by B. Tweezy
This is great news. Hopefully America follows suit. When I have my phone off for a few hours in the skies, I never know which honeys are trying to holler at me, if you know what I mean.

by Bob Tiskus
This story seems to all about a selfish Brian Baldwin and not about people on cell phones that do not have common courtesy and typically do not have a reasonable conversation on their cell phones.
I like the fact that once I am on a plane that no cell phones are to be used. The rude people that that need to be on the phone were never taught common courtesy and being treated better will not change them.
I'm for all the people who choose to have the courtesy not to use their phones.

by scott
Chris, you must be an idiot...and obviously part of problem...it is very discourteous to blab on a cell in close quarters of any kind...at the bank, at the market, at the post office, on the golf course, etc...very rude indeed...to pro-actively combat these instances, I resorted to joining their rudeness...I carry a referees whistle, and I let it sound out when prodded...of course this is not normal, but it gets the attention of the offender, and its easier than telling someone to pipe down...and it makes me feel better.

by Alan Koenig
Give me those couple of hours of incommunicado every time. Last week I heard a woman in the next booth during lunch try to convince her boyfriend not to end the relationship. Cell phone etiquite doesn't come natural to most and will only get worse in the confines of air-tubes.
Give broadband on planes but block the ports that enable voice over internet.
It looks like the elevator will become my only refuge.
aRk

by Brian
You've got a much higher opinion of the general flying public than I have. By all means jump over to the Euro carriers . . . and have fun while sitting next to Larry Loudmouth spending an hour trying to close that big $1,000 deal or Harry Highvolume rants on about how the shipment should've been in Shreveport yesterday. For some of these guys even the latest noise-reducing headphones can't block 'em out.
No thanks - I'll gladly take a few minutes of relative peace and quiet, fleeting as it may be, 'cause you know it's just a matter of time before that 2 year old starts screaming at the top of her lungs because she's forced to put on a seat belt (happened on my flight last week).

by Philip
I ageree you just don't get it, do you?
Most of us want to travel in peace, not be subjected to the loud mouths trying to impress everyone by shouting into a phone. I do not want to know what somebody is having for dinner when they land.
If you have ever travelled by train in the UK you will know what we mean.

by Bob
What possesses anyone to think that they need to make a call while in the air. Those who need to make business decisions that quickly generally don't fly commercial and the rest of the business travelers are not as important as they think. They rest of the calls can just wait (little Tommy's Little League score will be the same when the plane lands). For those of us who travel most of the time and work long hours on the ground need the break. How would you like to be enjoying a round of golf and some guys phone goies off because of an 'important' business call.

by Peter
You just don't get it, do you? Most of us want to travel in peace, not be subjected to the loud mouths trying to impress everyone by shouting into a phone.

by Chisolm Wilson
I keep thinking ...he must be joking, just to get a rise out of everyone. A lot of American adults actually ARE "unruly children" and at least in the close confines of an airplane, should be treated as such. Have you noticed how many people just love gabbing on their mobile phones about basically nothing? Now imagine a plane full of people doing that, all in each others face. What a nightmare.

by Don
If there was an Oscar for "Stupidest Column of the Year' you would undoubtedly have something to put on your mantle. I can't imagine anybody wanting to sit beside somebody talking on a cell phone, let alone the ones who put there phones on speaker, as did one on a train trip I took recently.
As I make an annual trip to the U.K. to play golf, I hope that they don't display their superiority further by allowing cell phones on the golf courses.

by George
Chris,
Hope you get to sit next to the fat slob that now has to yell thru his/her phone with meaningless BS while you're trying to decompress after 3 days of meetings and travel. How's it going to be with 30-40 conversations happening at once??? Give me a fu*^ing break. This is terrible...just wait.

by Jerry Browning
What a dumbass! Most cell phone conversations are inane and having to listen to a planeful on a coast-to-coast flight will be enough to make a person crazy. Flights are uncomfortable enough without having to listen to people shout endlessly about the crap the author thought so charming.
Conversations people have out of earshot of others is one thing, but don't hold us hostage because people are addicted to their cell phone.
Europeans have a lot of good ideas to recommend them, but cell phones on a plane are not one of them.

by Jeff
Hey Chris,
You hit the nail on the head with your statement "For it turns out, Europeans are much more sophisticated than us American louts." - and there in lies the problem. Americans have no concept of common courtesy, only, what's in it for me. Air travel is stressful enough as it is. Now I need to listen to everyone else's problems, issues, celebrations, etc. Next time you fly let me know so I can get the seat next to you - lets see how much you enjoy that flight.
Jeff

by Anonymous
Europe may be superior to the U.S. in many ways but allowing cell phones on planes is not one of them. Please SHUT UP and let the rest of us fly in peace. You can hear all out about Jr.'s freaking Little League game when we get to the terminal.