On Board Comms - How would you use it?

[flightwise]

Hi all,

The US FCC is going to auction on May 10 some bandwidth specifically for use in cabins on aircraft. While Boeing has its Connexion service, it's expensive. This auction will allow more competitors into the field and hopefully raise service while lowering costs. It is expected that telcos will be able to offer broadband speeds allowing voice and video-conferencing.

Now a number of laptops are now appearing with cameras built in. Sony's VAIO range has, and Apple new MacBook Pro does too (Less expensive iBook replacements might be around by then too).

So if the service was (9.95 per hour or $26/24 hours) would you use it on board, and how? For instance, if someone had finally taken a flight would you encourage them to use the phone service as soon as cruise was reached, or wait until they felt they really needed to talk with someone, or perhaps advise not to use it all and save their money for a stiff drink at the end of the flight?

I can see myself engaging in a video conference with a client as part of a therapeutic program, rather than an adhoc call out of panic. What do others think? BTW, before too long we will see this kind of facility as nothing out of the ordinary at all - just like using a cellphone, with which these services will compete.

[WillFlyToDisney]

I would hate to be the person sitting next to someone participating in a video conference or even talking on their cell phone at 36K feet. What a headache! I hope if this goes thru they have a separate area that passengers go to make these calls so that they do not annoy the other pax.

I would not use the phone service but I would love to use the wireless internet that some flights are starting to offer!

[Passenger Mark]

I would hate to be the person sitting next to someone participating in a video conference or even talking on their cell phone at 36K feet. What a headache! I hope if this goes thru they have a separate area that passengers go to make these calls so that they do not annoy the other pax.

I would not use the phone service but I would love to use the wireless internet that some flights are starting to offer!

Everything Kel said!

What do I love about flying! (Remember... I am a FoFer)

That no-one can reach me... and I do not have to listen to anyone else being reached...

Internet is cool... I don't have to listen to that.

It does not take a genius to figure out what a 100 people talking on their cell phones in a closed environment would be like!

Maybe have a Cell Phone and a Non Cell Phone area like the old smoking vs non-smoking sections.

Video Conference??? Again agree with Kel. I am sitting in my cramped seat next to someone having a conference... :fuming::fuming::fuming::fuming::fuming:

Get on a plane to go from point A to point B. Read a book, have a drink, work on your laptop.

If you are so important that you can't be "out of touch" for a few hours... go buy yourself a biz jet!

[kallieb]

On the one hand, the combined noise of 200+ folks yacking on about their business/personal matters would drive me wonky; but as Les suggested, it holds intrigue as a positive possibility, from a helping/therapeutic perspective, to be able to link to someone - real time - during a flight.

Maybe it needs to be non-verbal - writing it out so to speak. then you don't have the *noise* to content with!

Imagine - a really-truly real-time trip report!! and instant photos!! and being able to connect with supports for those occasional moments that burden us just a bit too much!

[tabbygirl]

I would hate to be the person sitting next to someone participating in a video conference or even talking on their cell phone at 36K feet. What a headache! I hope if this goes thru they have a separate area that passengers go to make these calls so that they do not annoy the other pax.

Amen x infinity.

I commute by bus and I am still cursing the invention of the cell phone, every time there's traffic and EVERYONE has to call home and yell that they're going to be 5 minutes late. I will admit that most people try to keep it short and not too loud, but sometimes there is a marked and extended increase in noise. It's annoying at any time, and just what I do not like as a potentially tense flyer.

Why can't people just read a book or talk to a nearby live human...or just BE PEACEFUL once in awhile? It drives me insane.

Angela

[kari]

*Diddle oo doo diddle oo doo diddle oo doo DOO!*

Hello? OH HIYA!!!! I'm on the plane. We've just gone past a cloud. Now we're going past another. Bye Sweetie!

It's bad enough on a 20 minute train ride. I can't imagine flying around the world. Although today I stood on a train thinking "whose is that's phone what's ringing? I wish they'd answer it. Oh, it's mine!"

Kari (who was blonde as a child!)

