Electronics ONboard

Most of us have endured the sensible nagging of flight attendants and officials upon boarding planes. We're used to the drill; turn off your electronic devices before you watch the safety video and keep them off until it's announced that you've reached a safe height. There are those of us who are dying to turn up Michael Bublé to keep our blood pressure down and flying fears at bay, those of us who absolutely can't stop flipping the pages of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn on our Kindles, and some of us who just want to beat that next level of Candy Crush. As rumor and news has it- the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) is looking at revising their policy of not allowing the use of electronics below 10,000 feet. As the way things stand now, your favorite devices must be powered down before you buckle-up. The reasoning has been for our own good- that our devices may cause interference with the airplane transmissions.  Countless passengers have experienced the reality of not following these rules and have gotten a harsh tongue-lashing for not following suit. Good news for you Alec Baldwin, the times are changing. Flyers and customers are now more attached to their electronic devices than ever before.  Until now, the severity of the chance of  personal devices interfering with a plane's technology has been reason enough to instantly turn off all electronics. For some like me, if these policy changes go through, my flying satisfaction will skyrocket- I will no longer have to furiously chat-up the stranger to my left to keep the mind distracted of my fear of flying.

It has been a debate in recent years whether this is a valid policy- some experts in the field believe it is rational, others think it needs overturning as "evidence is largely anecdotal". With reason, emailing and text messaging using WiFi while taking off or landing is not expected to change. The update would allow us to use our iPads, Kindle's, and apps already downloaded on our smartphones during the entire flight on airplane mode. We live in the age of technology- it is time that airlines match this.

This is why an advisory board is recommending the update in the ban of electronics below 10,000 feet. The New York Times reports that this advisory board has submitted their recommendations for this new policy to the FFA with hopes that new changes can be made as soon as next year. Technology and travel are finally starting to come to a meeting of the minds- just how it should be!

Do you think this policy should be over-turned? If so, how it would affect your travels?