Apparently this is due to security concerns and is against United’s policy which can be found on the in-flight magazine. According to the policy, taking photos and videos on board the plane can only be done to capture personal events, and that taking photos or videos of other passengers or airline staff without express permission is not allowed.
The policy itself is pretty broad and we guess it could apply to Google Glass as well. Abadie attempted to challenge the policy by taking a photo with her phone and telling the flight attendant about it, but noticed that she was not asked to put her phone away. According to her, she felt that this was more to do with the education and perception that people have about Google Glass, of which she called a “reptilian reaction at best”.
This isn’t the first time Google Glass has been met with resistance, although in Abadie’s case we guess she should be thankful that it was not an overly-hostile reaction, which unfortunately in the case of some Explorers has been the opposite where they have been physically assaulted for wearing the device.