The FAA has finally relaxed personal electronic device usage rules during various phases of the flight. Passengers can now use a number of electronic devices such as tablets and e-readers gate to gate. With that done and dusted, passengers now look towards the possibility of in-flight voice calls, and as per recent reports the FCC is certainly looking into it. Now some might say that letting people make voice calls would irk their fellow passengers who are essentially trapped in a giant tube some 30,000 feet up in the air, and it appears that Delta CEO Richard Anderson agrees. In a memo to employees, Anderson says that allowing in-flight phone calls would be a “disruption to the travel experience.”
A change to FCC rules won’t bind airlines to adopt them, and thus allow their passengers to make in-flight phone calls. Delta certainly isn’t standing alone, both Virgin America and Southwest Airlines have hinted that they too might not go down this path even if the FCC makes changes to its rules. Anderson has already laid down the law that Delta isn’t going to allow phone calls during the flight either over VoIP or through cell services. The commission has already clarified that the final decision will rest with the airlines, so even if changes are made, it is not likely that every single airline will adopt them.