The US Federal Communications Commission might be ready to permit cellphone calls in flight. But what about the airlines?
Old concerns about electronics being a danger to airplane navigation have been debunked. And airlines could make some extra cash charging passengers to call a loved one from 10,500 meters. But that extra money might not be worth the backlash from fliers who view overly chatty neighbors as another inconvenience to go along with smaller seats and stuffed overhead bins.
That's one of the reasons the country's largest flight attendant union has come out against allowing calls in flight. The FCC is proposing to lift an existing ban, and airlines would have to decide whether to let passengers make calls. The ban would remain in effect during takeoff and landing.
Delta Air Lines is the only major airline to explicitly state that voice calls won't be allowed on its flights, even if the FCC allows it. Delta says years of feedback from customers show "the overwhelming sentiment" is to continue prohibiting calls. Other airlines aren't as firm.
To complicate matters even more, the airlines actually don't need to wait for the FCC. Yes, the government would need to remove the restriction for you to make normal calls in flight. But there are already plenty of ways to make calls legally over airline Wi-Fi networks, while keeping your phone in "airplane mode." The airlines just choose to block such calls.
Gogo Inc., which provides Internet access on American, Alaska Airlines, Delta, United, US Airways and Virgin America flights, recently announced a new service for passengers to send and receive text messages or make phone calls using Wi-Fi.
A US airline Gogo wouldn't name will launch the service early next year with only text-messaging capabilities.
The talk function was designed for private jets and international airlines. Most Middle East airlines and a few in Asia and Europe already allow voice calls on planes.
Gogo's chief competitor, Global Eagle Entertainment Inc.'s Row 44, will debut gate-to-gate text service for $2 a flight on select Southwest Airlines aircraft Monday.
Tom Wheeler, who became the FCC's chairman three weeks ago, issued a statement Thursday saying that "modern technologies can deliver mobile services in the air safely and reliably and the time is right to review our outdated and restrictive rules." Travelers protested to the agency and on social media.
Wheeler backed off Friday. He clarified that "airlines are best positioned" to make decisions about what's in the interests of passengers. The FCC's role should just be to decide what is safe or not, and cellphone calls are safe, he said.
The Federal Aviation Administration recently lifted its ban on personal electronic devices, such as iPads and Kindles, under 3,000 meters. But the FCC's announcement that it would discuss its phone prohibition at its Dec. 12 meeting came as a surprise.
The FCC banned calls in flight more than two decades ago because of concern they could interfere with multiple cell towers on the ground as planes fly at hundreds of miles per hour. Since then, there has been new technology that can be installed directly on planes. Cellphones in flight would connect to those airborne systems rather than the towers on the ground, eliminating the interference problem. The FCC notes that such systems have been deployed elsewhere around the world without problems.
If phone calls are eventually allowed on planes whether through Wi-Fi or traditional means a company still has to install that equipment on aircraft. That company, in partnership with the airline, would likely charge a fee, the way Gogo and Row 44 now charge for Wi-Fi service. Cell carriers probably wouldn't profit off such calls.
Ultimately, the FCC is going to make its decision based on safety, not public opinion, says Harold Feld, a senior vice president at advocacy group Public Knowledge.