E-mail bites Qantas flights

By Alex Manchester, Editor, The Internal Comms Hub (Australia), Melcrum

"Oh dear."

That was my first thought when I discovered that Qantas was to formally introduce e-mail and SMS capability on some domestic flights (international trips are currently under consideration).

Why, "oh dear"? Why do you think. Immediately, I had visions of my next Sydney-Brisbane flight being a nightmare of phone beeps and alerts, and Crackberry addicted business people tapping furiously on their devices, the sweat pouring off them as they contend with a barrage of incoming communications in an environment that used to be off-limits.

I'm exaggerating, but this news does seem unnecessary. Screaming babies, getting your knee bashed by the hostess trolley, and the musty-smelling person sitting next to you are just some of the joys of flying – why add another element to the mix with mobile SMS and e-mail coverage?

Of course, there's a flip side to my argument. People want to stay connected all the time. It's important. Hours are too scarce to while them away doing nothing on the plane. And planes are boring anyway.

Proponents of this argument are the same people who carry their Blackberries 24/365, even suggesting that keeping in touch while away - on holiday - prevents a volcanic e-mail inbox whence you return from your beachside retreat.

Fair enough. This train of thought has its merits.

Even though I have no need or desire for a Blackberry, I'm currently working hard to ween myself off checking work e-mail at home in the evenings on my laptop. The future of my relationship with my girlfriend pretty much depends on it. Having worked at home for eight months last year it's now stupidly and irritatingly difficult to stop pressing "send and receive", but I know life will be better once I've kicked the habit.

My deeper fear, though, is perhaps not with just e-mail on planes, but what Emirates are doing with the same Aeromobile technology as Qantas. You guessed it: inflight mobile calls.

God help us.

Up until now flights have been something of a green zone. If you're busy you can use the peace-time to catch UP with e-mail. If you're not that busy you can watch a movie, or these days watch an episode of 24 on your iPhone. You can read a magazine (or even a book if you're really traditional), or gently fall asleep to the hum of your surroundings. It was a genuine chance to climb into an impregnable bubble for an hour or two.

Kiss goodbye to that idea. In five years time it will be the norm for aircraft passengers to e-mail, text, web-surf and make voice calls - just like we do everywhere else.

When discussing the mobile calling capability, Aeromobile's VP of external relations, David Coiley, said he didn't think etiquette was going to be a problem.

"The Emirates flights (with voice call capability) may help debunk some of the etiquette concerns that were raised when the FCC considered dropping its ban.... the concerns are somewhat overstated, without some of the commentators knowing all of the details with regard to how these services are implemented and what can be done to encourage appropriate behavior."

Coiley added, "I think people are a little more sensible than some would give them credit for, and the appropriate behavior will emerge anyway."

Dave my friend, maybe you need to go speak to the guy who thought up "Quiet carriages" on trains, or even spend a few days doing an hour-long to/from London commute. Etiquette went out with the 90s.

I suppose it was inevitable. Modern aircraft are about the most sophisticated, technically advanced machines the average person comes into contact with on a regular basis. It was a bit silly that these man-made marvels might be susceptible to damage from the odd text message winging its way into the cabin.

Such reasoning does not make me feel better, however, and even given my penchant for a shiny new technology, I think this is one feature I could definitely do without.

Comments

[Sue Dewhurst]

Alex, I'm with you on both counts. I spend a lot of time on trains and planes and think I've developed my own private form of 'train rage' involving inwardly fuming at people who can't stay off mobiles/keep quiet for just an hour in a quiet carriage. I emerge with a headache and red marks in my palms where my nails have dug in.

The thought of being surrounded by people talking loudly into mobiles on PLANES too fills me with horror. Maybe, as well as charging to take on bags, give us food, they'll start charging extra to sit somewhere quiet. Or maybe they could banish people who want to spend the trip on the mobile to the back, where the smokers used to sit. Or maybe I just need to buy a decent pair of headphones and shut my eyes ...

(As for the email point, I think I must be on my way to being some kind of modern day luddite. I refuse to have a blackberry on the grounds that I'm bad enough as it is about not letting work take over. I do love the fact that on a plane, I'm in a little bubble with no email, no phone, the perfect excuse to switch off from work for just a little while, at least ...)

