With the news that LTE and 3G maybe allowed to work above 3,000 meters (10,000ft) as well as using your device during take off and landing on European Flights, we feel a little disappointed, and we will explain.
Flying was maybe the only place you could not get a signal for an extended amount of time, quiet time if you will, during which you could use the time to keep your thoughts to yourself. Talk to the person next to you before realising that they are actually very annoying, listen to music, watch films - sleep, read a book, you know that kind of thing.
By contrast train travel brings some horrendous experiences with regard to mobile phones. Nobody talks to each other these days - especially on commuter trains which are dead quiet, only for the silence to be broken 100s of times over by someone shouting in to the handset one of two things.
"Yes hello darling Ill be home on 20 mins, Im two stops away" -
Maybe the most over heard telephone call of all time. When the train is on time and the commuter obviously uses this service daily, would there actually be any need for that call ? No there isnt. Second most regular thing,
"Hello, Hello Hello.......Hello, I cant hear you, hello. Ill call you back can you hear me.........shit
Now with that in mind, doesnt that make flying just that bit more pleasurable !? Throw into the mix you can charge your phone on most flights now, we could be looking at a horrible situation where our fellow passengers could be barking orders at some poor soul thousands of miles away while the rest of us have to listen to that dross for hours on end, maybe there will be no end.
How would this change first class travel ? Where the more affluent or higher paid business people sit regularly and enjoy the quiet. I cant imagine a spreadsheet error going down well while Im trying to sleep on a £2,000 seat while Gordon Gekko is trying to resolve said situation.
Thankfully this isnt possible on transatlantic flights, so there is a saving grace of not having to listen to Gordon on any flight to JFK anytime soon.
Sometimes change is good, although this is purely about generating more cash to the airlines in some shape of form, and of course the mobile phone carriers. Customer experience for those of us that like to fly quietly, will be degraded.
"Would you like LTE enabled for European flights sir / madam ?! Sure thats £50 extra a month please." - Said a mobile operator in the not so distant future.
Lets hope the cost is prohibitive to the general public, or there could be riots in the air.
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