- I remember when no cell phone / electronic device use was allowed at all while on the airplane, whether in the air or on the tarmac.
Now, it seems as if the airlines bend over backwards to accommodate customers who insist on being connected at all times, who can't survive without their own music, who can't stand the thought of having quiet time to themselves, etc.
BUT there are specific times when use of such devices are utterly prohibited. Not just to show you who's boss, but for our own safety.
Sure, the legendary 1995 incident of a laptop suspected of interfering with a 747's auto-pilot couldn't be replicated, but still... all electronic devices emit radio waves that potentially can interfere with the navigation equipment on board a plane... I'd rather be safe than sorry on this one: wouldn't you?So when it's time to switch off your electronic devices before takeoff, it's not about the airlines inconveniencing you, it's about the SAFETY of everyone on board!
... and yet there you were, continuing to SMS/email on your BlackBerry even after the plane door had closed, and it was obvious you KNEW you were not supposed to be using the phone because you hid it under your arm as the stewardess made her rounds checking for safety compliance! And when your concerned neighbor finally pointed out that you should have the phone off you mumbled something and put the phone away WITHOUT TURNING IT OFF! How do I know this? Because IT STARTED RINGING... AND YOU ANSWERED THE BLOODY THING AS WE WERE TAXIING FOR TAKEOFF!! WHAT. THE. EFF!! I wouldn't be surprised if the phone was on the whole entire flight.
I was torn between confronting you directly and siccing the stewardess on you. In the end I took the let-it-all-boil-inside path, trusting that the odds were in our favor and that your selfish assininity wouldn't lead to 'complications'. Thankfully we all arrived in one piece, incident-free.
However, I humbly ask that in the future you inform me, somehow, whenever you know of when you'll be making other plane trips somewhere, anywhere... because as far as possible I'll plan my own trips around yours so that I have to share neither plane nor sky with you, ever again.
Like I said before, I'd rather be safe than sorry.
... not that you'd relate to that in any way ...
Yours sincerely,
*lynne naranek*
Images from MS Office clip art
I see this all the time. ALL the time. Until flight attendants are allowed to grab mobile phones from abusers and stomp them to bits in the aisle so that they get the message, people are just going to get more and more blatant in their disregard for the rules. -Dave2
ReplyDeleteBut she was VERY IMPORTANT. Much more important than anyone else on that flight and she might get an important call.
ReplyDeleteI hate cell phones.
I've heard that airlines will start allowing passengers to use their cellphones in the air, which I personally am dreading--not so much for the safety element, because it seems to me that since all electronics have to be off during takeoff and landing but most are allowed during the flight, it's more a matter of passengers being able to hear any important instructions during the most dangerous parts of the flight. It's just that it's going to be really, really obnoxious if people can blather on their phones all flight long. Nobody will ever be able to sleep.
ReplyDeleteGrrrrr! Why do people have to suck so much? Glad you got home safely though.
ReplyDeleteDave2: oof yeah with all your traveling you certainly would see this more often than me... doesn't it make yr blood just boil tho?
ReplyDeleteLin: heh. you're right. who am I to judge someone who's OBVIOUSLY too important for rules to apply to? :p grrrr! :p
Kyra: oh no say it ain't so! If they are going to allow phone use in airplanes, the airlines might just have to start segregating passengers the way they did back when there were smoking sections on the plane... put all the blatherers together, and let the rest of us fly in peace!!
Sezin: sigh, if we knew the answer to that question, I think the world would be a much better place! :p
I am continually amazed by the sheer rudeness of people. I get you need to be on the phone when you get on the plane. Occasionally, I do too, but then I turn it off. But really, nobody is interested in your oh-so-important self or listening to half of your conversation.
ReplyDeleteWay to go, Lynne. great post!
Stephanie
http://floridakeysgirl.com