Would you pay $300 just to have a quiet flight? Well, apparently there are people that would pay that much in order to escape the craziness and loudness of a flight.
The FCC recently discussed ending the in-flight call ban, and interviews done by the National Journal Daily said that customers would pay an extra fee to use their phones, but there is also a market for those who don’t want to hear other people’s phone calls.
The ideas conflict with one another, while some are begging to use their phones in flight and others are hoping that there’s a way to have a quiet car system on a plane.
Polls show that most flyers would prefer calls remain off-limits up in the air, and that many customers feel that it’ll interrupt the otherwise sometimes peaceful flights, and will go the way of going to a movie or sitting in a train, where phones ringing and people talking on the cell can be a huge disturbance.
Some contend that the in-flight calls are a disturbance, while other’s say that it should be allowed because of emergencies.
Marshall contends no call is so important that it can’t wait until landing. “Fly to Japan and back, and tell me how fruitful of an event that is,” he said with a groan.
The FCC’s 3 to 2 vote last week to begin a public-comment forum that could change in-flight phone regulations started a huge backlash against the idea. The Department of Transportation said it will consider seeking its own ban to protect consumers, and lawmakers are already finding new legislation to follow those steps as well. The process to figure out what to do with the phone-ban is going to take months, and maybe years, to decide on what officially is going to happen.
Whether you’re team in flight calls or team quiet flights, seeing changes is going to be a long process.
$300 seems steep to avoid talking passengers, but it could be worth it if you’re on a long distance flight. I’d consider paying $300 to avoid crying babies – I’m still waiting for them to offer the “adult only” section.