4 ms·

> I looked up, nodded and indicated that I needed a second to finish an email, and he walked past me into coach. That's a pretty douchey and self-ish thing to

> I looked up, nodded and indicated that I needed a second to finish an email, and he walked past me into coach. That's a pretty douchey and self-ish thing to do on his part, however. I mean, there's probably a safety reason why they have that rule. You have a plane in the sky thousands of feet in the air, travelling hundreds of miles per hour, and if you're supposed to shutdown that device, you do it. Other people's lives are on the line here as well. Of course, nobody knows the details of what really happened, but when you're supposed to turn that shit off, you turn it off. Email can wait. Email can be resent or rewritten if needed. Show curtesy for fellow passengers and the law.

lzw 16y ago
There is no safet issue here. His laptop was not a threat. The entire anti-electronics thing has been nonsense firm the beginning. Most of these laws are not actually laws, as they exceed the authority of the constitution.
- neorayn 16y ago
  If only our forefathers had the foresight to write laws governing air travel.
- mkramlich 16y ago
  You do not know there's no safety risk. And there are all kinds of laws and rules one has to follow everyday that are not specified in the Constitution and yet we have to follow them anyway lest consequences ensue. The highest courts in the land have already determined that the Federal government does have the right and responsibility to regulate and enforce certain aspects of inter-state commerce, which includes airline travel. In broad enough strokes, it's a settled issue.
- sokoloff 16y ago
  This one's most certainly a law: FAR 91.21 http://www.risingup.com/fars/info/part91-21-FAR.shtml http://www.risingup.com/fars/info/part91-21-FAR.shtml It was written back in 1961 when the primary means of navigation was high-frequency omni-directional radio beacons, and from a technological standpoint is very likely to not be necessary. However, it is the law of the land and neither Virgin nor the flight crew is interested in sticking their necks (and certificates) out so that you can use your laptop below 10K feet. Most air carriers have adopted a policy ref 91.21.b.5 that permits the use of approved electronic devices for the portion of the flight above 10K feet. On most flights, you'll hear a random single chime [same sound as the seatbelt chime] a few minutes after takeoff; that's the pilot letting the cabin crew know that the aircraft is climbing through 10,000 and the cabin crew will then make the annoucement that approved PEDs can be used.
gommm 16y ago
He did say beforehand that he'd need a second to finish the email so the flight attendant could have told him then in a polite way that there was no time. And anyway, if they are so concerned about this, they can tell people to shut down their electrical devices 5 minutes before so that no one is late (and well anyway, there's no safety reason for this rule).

lzw 16y ago

There is no safet issue here. His laptop was not a threat. The entire anti-electronics thing has been nonsense firm the beginning. Most of these laws are not actually laws, as they exceed the authority of the constitution.

neorayn 16y ago
If only our forefathers had the foresight to write laws governing air travel.
mkramlich 16y ago
You do not know there's no safety risk. And there are all kinds of laws and rules one has to follow everyday that are not specified in the Constitution and yet we have to follow them anyway lest consequences ensue. The highest courts in the land have already determined that the Federal government does have the right and responsibility to regulate and enforce certain aspects of inter-state commerce, which includes airline travel. In broad enough strokes, it's a settled issue.
sokoloff 16y ago
This one's most certainly a law: FAR 91.21 http://www.risingup.com/fars/info/part91-21-FAR.shtml http://www.risingup.com/fars/info/part91-21-FAR.shtml It was written back in 1961 when the primary means of navigation was high-frequency omni-directional radio beacons, and from a technological standpoint is very likely to not be necessary. However, it is the law of the land and neither Virgin nor the flight crew is interested in sticking their necks (and certificates) out so that you can use your laptop below 10K feet. Most air carriers have adopted a policy ref 91.21.b.5 that permits the use of approved electronic devices for the portion of the flight above 10K feet. On most flights, you'll hear a random single chime [same sound as the seatbelt chime] a few minutes after takeoff; that's the pilot letting the cabin crew know that the aircraft is climbing through 10,000 and the cabin crew will then make the annoucement that approved PEDs can be used.

gommm 16y ago

He did say beforehand that he'd need a second to finish the email so the flight attendant could have told him then in a polite way that there was no time. And anyway, if they are so concerned about this, they can tell people to shut down their electrical devices 5 minutes before so that no one is late (and well anyway, there's no safety reason for this rule).