Australian airlines approve phone use on flights

[webfact]

Australian airlines approve phone use on flights

(BBC) Travellers on Qantas and Virgin Australia will be able to use their mobile phones and other electronic devices during flights from today.

The new rule applies to international and domestic passengers flying the two Australian airlines.

It will affect tablets, e-readers and small game consoles, as well as smartphones.

Passengers were previously asked to switch off these types of devices during flights for safety reasons.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) said it approved applications from both Australian airlines late on Monday.

Some airlines in the United States, Europe and New Zealand already allow passengers to keep their phones on during flights.

Aircraft are now designed and manufactured so that smartphones and other electronic devices do not interfere with with flights.

Full story: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-28932871


-- BBC 2014-08-26

[Crossy]

At least it's not allowing passengers to make calls throughout the flight, yet!

I have to admit, I've not turned my tablet truly 'off' for ages, just flipped to flight mode.

[retell]

Never saw the need to turn the telephone ,tablet off , i usually do cos have no network anyway , and it saves the battery power , its fun thou to look at the map on the tablet with gps on and zoom in a bit to see how fast your going over the land or look what city is that below

[Always18]

I always understood that the primary reason for prohibiting the use of mobile phones during flight was to prevent "swamping" of the cell towers below....................has that problem now been miraculously overcome? - or perhaps it was never a problem in the first place?

[chotthee]

The only reason they stop you from using your phone is because they want to sell you their on board phone service.

Same reason they stop you from bring food and water into airport because they want to sell you their food and water airside / on board.

[bdenner]

I always understood that the primary reason for prohibiting the use of mobile phones during flight was to prevent "swamping" of the cell towers below....................has that problem now been miraculously overcome? - or perhaps it was never a problem in the first place?

Ever placed your mobile phone on the dash board of your car, how does the radio behave? There is short range interference and that is what the airlines were concerned about. What they have done to fix it? I don't know.

[Jdiddy]

So you can only use them with flightmode on or you can use them with the cellular radio still on?

If its the former ive been doing that for years, never been hassled

Also during flight its hard enough to get a GPS signal let alone a cell signal

They didnt want 300 cell phones transmitting or "handshaking" the nearest tower all at once within a metal tube every 5 seconds when in range, ie taking off and landing, can create some interference especially as the cell radios have to boost the output power to punch through the aircraft's body

Nowadays i guess the aircrafts electronics are well enough shielded

Edited August 26, 2014 by Jdiddy

[Cuchulainn]

Yeah. I really want to sit on a 12 hour flight to LHR listening to what some prat beside me rattling on about what he had for dinner last night.

Still don't have a mobile phone. Never have; never will. Refuse to turn into a brain dead, pathetic moron waddling the streets peering into a small plastic box or shouting into one on a bus.

Sent from my two tin cans with Thaivisa app and a brain

[webfact]

Australia follows EU, US in allowing mobile devices in-flight

SYDNEY - Passengers on Qantas and Virgin Australia from Tuesday were allowed to use mobile electronic devices in-flight with limited restrictions after a relaxation of the rules by the country's aviation authority.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) move, which followed similar decisions by the US and European Union last year, allows passengers to have their devices on "flight mode" during taxiing, take-off and landing.

This disables cellular service, so passengers will still not be able to make calls or send texts.

"The results of (work done in the United States and Europe) were released late last year and earlier this year and it basically concluded that modern aircraft are not at risk of interference from modern mobile phones, tablets, e-readers and so forth," CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said.

"Once you have assessed that there are no safety issues, there’s no reason to put people through that inconvenience... of having to turn their devices off and turn it back on again."

Previous regulations banned the use of electronics during taxiing, take-off and landing due to fears they could interfere with an airplane’s navigation equipment.

The changes took effect for Qantas’ and Virgin Australia’s domestic and international flights.
AFP

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Australia-follows-EU-US-in-allowing-mobile-devices-30241797.html


-- The Nation 2014-08-26

[Asiantravel]

“Aircraft are now designed and manufactured so that smartphones and other electronic devices do not interfere with with flights.”

As someone who has listened to so many school ma'am like flight attendants telling passengers about the need switch off their devices, it would be interesting to hear from someone who actually knows what the specific nature of these modifications to design involve.

[bra]

The maximum range of a cell phone ground station is about 5 km (16000 ft), so even if you turn off flight mode you still wont get mobile phone/tablet/laptop connection at the normal cruise altitude of jets - above 30000 ft. The only to get this connection is by using a satellite link provided by the aircraft - that is if you want to pay for it - could be very expensive.

The only devices approved are mobile phones or light weight tablets etc below 1 kg. Laptops will still have to be stowed securely until above 10,000 ft or so. An unconstrained laptop can be a lethal projectile in the event of a rejected take off or a sudden stop on landing. There are several recorded cases of severe injury and death caused by unconstrained laptops in vehicle accidents. You should also stow your laptops when the seat bely sigh is on.

The main original concern about operating mobile phones was interference with aircraft autopilots - resulting in un commanded inputs and possibly dangerous manoeuvers especially at low altitudes. This has been resolved by better electronic protection to the aircraft systems.