[Colm O'Callaghan]

Since I have an inherent devils advocate in me, I figured I'd have to disagree here for the sake of disagreeing.
So, just because we're accusstomed to airflight as a 'mobile free' zone doesn't mean it should always be that way. The argument here seems more that you don't want a nice tradition to end. Many in the print industry hated seeing the end of the crafted profession of typesetting as the digital revolution took over, but of course, its helped the newspaper industry enormously to go digital.
In 20 years time make sure to ask a 30 year old how they feel about mobile calls and email access during airflight and they'll probably shrug their shoulders since they can't remember it being any other way. They will take it for granted that you can talk and SMS on a plane and wonder how business functioned at all when you couldn't email while in flight.
If we really think we should be arguing against mobile calls on air flight, then we might just as easily argue that mobile telephony has just added stress to our daily lives (which it has) and should be banned; that we should revert to landlines only and the fax to slow down our pace.
But of course that's not going to happen. As you rightly say, we want to be connected anytime, anywhere and we just can't escape this need so perhaps the debate should instead be about how can we make air flight pleasant when mobile calls become possible. Should we be looking at seats on the plane where calls are not allowed (a non-smoking equivalent if you will) rather than bemoaning the inevitable. I know you reckon that etiquette went out with the 90's but a plane holds much less passengers than a train and with more staff in place so policing it would be much easier.
I hope you're not reading this at home - I'd hate to be the blog response that ended your relationship with your girlfriend :)

[Mark Ragan]

Alex,

I have to disagree. I don't like long flights. I get bored, and I usually hate the movies the airlines offer.

If I had an Internet connection, time would fly as I answered all of those e-mails I had put off for the past week.

I look forward to the day when every airline will allow web access.

As for short train rides and commutes to the office, I loathe the idea. I'm with you there.

Mark Ragan

[Alex Manchester]

@Mark I wonder what the difference is that would make you answer those e-mails on a plane as opposed to having ignored them for a while already, especially if new, more interesting ones are coming in anyway.

@Colm it is the noise aspect that is at the heart of my bemoaning so, also in answer to Mark, I think an internet connection is actually a separate issue. For a while at least the bandwidth costs for major web surfing would be prohibitive so it's not so much of a problem.

But back to the noise: forgetting to switch your phone to silent and it emitting a beep, (once) is one thing and it's irritating enough when it happens three times on a 20 minute bus ride. In a jumbo or one of those new Airbus A380 planes there's 400-600 people (just as much as a train) being cooped up for hours.

Already there's enough potential for noise and frustration on flights (even in Business or First it can happen occasionally - be it kids, unhygienic people or loud talkers). Throw in endless phone calls, message beeps and so on, not to mention the ire when a flight attendant asks the loud ones to switch their phones off...

I agree that in just a few years (way less than 30) people will wonder how it was any other way. It's inevitable and I would also agree that the majority will play nice with their fellow passengers, but there's also a high chance it will cause problems.

It's not so much saying goodbye to a nice tradition (my grandfather was a typesetter at The Times and did rue the day that changed, but appreciated the advance, even if overall accuracy dived). The circumstances of an aircraft flight and the number of people involved actually make it a more significant issue than that.

Ultimately and ideally I'd hope that it would be ok and strict, workable policies are put in place. In reality, I remain quite unconvinced.

[Mark Ragan]

Alex,

Why do I put off answering all of those e-mails?

On a typical day, I probably have two or three dozen e-mails that require serious attention. I always feel guilty because I don't have the time to respond in the way I should.

Internet connections at 37,000 feet en route to London would help greatly.

Thanks for asking.

Mark Ragan

[Alex Manchester]

I understand the office/situational distractions could certainly be less and "ignored" and "more interesting" isn't appropriate terminology in the context you're referring to (not enough time to deal with important emails).

Having said that, connection-free flights are often touted as a time when you can flick on the laptop and send e-mails to the outbox, without more coming in. You can catch up, in one sense, although as soon as you land those e-mails that are stacked up and waiting to come in would immediately put you back to square one.I guess on that point this presents a "six of one..." scenario, and I'd bet most people will end up answering their messages inflight.

[Mark Ragan]

Alex,

Good point.

Mark

[Anne]

Do we really need to hear everyone's conversations? I can't imagine listening to 10, 20 or possibly 100 calls all at one time on an airplane. I wonder where it all ends - cell phones seem to be attached to everyone's ear wherever we go. Is there no etiquette or respect for others anymore? Don't assume that the majority would respect their fellow passengers. I've come to learn that even in church or funeral visitations, people can't turn off their phones. If there's no respect there, there certainly will not be any in an airplane.