Air travel restrictions

[kennyc]

now they are talking about expanding the ban:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-us...-idUSKBN1862QS


BTW I got a new (smaller) phone...not entirely by choice.... I LOVE my BLU Energy XL but T-mobile in their infinite wisdom are 'updating' their system/towers with new frequency spectrum they bought and last week rendered by Energy XL useless because it doesn't cover the new bands.....I've since found it working properly so odds are the issue was in upgrading the cell towers/system for a number of days last week.

In the mean time I got a new phone (BLU Vivo 5R) which does cover the 'new' bands but is not nearly the phone the Energy XL is in terms of the screen, battery life, etc.

[kennyc]

My son travels to UAE a couple of time a year for a project he is on - UAE Mars Space project in collaboration with NASA.

[Sweetpea]

I swear, those Americans really don't want all those foreigners visit their shores! The day I cannot even take my book with me anymore, is the day I won't fly anymore. It's the day that terrorism has won and I'll be busy trying to become as self sufficient as possible.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

I swear, those Americans really don't want all those foreigners visit their shores! The day I cannot even take my book with me anymore, is the day I won't fly anymore. It's the day that terrorism has won and I'll be busy trying to become as self sufficient as possible.

I've pretty much 'been there' since 9/11.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

I swear, those Americans really don't want all those foreigners visit their shores! The day I cannot even take my book with me anymore, is the day I won't fly anymore. It's the day that terrorism has won and I'll be busy trying to become as self sufficient as possible.

It really wasn't that big a deal on my recent flight home from Egypt. Most peaceful flight I've been on for years! Of course that was only a 5h flight. More of a pain on a long-haul trip.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

I swear, those Americans really don't want all those foreigners visit their shores! The day I cannot even take my book with me anymore, is the day I won't fly anymore. It's the day that terrorism has won and I'll be busy trying to become as self sufficient as possible.

We have a population of paranoid sheep who love to give up liberty to fight the evil terrorists.

Land of the free???

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

We have a population of paranoid sheep who love to give up liberty to fight the evil terrorists.

Land of the free???

Given the choice between trusting the judgement of the people whose job is it to assess intelligence about threats to aviation, and listening to the opinion of people on random Internet forums....

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by HarryT

It really wasn't that big a deal on my recent flight home from Egypt. Most peaceful flight I've been on for years! Of course that was only a 5h flight. More of a pain on a long-haul trip.

Remember, you won't have the devices with you either, while waiting to board the plane. And considering you have to be there a few hours before flying (especially the longer hauls), the waiting before the plane would be the worst part.

We had to wait 2 hours at Schiphol, then 3 hours at Heathrow and 4 hours at LAX and another 2 hours at Heathrow during our trip. And all those hours were without suitcases. And that's without the 10 hour flight.

[pdurrant]

I would be grateful if all members would remember that political comment belongs in the (opt-in) P&R forum. This thread is in danger of becoming political. Thank you.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Remember, you won't have the devices with you either, while waiting to board the plane. And considering you have to be there a few hours before flying (especially the longer hauls), the waiting before the plane would be the worst part.

We had to wait 2 hours at Schiphol, then 3 hours at Heathrow and 4 hours at LAX and another 2 hours at Heathrow during our trip. And all those hours were without suitcases. And that's without the 10 hour flight.

I don't like it any more than you do, but (unlike some) I don't believe this is some random act intended purely to annoy passengers. I do think there's some solid intelligence that's prompted the move. You can still take your phone - I'm sure that you can do enough on that to keep you entertained. Or you could take a paper book (that's what I did - took along an Egyptian grammar book, guaranteed to put anyone to sleep ).

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by HarryT

You can still take your phone - I'm sure that you can do enough on that to keep you entertained. Or you could take a paper book (that's what I did - took along an Egyptian grammar book, guaranteed to put anyone to sleep ).

Yes, I could use my phone. But I can't read from it. At least not for more than 5 minutes.
And yes, I could bring a paper book, which would annoy me after 5 minutes as well, so same result (those things are heavy, annoying to hold, and I can't switch books easily! I read three different books while on our way to Miami, because I couldn't settle on one )
And then you also have to be sure you can actually charge your phone while on the plane (especially if you're using the screen constantly, devices with LCD screens will drain fast).

Yes, I presume they don't do this to annoy travellers, but I still think they're overdoing it. And the net effect will be that people will be looking somewhere else for their holiday or will try other means to hold that business meeting. Especially business people will be hit by this, as they often use the time to get work done (they finally removed the ban of anything electronic turned on during flight, so they'll just ban any electronics altogether!)

I know I personally won't be flying if I can't take my ebook with me. I'm fine with putting my phone in my luggage, but not my ebook. We had plans for a few more cruises departing from US shores, but they will be scrapped for above reasons.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Yes, I could use my phone. But I can't read from it. At least not for more than 5 minutes.
And yes, I could bring a paper book, which would annoy me after 5 minutes as well, so same result (those things are heavy, annoying to hold, and I can't switch books easily! I read three different books while on our way to Miami, because I couldn't settle on one )

What did you do before you had an ereader?

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Given the choice between trusting the judgement of the people whose job is it to assess intelligence about threats to aviation, and listening to the opinion of people on random Internet forums....

deleted - too political

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Yes, I presume they don't do this to annoy travellers, but I still think they're overdoing it. And the net effect will be that people will be looking somewhere else for their holiday or will try other means to hold that business meeting. Especially business people will be hit by this, as they often use the time to get work done (they finally removed the ban of anything electronic turned on during flight, so they'll just ban any electronics altogether!)

Agree

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Remember, you won't have the devices with you either, while waiting to board the plane. And considering you have to be there a few hours before flying (especially the longer hauls), the waiting before the plane would be the worst part.

We had to wait 2 hours at Schiphol, then 3 hours at Heathrow and 4 hours at LAX and another 2 hours at Heathrow during our trip. And all those hours were without suitcases. And that's without the 10 hour flight.

Then there is the BOOK, a unique device for reading. A BOOK is user friendly (unless dipped in ketchup) and batteries never need to be charged. I saw a BOOK yesterday in the airport.