[herb59]

yes,please stop them talking the whole flight. i dont want to listen to that bulls.it everywhere.

[MediaWatcher]

Always18, on 26 Aug 2014 - 11:39, said:

I always understood that the primary reason for prohibiting the use of mobile phones during flight was to prevent "swamping" of the cell towers below....................has that problem now been miraculously overcome? - or perhaps it was never a problem in the first place?

No, the reason before is that they thought they could interfere with the aircrafts electronics and cause an accident, those smartarses that didn't turn them off where risking the lives of all those on board, there's a lot of names to call these people, many unpublishable. Having said that, and being a technician, I didn't believe there would be interference, given the low power levels compared the much higher levels of the aircrafts own comms and radar systems as well as those ground based.

[MediaWatcher]

chotthee, on 26 Aug 2014 - 12:11, said:

The only reason they stop you from using your phone is because they want to sell you their on board phone service.

Same reason they stop you from bring food and water into airport because they want to sell you their food and water airside / on board.

Pure BS... grow up.

[Number 3]

Yes in fact I fly for business in Asia around once every two weeks on average

Each time I fly I frequently check my phone to see if I can receive any signal.

I never have. The reason I do this is I am still incredulous at the fact that so many passengers on the flights on the day of 9/11 were able to call out to family and friends. Some more than once.

Since that day and when this information came out in the days after, I continue to try this myself.

Not once have I been successful.

Not to get off topic, but we see that NOW we have the ability to do this with Australian Airlines.

Yet it was successfully carried out numerous times that day.

I hope in my lifetime I will understand that which still puzzles me.....

[MediaWatcher]

Jdiddy, on 26 Aug 2014 - 12:26, said:Jdiddy, on 26 Aug 2014 - 12:26, said:

So you can only use them with flightmode on or you can use them with the cellular radio still on?

If its the former ive been doing that for years, never been hassled

Also during flight its hard enough to get a GPS signal let alone a cell signal

They didnt want 300 cell phones transmitting or "handshaking" the nearest tower all at once within a metal tube every 5 seconds when in range, ie taking off and landing, can create some interference especially as the cell radios have to boost the output power to punch through the aircraft's body

Nowadays i guess the aircrafts electronics are well enough shielded

Why don't you get a cell signal, well it's not hard to understand, cell stations are designed to give maximum power to us earth based why would they waste power sending to the cosmos(OK, before we get too technical, I know the signal is in a straight line, from the tower, therefore it will go into space, but at such a low signal level it will be of no use). If you can't live without your phone, don't fly. Some airlines have allowed cells for a few years, but the signal comes from on board equipment connected usually to satellite systems though some regional airlines use air to ground transceivers.

Edited August 26, 2014 by MediaWatcher

[MediaWatcher]

Number 3, on 26 Aug 2014 - 17:31, said:

Yes in fact I fly for business in Asia around once every two weeks on average

Each time I fly I frequently check my phone to see if I can receive any signal.

I never have. The reason I do this is I am still incredulous at the fact that so many passengers on the flights on the day of 9/11 were able to call out to family and friends. Some more than once.

Since that day and when this information came out in the days after, I continue to try this myself.

Not once have I been successful.

Not to get off topic, but we see that NOW we have the ability to do this with Australian Airlines.

Yet it was successfully carried out numerous times that day.

I hope in my lifetime I will understand that which still puzzles me.....

Some things will always be a mystery, take for example my 80 yo mum, last week she was trying to work out how people in the UK can stand straight up and so can us in Australia, to her, we should be "standing" on our heads.

[shanahan]

I dread the thought of hearing all the possible variations of conversations going on around me on a plane along with varying voice levels and accents.

"We hope you have/had a pleasant flight, and we look forward to seeing you again, thankyou for flying ------"

[kamahele]

Yes in fact I fly for business in Asia around once every two weeks on average

Each time I fly I frequently check my phone to see if I can receive any signal.

I never have. The reason I do this is I am still incredulous at the fact that so many passengers on the flights on the day of 9/11 were able to call out to family and friends. Some more than once.

Since that day and when this information came out in the days after, I continue to try this myself.

Not once have I been successful.

Not to get off topic, but we see that NOW we have the ability to do this with Australian Airlines.

Yet it was successfully carried out numerous times that day.

I hope in my lifetime I will understand that which still puzzles me.....

I think that on 9/11 the aircraft were flying at low levels over some densely populated areas when people were able to make phone calls. If they had been at 35,000 fee and over the ocean, they would not have been able to do so.

[lvr181]

I always understood that the primary reason for prohibiting the use of mobile phones during flight was to prevent "swamping" of the cell towers below....................has that problem now been miraculously overcome? - or perhaps it was never a problem in the first place?

Ever placed your mobile phone on the dash board of your car, how does the radio behave? There is short range interference and that is what the airlines were concerned about. What they have done to fix it? I don't know.

