerks about it now will still be jerks who do the same thing on airplanes.

@Conrad: One of my favorite things to do when I'm around loud cell phone talkers is to listen to what they're saying and try to piece together the entire conversation. I'm easily amused.

Husband and I have been looking in to some Bose noise canceling headphones for when we travel. If any cellphone use is passed on planes, we are going to have to just move up our plans to get them sooner...

@bornonbord: What you say is true:

[channeling Serenity's Jayne Cobb] "I could stand to hear a little more (of that last one). "

You've never been on a bus of train with someone screeching into their cell phone?

I was at work eating my lunch in a break area with other employees outside and there were a couple of people sitting at one table, a lady on her cell phone at the other table, and myself at another table. All within a couple feet of each other.

I went to take a bite and this lady started talking on her cell phone. She was rather loud, but I didn't care, so I kept eating. Then she started talking about the dumbest things like what kind of clothes she was going to buy for her baby and hopefully get it with her employee discount. Then she was bragging about how she could get in to a company convention for only 5 dollars because she was an employee and she was going to visit the convention after work. Then she talked about how she didn't know what she was going to make for dinner and went off about how she didn't like certain items and went into detail. Afterwards it was more detail about some other thing she had to do after work and all. This had gone on for about fiftenn minutes.

At that point, I looked at the other people near me to see if they felt the same way and they I did about the lady by giving me a look and they did although they didn't seem to want to make a scene.

I sat down for one more minute, and then I couldn't take it anymore as she kept on going. I got up and left the area with haste so I could finish my lunch in relative peace.

The problem with cellphone usage on a plane is this above....even though people have the right to talk about the most stupid things in the world, they don't know how to do it with respect. Use an indoor voice and be appropriate with your conversation or don't talk at all.

On a plane, you really can't get away from annoying people on a cell phone and for whatever reason, a lot(not all) of people's "douche factor" increases by being louder and dumber on a cell phone.

Bye.

OK, explain to me what my "issues" are. Why does it matter to you whether the person in the next seat over is talking to someone who's physically present or not? I don't understand the logic.

(as i was typing this, i heard the TV on the floor below me say something about "secret muslim". why is the TV on FOX NEWS at a college?)

@rpm773:

Hate to break it to you - that business shut down a while back. Well, don't worry, you still have those $ salted away with Madoff, right?

Yeah, sure, lets go with that. Bad behavior isnt bad behavior, its just other people being jealous of richer people.

Also, if you think talking to the person next to you is the same as yapping away on the cell phone, you have issues. Never mind the point that there are socially unacceptable ways to talk to the person you are with. Anyone who has been in the same flight with two giggly loud yapping teenagers know what I am talking about.

How about this - we let folks use VOIP, but if they are observed doing so, a sound-measuring-thingy-ometer device will be turned on. Exceed a certain volume (say 40 dB), and receive an electric shock. Do it again and the shock will increase.

That should allow a nice balance between the talkers and everybody else.

If people start using VOIP on airplanes, I'll be ruined!

@bornonbord: What you say is true: Tight spaces and loud voices don't make for a great pairing. Metro talkers are already pretty annoying and with even less mobility, longer duration and just overall increased tension already present on an airplane I can totally see someone flipping out.

We all know that there are enough people that don't know or don't care if they are disturbing everyone around them with their phone call. This would end in someone being beaten into a bloody pulp. Can you imagine being stuck next to some pretentious asshat on the tarmac for 13 hours while he conducts "business" on his cell phone loud enough to be heard through the entire plane?

I'd say only in emergencies or if the flight is being diverted, late, etc. So that people can get all their ducks in a line so to speak. But in general? No, use WiFi to email them instead.

I don't know. One time I had my phone out on airplane mode and they made me turn it off. I explained that it is giving off no signals since it is approved for airplanes. They still asked that I turn it off.

They won't be able to inforce the difference, so I think they won't go for it.

This is also how I feel about cell phones being capable in the subways of Chicago. Since it's so fucking loud, people have to scream in order to be heard.

Thankfully it's limited to US Cellular and Cricket and I've rarely seen/heard it in action.

It's already hard enough to sleep on a plane, I don't need to hear about Grandpa's hernia or how that girls' room mate lost her virginity in the bunk above her.

Oh come on now...I can't seriously be the only person here how grows their own airliners. I call shenanigans.