Skyeye
I am sure that the guys were just following their SOPs.
I've had mixed responses with my GPS92 - Aer Lingus thought it was great and I was asked to sit up front and show the Capt how it worked.
He said he was going to buy one after seeing it in operation - "be stupid not to have one in the flight bag at that price."
KLMuk allowed it in the cruise (the cabin crew were fascinated.)
KLM (mainline) and Airtours not at all.
The bottom line is that sticking to SOPs is what it is all about for these guys. (And the SOPs are oriented around safety )