British Airways mobile phone policy

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  • Anonymous
    Guest

    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    travelled to Frankfurt on BA from LCY this afternoon. On landing cabin crew announced very firmly that mobiles must remain off until inside the terminal. The crew then repeated this instruction and marched up and down the aisle telling people to turn their phones off and shaking their heads at the same time.

    So they get to me.

    “Excuse me, why is the flight different from all other BA flights…..?”

    The answer, the crew were well aware of the British Airways rules but this was British Airways City Flyer and the sign off paperwork from BA management had not yet arrived, there fore the old rules remain.

    I felt sorry for the cabin crew having to deal with obnoxious passengers like me and other, who one minute read mobiles can be used on landing, only to hear contrary rules.

    Come on BA, make it easy for your cabin crew……


    FrDougal
    Participant

    Doesn’t really make sense does it?

    But as I understand it (I could be wrong), the policy on Mainline BA is still technically being trialled by BA in cooperation with the UK CAA and therefore has not been extended to any other UK registered carrier so it could be a little bit longer before we see it elsewhere and that includes BA subsidiaries which are still technically different airlines with their own Air Operators Certificates!


    LuganoPirate
    Participant

    I still fail to see the justification for this. Or do they just like imposing rules on us passengers for the sake of it? I sort of understand the rule on taxiing before take off, but on landing? Besides, if mobiles are so dangerous, why not ban them on board altogether???


    SimonS1
    Participant

    I agree LP. If the crew really need to march up and down the aisle clucking and having a pop at passengers then mobile phones are clearly very dangerous and should surely be banned, particularly as the cluckers don’t know if any people have these risky devices in their bags and have forgotten to switch them off.

    A bit silly really that on BA a trial is apparently needed to see if it is safe whereas on EK flights to the UK you can use phones immediately on landing. If it really is a safety issue shouldn’t EK be banned from UK airspace? 😉


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    I don’t believe the BA policy is “a trial”. Anyone able to confirm..?

    By the body language of the crew when they were marching and shaking their heads in apparent anguish that phones had been switched on, it was more of “you will listen to us”!

    if they hadn’t cared or just accepted the fact that BA have a dual system, they would have made the announcement and then left it. I cant remember seeing any crew marching up and down the aisles checking phones remained off… (it really is totally unenforceable now, especially when you see dead heading crew in uniform checking their phones!!).


    FrDougal
    Participant

    For a bunch of learned business people I’m amazed at how you continue to pin all the blame on BA despite knowing that they are the ones driving the change!

    It’s the UK CAA you should be having a pop at, not BA Cityflyer or its crews! Cos lets face it, your still not allowed to switch your phone on Easyjet, Flybe and any other UK registered aircraft!

    The crews are just obeying the rules they have been instructed to work under. Failure to do so could result in their suspension!


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    @FrDougal – point is BA have caused there staff additional problems by not rolling out across all BA flights at the same time. No wonder passengers get confused…..


    FrDougal
    Participant

    Damned if you do and damned if you don’t!

    BA haven’t “caused” any additional issues. Granted most passengers will just see BA on the side of the plane but Cityflyer is a different carrier in the eyes of the CAA! It’s mainline doing the trial (I’m guessing like all the other trials it’ll be I’m the region of 6 months so not long to go now) and therefore they won’t permit any other airline regardless of the branding on the side to adopt the policy!!!

    So direct your frustrations at the CAA instead of the poor £2.40 an hour crew member who is simply doing their job!


    Bunnahabhain
    Participant

    If it’s a trial, BA mainline cabin crew would do well to explain that on vacating the runway (as opposed to the actual landing) – they just say that you may now use your mobiles. They could also point out for information that the trial is only on mainline BA, for what that would be worth.

    In reality the only difference is that the crew are now saying that you can use your phone, pax around me on BA and other airlines have always used theirs for data transmission / receipt functions including calls as soon as the main wheels have hit the runway. This also shows that they are seldom set to flight mode, let alone switched off, for take off and landing.


    SimonS1
    Participant

    @FRDougal

    Maybe BA should be a bit clearer in their press releases then.

    No suggestion that it is a trial, and it specifically says it will “apply to all British Airways flights worldwide”. If you are flying on BA metal with a BA flight number why would you doubt that.

    No it couldn’t be that the real answer is what the crew said, ie that the paperwork hadn’t arrived from BA management, could it……

    Don’t BA pay the minimum wage these days?

    http://press.ba.com/?p=3184#more-3184


    Flyboy18
    Participant

    I’m BA crew and can confirm that it’s not a trial…but think that the BA city flyer crew are right in saying it doesn’t yet cover them..awaiting the paperwork is right.


    Bunnahabhain
    Participant

    Thanks Scott for the clarification. On a related issue of all devices whether capable of transmitting / receiving or not having to be switched off completely at the 10 minutes to landing call (as well as for take off), I noticed the CSD was still using her iPad on approach, while in her rear-facing seat which faced me. Are the CSDs’ iPads modified such that they don’t pose whatever risk it is from electronic devices being left on?

    Similarly, there are many photographs on websites such as airliners.net taken during take off, climb out, approach and landing, when cameras should be switched off. Surely they are not all taken with manual film cameras without any kind of electronics…


    BigDog.
    Participant

    Update ….

    ….All Airlines cleared for mobile phone use during flights

    The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) says electronic devices such as mobile phones can be left switched on during flights.

    EASA says that electronic devices do not pose a safety risk….

    http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/100904/full-mobile-phone-use-on-aircraft-approved

    Depending on a self-assessment, should bring uniformity across carriers I hope.


    BigDog.
    Participant

    A relative all clear has been given – see above – and now this??

    ….Airlines have been ordered to replace or modify the cockpit display units fitted to hundreds of Boeing jets.

    The US air safety regulator said that tests had indicated that mobile phone and computer signals could cause the screens to go blank….

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-29445385

    a tad baffling imo if not downright confusing.

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