I would suggest that it has never been a "problem" of recent years. Many farang countries now allowing use of electronic devices (certain stipulations) but I wonder if this will get thru to Asian airlines? Knowing (especially Thailand) denial of anything of betterment from farang countries. I understand that AirAsia are starting to trial WiFi on board aircraft. Interesting that a LCC is beating many full service carriers to that punch! But then again, look at the excellent management AirAsia has. Thai Airways take note!

Edited August 26, 2014 by lvr181

[ukrules]

Yes in fact I fly for business in Asia around once every two weeks on average

Each time I fly I frequently check my phone to see if I can receive any signal.

I never have. The reason I do this is I am still incredulous at the fact that so many passengers on the flights on the day of 9/11 were able to call out to family and friends. Some more than once.

Since that day and when this information came out in the days after, I continue to try this myself.

Not once have I been successful.

Not to get off topic, but we see that NOW we have the ability to do this with Australian Airlines.

Yet it was successfully carried out numerous times that day.

I hope in my lifetime I will understand that which still puzzles me.....

It's simple, the planes were flying at low altitude before they were deliberately crashed and would have been within the range of the cell towers they passed by so people on board would have been able to get a signal if their phone was turned on.

[ukrules]

This move comes just as the US Federal government is moving to formalise a ban on cell phone usage during flights.

This was published earlier this month :

http://online.wsj.com/articles/u-s-moves-closer-to-formal-rules-barring-in-flight-cellphone-calls-1407096288

Using phones are banned for 'customer convenience' now instead of 'for security'.

Quoting from the article

Overseas airlines that allow in-flight calls cease the service over U.S. airspace.

Edited August 26, 2014 by ukrules

[ozsamurai]

Its just another 'add on' for the tech generation, personally, I always wondered when it was going to start. At the very least it gives you a better distraction than a stupid in flight movie or chamber music.

Cheap Flights?!

[flagator96]

Yeah. I really want to sit on a 12 hour flight to LHR listening to what some prat beside me rattling on about what he had for dinner last night.

Still don't have a mobile phone. Never have; never will. Refuse to turn into a brain dead, pathetic moron waddling the streets peering into a small plastic box or shouting into one on a bus.

Sent from my two tin cans with Thaivisa app and a brain

Cell phones and electromagnetic radiation from them is classified by the WHO as a carcinogen.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs193/en/

Incidence of brain cancer has surged in the last 20 years (since cell phones and wi-fi begun) by 40 % in the EU and US, Many tumors are located at the area where the headset/phone touches.

http://www.healthandenvironment.org/brain_cancer/peer_reviewed

Women that put their cellphones in their bras are increasingly coming down with breast cancer. See this:

http://www.ktvu.com/videos/news/special-report-keeping-cell-phone-in-bra-may-lead/vhPF8/

People in a plane should be able to make a cell calls but the rights of people who do not want to be radiated next to them should also be respected. Maybe special areas in the planes can be dedicated for calls, or a section of the plane dedicated to cell phone/ tablet, wi-fi users. Also, a growing number of people are sensitive to radiation from cellphones and get headaches etc.

Unfortunately convenience many times bears undesired consequences more and more nowadays. Especially when the technologies involved have not been independently tested before( cellphones, genetic engineering and more)

For more info on research on electromagnetic radiation effects you can check out www.bioinitiative.org.

[AhFarangJa]

Please, Please do not let this come to the middle east. It is bad enough now on these flights, God only knows what it will be like with the incessant chirping of two hundred cell phones all through the night.

Flagator96 is right, there should be a place set aside for people to use them.....personally I would advocate the wings, I am sure we can find a way to fit seat belts to them.

[Geordie59]

I dread the day when they start allowing people to make calls from their seat. The last thing I want to listen to on a flight.

Most planes seem to have the service on the back of the TV controller but I have seen anyone use it.

[daveAustin]

As people have mentioned, too high for signals anyway, and amen to that. Good lord, it's bad enough being stuck next to a 20-stone slob that is merely breathing, let alone jabbering away about NOTHING!

Regards the safety aspect, I also thought they wanted them off for fear of exploding batteries, and not the signal thing.

[daveAustin]

Still don't have a mobile phone. Never have; never will.

Guess you'd need to get some mates first lest you waddle about talking to yourself.

[ukrules]

As people have mentioned, too high for signals anyway, and amen to that. Good lord, it's bad enough being stuck next to a 20-stone slob that is merely breathing, let alone jabbering away about NOTHING!

Regards the safety aspect, I also thought they wanted them off for fear of exploding batteries, and not the signal thing.

The cellphones will be connecting to a mini cellphone base station located inside the aircraft and the calls will most likely be routed over a satellite connection.

The guy sitting next to you will be able to make a phone call but I'm going to take a guess that it will be some kind of special roaming network which charges much, much more than regular calls are charged at.

[Cats4ever]

“Aircraft are now designed and manufactured so that smartphones and other electronic devices do not interfere with with flights.”

As someone who has listened to so many school ma'am like flight attendants telling passengers about the need switch off their devices, it would be interesting to hear from someone who actually knows what the specific nature of these modifications to design involve.

I wonder if Q & V both have totally new fleets of shielded aircraft OR??????