[StPeteMark]

Amen x infinity. ... every time there's traffic and EVERYONE has to call home and yell that they're going to be 5 minutes late. ...It's annoying at any time, and just what I do not like as a potentially tense flyer. ...AngelaSaw something similar on TV...the girl was complaining that after a plane lands, the cell phones come out with people calling people who they will see in the next 5 minutes! :lol:

[flightwise]

Sounds like no one bar one sees any therapeutic or support value at all.

OK.

You all sound like very accomplished frequent travellers who look forward to flying as a way to get some privacy. Bravo!

Actually, I've done recordings on board a 747 at cruise and only the people next to you can hear. Mind you, I didn't converse with anyone which would cause me to likely shout (despite being very clear even at low volumes) so there is a point in not wanting 400 people carrying on!

Or 800 on an Airbus 380 - now that would be an occupational hazard for FAs.

[Passenger Mark]

Sounds like no one bar one sees any therapeutic or support value at all.

Well... I saw it, and thought about it.

A few thoughts on it...

First: Yes... I am sure it would be helpful. In the midst of my FoF experiences, I had often wished I could reach out to someone on the ground to help talk me through it.

Second: I think although the therapeutic value is there, it is outweighed by the commotion and inconvenience to other passengers.

Thirds: We have said many times here that we can give advice, point to resources, be cheerleaders, encourage, answer questions, etc etc etc, but
in the end, the "subject" is the one that has to cross the threshold of the plane... and stay on the plane. They are the ones that have to do it. So, would having that resource of a phone take away from that Independence?

What happens on their next flight when that resource is not there. A crutch is fine, as long as you plan to toss it one day!


Bottom line I think cell phones on planes is just a very bad idea. Talk about Air Rage!!! Just not a smart thing to do.

[kallieb]

I find one focus of this thread interesting..... 'what kind(s) of support do we need in order to acheive comfortable flight'.

The point you raised, Debbie, about "crutches" is an interesting one - because I know for myself - and most others posting here, we still need to hang onto a number of rituals, comfort aids/zones, to help us be (or remain) comfortable with our flight. Some of these rituals occur before or during flight but they are part of our flying repetoire nonetheless.

We do get on the plane and fly but how many of us are ready to give up those little *things* that we still do - however small they might be. That is a place that I am striving for.

I have a flight coming up on February 2nd. I have to take a connecting flight to get to Montreal. Very interesting I find, to take two flights in one day. I remain open-minded, but occasionally nervous.

I don't know if there has been a point in my recovery process where I could see myself really needing to access some real-person support mid-flight; but if I did, I don't think that would necessarily mean that it was premature for me to get on the plane in the first place. It is nice to have options just in case. It goes back to those rituals and comfort practices that we create for ourselves.

The task we must set for ourselves is gradually ensuring that our flying-needs repetoire remains flexible and reasonable, and not rigid and complex.

I certainly would not advocate for use of a cellphone mid-flight only because of the collective noise and annoyance that it would create for other passengers. But I can see the real value in having some kind of real-time access to support. I would suggest, in deference to those around me it would be more polite to use text messaging, or posting messages online, or some other non-verbal means.

Just a thought.....

[Passenger Mark]

Kallie,

I was not, and I don't Deb was talking about the "little things we do" or the "things we take onboard".

I usually take a camera with me, and make photos along the way. It is great way to sidetrack my brain. There have been many times that I was in turb, but was so focused on getting a shot of something I see, the turb does not bother me. I don't even think about it being there.

Now... can I fly without my camera... sure!

Same goes with my DVD player, or laptop. They are nice to have because they for one keep me focused on something else, and break up the boredom.

I also have "rituals" like getting to the airport extra early, slapping the side of the aircraft upon entry... stuff like that.

I don't see these as crutches.

What I would worry about with the instant access to "help" would be getting dependant on it. To not be able to fly without knowing it would be available.

The purpose is to fly independent, not fly dependant. I have seen other programs that almost make their people dependant on them to fly. I personally think that is dangerous, and just plain wrong.

[flightwise]

Debbie said: "As Mark pointed out, maybe for omsone in the throes of "Oh My God, I Can't Do this!!", it'd be beneficial, but if they're still at that stage, they shouldn't be there to begin with. Still got a little work to do. Work that should be done ON THE GROUND."

