“Wei? Wei? WEI!!!???” New Measures to Torture Airline Passengers

Overzealous security, crying babies, airline food. Can’t stand it? Well add one more
annoyance to the list – onboard cell phone usage. According to a recent article, translated by China Hush, three major Chinese airlines have signed deals to design software that will allow passengers to jabber away 30,000 feet up in the air.

Sina Tech says the three airlines involved are Air China, China Southern, and China
Eastern. Passengers will be able to make phone calls for RMB 15 per minute. And yes, the service will also be available internationally, such as on flights to the United States.

Their reasoning behind such a service?

According to Wang Xiaolun, vice-president of cabin service at Air China, flight attendants often have to tell passengers to “turn off their cell phones before the plane takes off, which indicates the passengers’ need to communicate with the outside. Achieving communication via cellular phone above 10,000 meters will become an effective way to attract travelers and provide satisfactory services for the passengers.”

But we think this commenter on China Hush says it best, “This is not a need to be
connected, its just people being a bunch of jackasses.”

Being trapped in a tube flying 500 miles through the air with someone endlessly
yapping loudly throughout a 12-hour flight to Beijing is not my idea of “satisfactory
services.” If passengers truly feel the need to stay connected, a push for internet
service on long haul flights would be a better option. And according to this article from Information Week, apparently the technology for overwater internet service is already there.