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U.S. Airline Passengers Willing to Accept Silent Mobile Features In-Flight

5:50 am on June 4, 2008 | Category: Cell Phones, Messaging, Telecom Services, Wireless

Almost three quarters of U.S. consumers believe that mobile phone usage on airplanes should be restricted to silent features only, according to a recent survey conducted by Harris Interactive, on behalf of Yahoo!

Although this demonstrates a clear aversion to the idea of being trapped in a plane full of chattering passengers, it demonstrates a surprising level of support for the ability to access mobile features like email, SMS, and instant messaging while in-flight.

“There is an increasing debate about the use of mobile phones on airplanes,” commented vice president, Bruce Stewart, of Yahoo’s Connected Life Americas division. “This new survey overwhelmingly proves the desire of consumers to stay connected to the people, information, interests and passions that are important to them while in-flight, but they donâ€™t want to be forced to listen to the conversation of the passenger sitting next to them.”

60% of survey respondents said that they would use silent features such as text messaging (38%), wireless email (28%), and mobile games (29%) while on an airplane.

If and when mobile phone usage is permitted in-flight, 69% of consumers agreed with the idea of a designated area of the airplane for passengers to talk on the phone, so that their conversations would not be bothersome to others.

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