How will airlines deal with iPhone in flight?

[Chupa Chupa]

The iPhone isn't the worlds first smart phone. Flight Attendants have seen them before, and know what they are. Never once have I been asked if my Treo is in flight mode i.e., phone off. They just assume you turned your phone off when they asked before the flight took off. As long as you don't try and make a call in-flight (as-if) they will leave you alone. I'm sure the iPhone has a flight mode. It would be worthless if it didn't.

[sscutchen]

[quote MacMagus]The voice of experience:

Airline flight attendants don't give a damn about flight mode. At least not in the U.S.

My cell phone plays music, videos, games, etc. It has a flight mode that allows it to operate with the SIM card removed. When flight mode is on, it says so in big, bold letters across the top of the screen.

The only occasions where I've made it through a flight without being asked to put away my phone are occasions where I've hidden the phone. Trying to engage a flight attendant for long enough to explain flight mode is an exercise in futility. Your phone's flight mode doesn't matter to them.

If a flight attendant sees you with a cell phone, s/he'll ask you to turn it off and put it away. They can and will use force if necessary. Flight attendants have strict instructions from their bosses about cell phones and seldom have the time (or discretion) for your explanations about flight mode.
"Oh, it's alright... It's not a phone any more. I get that a lot."

heh.

[Will Collier]

[quote Seacrest]There is no technical reason that cell phones cannot be used or switched 'on' on aeroplanes.
There is no evidence that they would interfere with the planes' instruments.
The reason for the cellphone ban is social, not technical.
I am not going to speculate on what the FCC, FAA and airlines' policy toward the iPhone will be, however I suspect it will be the same as their attitudes toward all electronic devices.
Exactly. I work on high-tech avionics every day, and the idea that a cell phone could interfere with them is nonsense (with a heavy dose of pilot, bureaucrat, and airline paranoia). Airlines don't want people on the phones because they think passengers won't pay attention to the stewardii otherwise.

Of course, everybody who flies regularly just laughed out loud at the thought of paying attention to sky waitresses...

[Robo]

I've never had a problem with my Treo, and it has a big antenna and is clearly a phone. You can always punch the attendant in the face is they give you any sass. That'll teach them.

[SKYLANE]

Robo is right, just control the sass!

I have a Treo 700, if they were to say anything I would just tell them that the Phone portion of the Treo is OFF. Which it is when I am on airplane.

[MikeF]

I will personally assist the stewardii in tossing a miscreant who attempts to use a cell phone in an airplane out the door.

With internet access and DVDs on planes, I'm surprised someone hasn't complained that the person sitting next to them is watching pron (and not the photographer)...

[Will Collier]

[quote MikeF]I will personally assist the stewardii in tossing a miscreant who attempts to use a cell phone in an airplane out the door.

With internet access and DVDs on planes, I'm surprised someone hasn't complained that the person sitting next to them is watching pron (and not the photographer)...
Don't get me wrong, I don't particularly *want* people yakking on cell phones all the way through a flight, but the excuses the airlines and FAA are giving for banning it are still bogus. I'm perfectly happy to see cell phone use banned on planes because it's a frickin' nuisance, but it ain't a flight hazard.