Author: David Armstrong
Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Coming soon to an airplane seat near you: "Hello? Hello? Hello? I'm on the plane. I'M ON THE PLANE! What? You're breaking up. Yes, hello? I'll call you back when I'm over the Rockies. Bye.''

This scenario -- a future full of promise or deep unhappiness, depending on how you view cellular telephones -- could be commonplace in the near term, as technical problems are virtually cleared up.

When and if that happens, it will inevitably change the way we fly, raising prickly questions about etiquette in the sky and making the airplane an extension of the office and the home.

Although airlines have yet to implement any formal policies, they are considering a range of options, including phone and no-phone sections, allowing non-voice electronic gadgets but not cell phones, routinely reminding fliers about cell-phone etiquette at the beginning of flights and even confiscating phones if etiquette is egregiously violated.

Before anything happens, the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates telecommunications, and the Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees civil airline safety and performance, would each have to lift bans on using personal electronic devices on commercial aircraft.

Consideration to doing just that is being given now. The FCC is taking public comment through May 27, for example, about the possibility of rescinding its ban. It extended the comment period from April 11, due to intense interest from the traveling public.

"The FCC can go ahead and lift the ban. We would consider lifting ours,'' said FAA spokesman Don Walker. Even so, "The airlines would still be free to prohibit it on their own,'' he said. Or each airline could decide for itself in which circumstances the phones could be used.

As word circulates about the possible rules change, travelers are also starting to weigh in with opinions. So far, a majority of Bay Area and corporate travelers contacted by The Chronicle are opposed to cell-phone chatter in the sky, though an appropriately vocal minority can't wait to have it.

"P-L-E-A-S-E no cell phone use on airlines!" implored Karen Chambliss of Petaluma in an e-mail to The Chronicle. "Travel can be stressful enough, and there is no way to enforce rules unless they put phone booths on the aircraft. ''

Charles Fleischer of Corte Madera was also leery of allowing cell phones at 37,000 feet.

''I do not believe that there is any requirement for passengers to use cell phones on airlines unless there is an emergency like 9/11,'' he observed.

"I can see having high-speed Internet connections, so passengers can continue to work through e-mail. This would not require voice traffic. There is enough noise on planes now. Cell phones on planes would make me strive harder not to fly.''

David Perkinson of San Francisco said he doesn't want cell chatter in the air, period: "I've already envisioned the nightmare scenario of being stuck in the middle seat on a transcontinental flight and hearing all of the fascinating reasons the girl next to me is, like, soooo mad at her boyfriend. I think I would rather drive.''

However, some consumers think something can be worked out.

"Phones are allowed on BART, so why not on a plane?'' asked John Wills of Oakland. "But calls should be cut off after five minutes, and there should be a low limit on the number of simultaneous calls in a plane.''

There have been pay phones attached to seatbacks on commercial airliners for about 15 years, but this would be different. Unlike today's clunky seatback pay phones, which tend to be pricey, stationary and limited in number, this generation of airborne phones would be small, snazzy personal mobile phones.

No commercial airline anywhere in the world now allows the use of personal mobile phones during a flight.

Even airline unions are divided over the issue.

The Air Line Pilots Association, which represents 64,000 pilots, is waiting for the results of some technical testing to come in, said union spokesman Capt. Terry McVenes. If safety can be assured, the association would not necessarily oppose the use of mobile phones en route, McVenes said.

The Association of Flight Attendants, on the other hand, has already come out strongly against allowing passengers to gab on their phones about their kids, their careers and their golf game. The union fears a breakdown in cabin comity and a spike in air rage, with flight attendants forced to deal with the problem.

Earlier this month, the union, which represents 46,000 flight attendants, released the results of an opinion survey it commissioned showing that a large majority of fliers polled loathe the idea of seatmates braying into their mobiles.

According to the poll, which quizzed 702 fliers this spring, 63 percent favored keeping the current cell ban, compared with 21 percent who want to see it lifted.

Introducing cell phones onto planes is especially worrisome to business fliers, according to Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, which represents corporate travel buyers.

"What I'm hearing is, a large majority of business people are strongly opposed to using cell phones in the very confined cabin space of an airplane, '' Mitchell said.

"Hearing one side of a conversation while you're trying to work or trying to relax is a real problem. It's not like Amtrak, where you can walk to a quiet car. You're really stuck.''

United Airlines, the dominant carrier at San Francisco International Airport, with about half of all passengers and flights, is taking a wait-and- see attitude, said United spokesman Jeff Green.

"There are still a couple of questions about putting cell phones on board from a safety point of view and a service point of view,'' Green said. "We want to make sure it's something our customers want and could benefit from.''

Making its planes cell-phone-ready could require the installation of new hardware on planes. That would be an additional unwanted cost, said Green of United, which has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization for more than two years and can ill afford any new expenses.

Southwest Airlines, the nation's largest low-cost carrier and by far the biggest airline at both Oakland and San Jose airports, would be reluctant to allow cell phones on board, said Southwest spokeswoman Beth Harbin.

"There is hardware we would have to install, and that is an expense for Southwest,'' Harbin said. "It's also a customer service issue. Some people want it, but we've been seeing a lot of pushback from other fliers. The airplane is one of the last bastions of silence.''

Carriers based in Europe and Asia, where consumer electronics trends are often midwived, have not yet formulated policies on mobile phones but are open to the possible introduction of handheld computers or similar devices, airline spokespeople said.

Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways introduced live radio broadcasts of the BBC World Service on board its planes in the 1980s and rolled out an in- flight e-mail service in 1997.

In the near term, Cathay could entertain the possibility of passengers using text-messaging, which would be less intrusive than talking on the phone en route but would still help customers connect to the outside world, said Tom Wright, the airline's senior vice president for the Americas.

"These ideas are being banged around,'' Wright said of Cathay, which flies daily between SFO and Hong Kong. "Everything will be much clearer in about six months.''

British Airways, which operates three daily summer flights between SFO and London's Heathrow Airport, bans mobile phones on all its routes in compliance with British aviation rules, said Diana Fung, a spokeswoman for the airline.

"We would have to evaluate quite carefully how customers would use mobiles and on which flights,'' she said.

"Obviously, it is very different using your mobile on a short-haul flight (from Britain) to Paris or Brussels at 8 a.m. than using it on an overnight flight from the U.S., when all passengers want to do is sleep.''

In this country, in addition to the public comment period, the FCC and the FAA are awaiting the results of technical tests to see if safety concerns from phone interference have been allayed.

Even if they have, the FCC and FAA don't expect to rule this year. Cell phones aloft

Why cell phones are banned: Airlines fear potential interference with airplane navigation and communications systems could imperil flights.

What's changing: The FCC and the FAA may each decide to lift their bans this year or next if they are convinced airborne safety isn't impaired. This would clear airlines to make their own policies on the use of in-flight cell phones. Improved technology is also expected to make clear, consistent in- flight connections available to airline passengers for the first time.

Also affected: Personal electronic gadgets such as BlackBerry devices, game players and wireless laptop computers.