Some Air Industry Groups Oppose Loosening Rules for Use of Wireless Devices on Flights

"As the national association representing Part 135 air carriers and Part 91 fractional aircraft program managers, NATA supports increased access to personal electronic devices ... by passengers,” the group said (http://xrl.us/bnxgfi). But it said “authorization of PED use ... in general,” should be “at the discretion of the carrier or program manager, and, for any given operation, at the discretion of the flight crew.” NATA said passengers should be able to leave devices on prior to takeoff, but not use them while flight attendants are explaining safety procedures. “Larger devices (e.g. laptop computers) should be stowed for takeoff and landing phases per operator-established policies or at the direction of the flight crew,” NATA said.

A4A, “the principal trade and service organization of the U.S. scheduled airline industry,” passed along comments from member United on the PED rules. “United’s present day PEDs usage policy to shutdown PEDs prior to departure, allowed usage upon reaching safe altitude (10,000 ft altitude) and subsequent PEDs shutdown upon descent (at 10,000 ft altitude) provides the clearest and most direct instruction to passengers,” the group said (http://xrl.us/bnxge6). “There is no direct ability for cabin crew to monitor PEDs usage during the critical phases of flight, as they have since gone through their cabin checks and are seated with safety belts for their own safety. The challenge for cabin crews to discern one device from the next if specific devices were ‘approved for use’ during takeoff and landing can not be understated and would be difficult to manage."

Cessna Aircraft also expressed concerns about changing FAA rules for personal devices. “They should still be restricted during ‘critical phases of flight’ unless the interference path loss between the device and the receiver front end is shown to be sufficient not to cause interference,” Cessna said (http://xrl.us/bnxgf9).

Delta Air Lines said an aviation rulemaking committee, including aviation and communications technical and operational experts, should examine the issue more fully (http://xrl.us/bnxgib). Delta said it recently surveyed its customers. “Reading e-books, text messaging, listening to music, watching movies and playing games are the top activities that customers would like to do below 10,000 feet,” the survey found. “Most customers feel that being able to use electronic devices below 10,000 feet would have a positive impact on the onboard experience.” But Delta warned that policing PED use can a real distraction for flight crew. “Airline travel must adapt to the needs of the traveling public, but it must do so with a plan that ensures critical aircraft systems will not be affected by these devices,” the airline said.

CEA, like CTIA and the Telecommunications Industry Association (CD Nov 1 p10), said the FAA should update its rules (http://xrl.us/bnxgnd). “Consumers rely heavily on PEDs and expect to be able to use them when traveling by air,” CEA said. “While maintaining safety is paramount, the FAA can work with aircraft operators to facilitate the safe, managed use of PEDs on aircraft. ... The simple fact is that wireless technology has become ‘ingrained’ in peoples’ lives. Consumers use wireless devices to read books, watch television and movies, play games, and accomplish their day-to-day work-, school-, and family-related tasks. This connectedness is not left behind when U.S. consumers travel, even when they take to the air.”