iPhone - Aircraft Mode - not enough for some

[Gulfstreamaviator]

Just how many devices in lockers

and not in SAFE mode....

I read somewhere perhaps 30% are in lockers in an operational mode.

[regional_flyer]

I'm a bit uptight when it comes to electronic devices and make a point of telling passengers that flight mode + black screen isn't enough, because that is exactly what our PAs say ("Your mobile phone should already be turned off, and can only be used in flight mode once the fasten seatbelt sign has been turned off. If your device is still on, please ensure you switch it to flight mode prior to turning it off.")

The way I see it - interference aside - is that if the phone is turned completely off then it means more effort/waiting on the passenger's part to boot it back up, and they will more than likely wait until 10,000ft as opposed to using it the second the crew walks away.

The great thing about smart phones is the majority of them are similar to the iPhone when powering them down - holding down the power button and swiping/tapping a message on the screen. However, I've asked someone to turn their phone off before, at first they put it in their shirt pocket with the screen still on, then when asked again they retrieve it and put it in the seat pocket (screen still clearly on!). Some people seem to think we're stupid

Originally Posted by Gulfstreamaviator

I read somewhere perhaps 30% are in lockers in an operational mode.

I always like getting passengers that make the extra effort to quickly pull out their bag to make sure their phone is off (or even admit they forgot to turn it off and are doing so now). It may seem trivial to some, but at least some people care enough to do as the PAs ask

[aewaite17]

I honestly don't get it.... As a passenger, it is quite simple.

Flight mode as you walk to the aircraft.
Then off.
Then on again when permitted you can so you can play games / read / music etc.
Then off again when told.
Then on and f/m off when you have cleared passports and customs.

It seems so simple, and really winds me up when others seem incapable of following some quite easy instructions. Do they honestly believe that they are so important that they simply ~must~ have their phone on at all times?

[fujii]

FAA

From Avweb today.

Personal Electronic Devices (PEDs) are safe for use in all phases of flight on almost all aircraft, according to information soon to be released by an FAA advisory committee and made available to The Wall Street Journal. The committee's conclusions reportedly include scores of recommendations that include lifting current restrictions on WiFi use below 10,000 feet. The recommendations refer specifically to devices used to access onboard WiFi services. The findings are expected to add weight to arguments that support gate-to-gate use of personal electronics in the passenger cabin of commercial aircraft. Cellular access has not been approved. And for many commercial flights the recommendations may not usher in substantial changes.

[Tray Surfer]

Until the UK CAA tell me otherwise, I will be sticking with the current guidelines issued to us, and enforcing them to the best of my ability.

[RTN11]

Ramper1 beat me to it

judging from the replies above it suggests it is, but many times i've heard that "phones with a flight safe mode myst have that enabled now" (for t/o etc.). this implies the apple flight mode is sufficient.

You've missed the end of the PA where they say "and then switched off" so in full what they're trying to say is turn flight mode on, turn the phone off, then if you turn the phone on in flight it should automatically be in flight mode, although this may not be true of all phones.

Where is this 10,000 feet thing coming from for when you can start using electronic devices? The PA says they must not be used during take off and landing, but can be used for the rest of the flight.

For me, the take off is complete by any definition when the captain releases the cabin crew, and they make all their announcements about the toilet, the smoke detector, and the in flight service, typically at about 1-2000'. At this point I always break out my tablet and start my in flight entertainment, several times in row 1 right in front of the cabin crew with no objections raised.

It is then polite to put all electronics away when the pilots call for the cabin to be secured at 10 mins to landing.

Is there a specific FAA thing about 10,000', or has it just been made up on here?

[TightSlot]

The 10,000 feet thing is because different airlines/legislative bodies have slightly different procedures. I the UK, for example, most airlines would switch the signs on at 10,000 feet for landing - but not all. In other countries, the signs come on a 20,000 feet with cabin prep done at Top Of Drop.

Seems to me that what you're doing now is the right thing.

[AndyPandy068]

Mobile phones in ‘flight mode’ do not transmit in the strict understanding of the word. However any electronic device has an Intermediate Frequency, which oscillates. This is where the confusion arises. Any device with power going through its circuit ‘can’ cause interference via its IF. Many years ago this was not quite as clearly understood as it is today. So the consensus was to turn everything off. However as you are now seeing regulatory bodies have come to realise they offer no issues with aircraft systems and the move is to allow electronics to be more widely used on flights. FAs are generally taught to have devices turned off, and unless they are electronic engineers with a full understanding of such things it’s not unreasonable for them to demand you power it down completely. WiFi is already on aircraft with some airlines, and more will follow. Maybe even pico cells for mobile use – that will be a crying shame in my opinion, the last bastion of peace and quiet – but I still expect everything will remain required to be off while the fasten seatbelt signs are on for the foreseeable future. If in doubt turn it off, pressing a button for three seconds to turn it on after 15 minutes is hardly one of life’s trials.

[Lone_Ranger]

From experience, many would do well to turn the damn thing off and perhaps take a book onboard? , of course a prerequisite being the ability to read.

[Dave Gittins]

What is so infuriating is the inconsistencies without any apparent logic.

Fopr example in the UK (and on UK airlines) the message is clear that electronic devices are to remain OFF until safely inside the terminal building.

In the US the cabin crew generally PA (in a weary tone) turning off the runway onto the taxiway that "Those that must can turn yer phones back on now".

In most planes my Ipad has to be off below 10,000 ft. In my plane I'd get lost if it was off.

I've flown with plenty of flight instructors who keep their Ipads and phones fully GSM enabled and who have been emailing, texting and receiveing weather updates with them.

[redsnail]

Nearly all the airlines I've flown with insist that the phones be turned off below 10,000". Flight mode alone is not sufficient.
In the last 6 months I've flown with
easyJet
BA
Lufthansa
SAS
TAROM
Aeroflot
and probably a couple of others I can't remember.

[Miss F]

My airline also insists on flight mode before powering off. We ask this to reduce that miniscule chance that your lithium battery that's in it doesn't explode. It may seem extremely far fetched but it could happen so we like to eliminate that extremely remote chance...

[SidT]

Surely the only way to ensure that "miniscule risk" of battery explosion is to ensure that all electronic devices (that have that same or similar battery in them) remain switched off for the entire duration of the flight. There is no difference in risk of explosion from the battery whilst below 10k ft or above (or at whatever point your particular airline allows the use of devices to begin again).

Whilst I appreciate you don't make the rules, but have to enforce them, it is this kind of mis-informed rule making/enforcement that drives me crazy.....

Also, since many airlines allow the use of iPad's and other similar devices on the Flight Deck (often at all stages of flight), it would seem that applying this rule for the PAX/SLF is slightly two-faced (again I appreciate you don't make the rules but have to apply them!)

[adelta]

I'm with aewaite17 - this is how I behave on flights. I follow the rules and always have my devices off for take-off and landing, and they are always in flight mode before I even board the plane.

I fly a fair bit between the UK and Spain and pretty much always see people on their phones and using them when the plane is taxiing or taking off.

Do the cabin crew ever pull them up on it? Even when they walk by doing the seatbelt check. Not in my experience. That is frustrating.

[Flying Daruma]

I think it's up to the individual whether they choose to enforce the rules or turn a blind eye. I know for certain at my airline that generally 99% of the time we're fairly strict on pax when it comes to turning off their electronic devices when we secure the cabin for take off.

[rxziebel]

For takeoff and landing, turning off the electronics is not a problem. Who wants to look at an email or e-read a book when there is a great view out the window??