High-Wire Act When can we use our cell phones in the air, already?
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Can your cell phone fly? It's a timely and controversialquestion, according to Terry Wiseman, publisher of the in-flightentertainment newsletter Airfax.
By the end of this year, at least three airlines-Air Canada,Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines-will offer on-board Internetconnections. And soon after that, airlines could begin testingsystems that would allow you to use wireless devices while theaircraft is in flight.
The possibility that electronic interference may affect anaircraft's navigational system remains a major concern in theairline industry and a roadblock to widespread freedom to use cellphones. Until airlines resolve the issue, business travelers willhave to be content to check e-mail from their laptop computers orfrom one of the in-flight entertainment systems.
"It's spooky territory," says Wiseman."Everyone is working hard to make sure nothing happens [tocompromise safety] when these systems are installed."
Christopher Elliott is a writer in Annapolis, Maryland.Contact him at www.elliott.org.
