Web Worker Daily

One of the more uplifting experiences for a blogger-writer on a general-interest news website like myself occurs when I ask readers in a column to tell me what they think of allowing cell phone calls on an airline flight.

This the third time in about three years I’ve asked, and the response each time has been rapid and vociferous, generating at least eight to 10 times more responses than I usually get to a column.

And what do the people – or at least my people – say? They are horrified at the very mention of the idea, with some vowing to stop flying or get into physical confrontations at 30,000 feet if they are subjected to the ill-mannered around them chattering away on the phone in a cramped airline cabin. Out of 58 e-mails and phone calls so far, 56 said they’re vigorously opposed.

Here’s a typical response, this one from a business owner in Chester, Pa:

I can think of nothing that would make travel more unbearable than cell phone use on airplanes. People are loud, rude and inconsiderate in the terminal. It would be even worse on a plane.

If you feel the same way, don’t worry. The prohibition about voice calls is not about to change. But the ability to access the Internet for e-mail and texting in flight is changing, and we want to know what web workers who have to fly on business think about all of it.

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