The precedent exists: smoking on aircraft.
How appropriate. 10 Years after smoking became popular, most people (and a lot of scientists) thougt it would be no danger to health.
After that, for half a century other passengers had to live with it, and even now many claim "my grandfather has smoked for 75 years and died during an accident at the age of 90, so it cannot be a risk to health..."
And, hey, smoking makes you look soooo damn cool.
We will probably have to live with mobiles for the next 50 years, even on planes. And, hey, you do look like a CEO if you use a mobile on a plane...