In-flight calls? Here's what the airlines think

Ben Mutzabaugh | USA TODAY

The Federal Communications Commission is reviewing its 22-year ban against in-flight cellphone calls.

That's sparked fears among many frequent fliers about suddenly louder plane cabins. Others say actually welcome the idea of calls in flight.

But even if the FCC does make the change, it would ultimately be up to each individual airline to decide whether they'd allow voice calls in their cabins.

As you might expect, reaction is mixed. Some, such as JetBlue and Southwest are open to the idea. Some, like US Airways, did not take a position. Others – notably Delta – are against the idea.

Here's a sampling of reaction from the USA's biggest carriers:

Alaska Airlines

Count the Seattle-based as one of those taking a dim view of the possible change, though Alaska Air did not rule it out altogether.

"We have always had clear feedback from our customers that they do not want voice calls in flight," Marianne Lindsey says in a statement to Today in the Sky. "We continually communicate with our customers, however, and will be assessing whether their preferences have changed."

American Airlines

The carrier is taking a wait-and-see approach.

"We're going to wait to review the FCC's full recommendation," American spokesman Matt Miller says to Today in the Sky. "Currently, American's inflight Wi-Fi doesn't allow voice over IP calls," he adds.

Delta Air Lines

"Our position is pretty straight-forward," Delta spokesman Paul Skrbec says to Today in the Sky.

He notes that Delta addressed the issue earlier this month when it moved to allow electronic gadgets to be used while on the ground. The carrier specifically addressed what it might do should the FCC make the change that it has no proposed.

"No," Delta says in a Q&A on its website. "Delta has years of customer feedback on the impact on the customer experience and voice communications and the overwhelming sentiment is to continue with a policy that would not allow voice communications while in flight."

Skrbec says that position also was laid out in a 2012 letter that Kirk Thornburg, Delta's VP - TechOps sent to the Federal Aviation Administration on the subject.

"The ability to make phone calls is seen to have a negative impact on the onboard experience for 64% of customer," Thornburg said in the letter, citing a survey of 1,462 Delta passengers on the subject of expanded in-flight electronics use.

"However," Thornburg added in the filing to the FAA, "36% of customer believe it would be positive indicating that phone calls in flight can be polarizing."

JetBlue

"JetBlue is pleased that the FCC is willing to review their policy," JetBlue spokewoman Jenny Dervin says to Today in the Sky. "If they allow cell phone use, then it will be up to the airlines to come up with a policy, and in JetBlue's case, our policy will be customer-driven."

"Since the initial news that the ban may be lifted, we've seen a majority of customer feedback fall in the 'keep the ban' camp. Customers clearly want a peace-and-quiet cabin," she adds.

But Dervin suggests "there might be a way to make everyone happy."

"When we introduced live TV to the industry, one of the unintended but delightful consequences was that the cabin seemed more quiet than your average airline flight," she explains. "JetBlue may have an advantage over other airlines that don't offer fleet-wide TV or seat-back entertainment; we might be able to accommodate all customer desires without interfering with anyone else's experience."

Southwest Airlines

"We're excited to be the only major carrier to offer gate-to-gate usage of personal electronics and WiFi connectivity across most of our fleet, keeping our Customers better connected than ever before possible," Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins says to Today in the Sky. "That said, the ability to use electronic items which access cellular data networks remains off the table and our Customers have told us that inflight voice communication would be disruptive. We continue to monitor feedback on this topic from our Customers and would consider it should the FCC make any rule changes."

Could peer pressure come in to play?

"If everyone starts doing it and it becomes culturally acceptable, we'd have to consider it," Hawkins says to The Associated Press. "But no one thinks it's a good idea."

United Airlines

"Our customers have expressed concern about how the use of cellphones inflight will impact their experience onboard," United says in a statement to Today in the Sky. "When the FCC makes a proposal available, we will study it along with feedback from customers and crews."

US Airways



When asked for its position, US Airways referred Today in the Sky to the Airlines for America trade group.

"We have not seen the FCC proposal, so we are unable to comment on it," the group says in a statement to Today in the Sky. "We will want to analyze any proposal to understand the impact."

Virgin America

The California-based carrier is regarded as one of the nation's tech-savvy airlines, but the carrier sounds as though it will only reluctantly consider allowing voice calls.

"Although we will review any proposed rule changes in this area, we remain committed to maintaining a quiet and restful cabin environment that allows guests to work or enjoy our Red IFE offerings during the flight," Virgin America spokesman Madhu Unnikrishnan says to Today in the Sky.

This post will be updated.