VoIP on a Plane: Cool, Disruptive, or Dangerous?

The news that Andy Abramson successfully used Phweet to skirt the rules prohibiting the use of VoIP on airplanes has certainly created a stir.  Reaction of commenters has been wide-ranging:

• Some thought it was a cool demonstration of how hard it is to control what happens on an IP network.
• Some reacted with revulsion at the thought they would have to sit next to loud talkers for the duration of the flight.  Some called for the creation of "talking" and "no talking" seating sections on the plane.
• Some even thought that the use of VoIP from a plane would make it easier for terrorists to coordinate plane-based attacks. 

I'm not sure about that last one...Internet chat should certainly work about as well as VoIP for a terrorist's purposes. 

The more interesting question is whether it is rude to talk on a phone (or PC or PDA) while sitting next to somebody on an airplane.  I don't know.  Suppose you are in a middle seat and you strike up a conversation with the person to your right.  Is that rude to the person you are talking with?  It would be pretty easy for the person on your right to give clues to you that they would like to end the conversation, though. 

The bigger question is the impact to the person on your left.  Suppose you are happily chatting with the person on your right for an hour or more.  How does the person on your left feel about that?  Should you ask them or just assume that you should limit your conversation, assuming the person on your left would be annoyed with an extended conversation? 

These questions of airplane courtesy are important because they bear a similarity to the question of VoIP on planes.  My take:  you should get a pretty solid read on what your seatmates are willing to put up with before doing any extended VoIP calls. 

What do you think? 

Comments

[andrew Jones]

I agree with it somewhat taht people do get disturbed from the lame action of the near by seater. The internet in the sky can disturbance to the travellers near by and if you talk about terrerorist attack they could happen anytime anywhere. No place is safe from them.

[Michael Graves]

Absolutely! If anyone seated near is annoyed by your making a call, extended or otherwise, then you should defer the call until you're back on the ground.

Consider the alternative case of watching a DVD movie. Your player, perhaps a laptop, might have little speakers but do you subject your neighbors to the soundtrack? Does the fact that someone is sitting beside you impact your choice of movie?

I spend a lot of time in the air, mostly on domestic travel for business. If the guy beside me was yakking up a storm I'd raise cane. I ask that he be moved, since he's causing the disturbance.