Delta, American, United and JetBlue All Certified By FAA For Electronic Devices For Entire Flight
With announcements from United Airlines yesterday and American Airlines the day before, we now have a large amount of planes certified by the FAA to allow certain personal electronic devices in all facets of flight, including taxi, take-off and landing.
I was discussing the FAA announcement with a friend just a few days ago while we were both sitting on a United Airlines flight. I said I wasn’t surprised Delta was the first to certify their mainline fleet. Delta may have a pitiful loyalty program but they do run a good airline and offer a solid in-flight product, including being the first carrier to have wifi on all their planes.
I thought that the merger angst at American would delay their efforts on certification and United’s general ineptitude would do the same. I’m certainly happy to be wrong in both cases.
American went a step further and managed to certify pretty much all of their regional jets as well.
So, what do you need to know about using your iPad, iPhone, Kindle, Nexus in flight?
1. Devices need to be in airplane mode and/or have any cellular functionality disabled once the airplane door is closed.
2. Laptops still need to be stored during takeoff and landing. This is due to their danger as a projectile, not an electronics issue.
3. In-flight wi-fi still won’t be available until after take-off. American is now saying “shortly after takeoff” but I’m not sure the Gogo system will allow usage below 10,000 feet. We’ll see.
And, as posted in most of the announcements, it’s still a good idea for most flyers to still listen to the safety briefing. I’ve got it memorized, but it never hurts to take a quick peek at the safety card or listen to a short video if you don’t fly frequently.
Happy travels!
Awesome! I missed this. But I also flew on the evening of Nov 6 on UA (LGA-ORD) and was told to turn off electronics. Those last 25 minutes on descent felt so long…
gobluetwo, I had a flight on the evening of the 6th as well and didn’t get to leave my electronics on. But, I have a flight Saturday where I’ll look forward to it! Only downside is I’m less likely to read the whole Wall Street Journal that day. Being forced to turn off my electronics was always my time to read the WSJ cover to cover. I’m old fashioned and like the feel of a traditional newspaper from time to time.
Ha, great point. I do tend to read my hotel copies of the WSJ and USA Today during those down times. Looks like we’ll both just have to be more intentional about it now!