Ah, cell phones — the gadgets that are so dear to our hearts, pockets and purses. I don’t know how we ever survived air travel without them. It’s so easy now to keep in touch with our loved ones and colleagues — to inflict on them all our boredom as we sit at the gate, all our worry about tight connections, even that sudden panic about the coffeepot back home (Did I turn it off?).
People used to strike up conversations with real people at the airport. Now they walk around with one hand glued to the side of their heads talking into little microphones, saying things like “Yeah, the airplane’s pretty big,” and “Did Lulu get her breakfast?”
But cell phones are here to stay. So, in the humble manner that befits my station as a flight attendant, I offer 10 tips for cell-phone use in and around the airport.
Cell phones have changed air travel a lot, even in the airplane cabin, where they have dramatically cut down on the goodbyes at the end of a flight. Now approximately eight out of every 10 passengers exiting the plane are engrossed in very important conversations and merely nod goodbye to me. Luckily, I don’t get paid per “Buh-Bye.”
News flash: Legislation is now in the works to allow cell-phone use in flight. Can you imagine 300 people in a metal tube rambling on and on? Do you think this is a good idea or a bad idea? Take the online poll or send me your cell thoughts. Or, you can text message me from your phone on … No, just joking.
James Wysong has worked as a flight attendant with two major international carriers during the past fifteen years. He is the author of the "The Plane Truth: Shift Happens at 35,000 Feet" and "The Air Traveler's Survival Guide." For more information about James or his books, please or . Visit !