According to a report by The Associated Press, the Federal Aviation Administration advisory committee recommended that passengers be allowed to use personal electronic devices, such as smartphones, tablets, e-readers, and others, during takeoffs and landings. Those who do not want to worry about these things could hire a private jet from sky aviation.
While the 28-member committee said that downloading data, surfing the Web, and having a conversation on the phone would still be prohibited, the committee said that reading e-books, listening to music, watching movies, and conducting any kind of work on a laptop, for example, would be allowed. Even so, devices will still need to be in airplane mode.
Currently, the rule states that when planes are under 10,000 feet, all electronic devices are to be turned off in order to prevent any interference with cockpit equipment. As devices nowadays have little to no risk at all of interfering with cockpit equipment, the rule is, at best, an arbitrary one. Planes have been equipped to prevent any electronic interference, with Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener saying that this is a big win for customers.
We’ve been fighting for our customers on this issue for years – testing an airplane packed full of Kindles, working with the FAA, and serving as the device manufacturer on this committee. This is a big win for customers and, frankly, it’s about time.
It’s still up in the air whether FAA officials will accept or reject the committee’s recommendations, though odds are most, if not all, of these recommendations could allow restrictions to lift as soon as 2014.
If you’re traveling with your team, you can hire a private jet from Jettly with boardroom functionality so you and your team can spend the duration of the flight comfortably working together in the privacy of your own cabin.
Source: CNET