Passengers Say Inflight Calls Not Welcome

According to an online survey by business travel specialist Corporate Traveller, most travellers don’t want voice calls to be allowed inflight.

An overwhelming number of travellers who took part in the online poll, voted against mobile phones being used for anything but silent activities such as emailing, texting and internet browsing.

A total of 710 people took part in the survey that asked travellers what should passengers be allowed to use their mobile phones onboard for.

- 624 people or 88% of respondents said mobile phones should only be used for texting, emailing and internet browsing.

- 86 people or 12% of people believed voice calls, texting, emailing and internet browsing on mobiles should be allowed onboard.

Corporate Traveller marketing manager Jerome Bamminger said that although the service was being offered on certain routes already, travellers feared voice calls would detract from the onboard experience.

“Almost 90% of the travellers that voted in our poll were against phones being used for voice calls. That outcome gives a pretty clear indication of how travellers involved in this online survey feel about the idea of calls being made onboard aircraft,” Jerome said. “As a business travel specialist we know that many of our clients who travel frequently for business are looking for some quiet time when they’re on a flight. Generally business travellers are catching up on sleep or work or preparing for a meeting, so sitting next to someone talking on the phone for a long time could be disruptive ... In saying that however, there would still be many executives that need to stay connected at all times, and it’s this kind of service and connectivity that could influence the purchasing decisions of corporate customers that like to have all their communication channels available 24/7.”

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