Disagree. It's Ok for people to have those reactions and still stay on board and try out the tools they have learnt but not yet mastered. The line being, "don't wait until you're sure you're ready, you can still do it at 60% ready."

"And - again as Mark pointed out - we can't always have someone with us when we fly. Eventually, you have to do it on your own. The sooner you do it, the faster that crutch will get tossed aside."

Agreed - up to a point. But is there no place, no that the technology exists and relatively cheaply, to build this in to a change program, so that the gulf between flying alone and not flying is made smaller? Not such a huge leap? Go back to the days when you were at your worst and ask if these new technologies would have been nice to have...

For others: Working with business class pax, the rubbing shoulders is not such a problem, and I'm sure the etiquette will be to conduct business sotto voce, including video conferencing using sensitive headset or even a head mounted display.

Also, I have no problem with people holding hands with helpers on board. Used tp do it all the time as part of a group program. I agree with caution re crutch use, but at the end of the day, travelling alone or with 100 helpers the person must still face up to their fears and anxiety reactions experienced alone.

[flightwise]

Debbie, you make some good points especially your closing comments about relying on oneself.

But I want to assert that FoF has unique properties when it comes to overcoming and becoming a regular flier.

Around professional traps, Exposure And Cognitive approaches seem to be the most tested and tried methods, the ones combined with the runs on the board.

But compare FoF to other specific phobias for a moment (not that I'm saying FoF is always to be considered a phobia, btw).

With snakes or birds or spiders, the progression of exposure to the real thing can be made extremely gradual indeed. From pictures, to dead small examples in glass, to small live examples behind glass yards away, to handling parts of nonliving creatures, through to live ones, you can graduate the steps, so that mastery at each stage is gained.

Same goes for heights or enclosed spaces or bridges or tunnels - each can be exposed in small manageable doses.

But flying? It's about as all or nothing as you can get in this domain. If it's descent you fear (I know, it's usually the part that is most liked, for all the wrong reasons) you might have to wait 14 hours to experience it (flying from LAX to SYD, or JFK to Jo'burg). How do you practise exposure in small doses? Certainly, videos and VR treatment helps break it down in small parts: don't like takeoff - let's do half a dozen this session and really get used to it.

Until video and VR came along, we couldn't really break down FoF like we could other anxieties.

With more young people (Gen Y) used to using digital technologies from the day they're born, I was thinking that they would more easily accommodate to using new technologies - not because they are any more scared or wusses, but because they are so facile with technology. Certainly would mean they would be more likely to take a trip early in their treatment they sought if they knew they had support with them (pro or otherwise). We're talking paradigm shift in treatment strategies.

And the more they fly, the more they fly without fear.

[StPeteMark]

...But I want to assert that FoF has unique properties when it comes to overcoming and becoming a regular flier. ... And the more they fly, the more they fly without fear.
Say Les, are any of your assessments based on you being a Fearful Flier yourself?

With all due respect, I am trying to understand from what perspective your observations and opinions are based. Since I usually get bogged down in most long and/or technical posts from anyone, I end up getting little out of such posts.

So it would help knowing if you are a FF, or you're just thinking what a FF might be thinking or feeling, based on third-party studies or your own observations of FFs. Thanks!

BTW, you last line is right on!

[flightwise]

"Say Les, are any of your assessments based on you being a Fearful Flier yourself?

With all due respect, I am trying to understand from what perspective your observations and opinions are based. Since I usually get bogged down in most long and/or technical posts from anyone, I end up getting little out of such posts."

No, not a fearful flyer. From observing, listening to, talking with, flying with, treating, writing and reading about, empathising with... hundreds of fearful flyers.

Do you not agree about some of the unique aspects of FoF I mentioned?

[StPeteMark]

...No, not a fearful flyer. From observing, listening to, talking with, flying with, treating, writing and reading about, empathising with... hundreds of fearful flyers. Do you not agree about some of the unique aspects of FoF I mentioned?Generally not...when I understand what you are discussing - sometimes I get lost when the feedback starts reading like a college textbook using professional/technical terms.

Knowing you are not a FF helps put your comments into perspective.
It's hard to really know one if you are not one.
Nevertheless, thanks for continuing efforts!
.