Hoorah, it’s time for ‘Ben’s pet peeves’ number #147…..
How many of you have been on a flight where the cabin crew make you aware that you are not to turn on devices until you leave the plane? And how many of you have also seen people turning on devices the second the plane touches the tarmac? I bet it’s the same number in both cases there!
Yes, it’s those people that consider it their prerogative to switch on devices before they have been advised to, and that co-incidentally are the same people that undo their seatbelts, and start getting their luggage down before the plane has stopped moving.
Now, in that class of people, I would further differentiate:
- the ‘sneaky’ – hides the phone under his/her leg or clothing, sets it to silent, and lets it start collecting messages
- the ‘oh I forgot it was on’ – phone starts beeping (after he/she turns it on) and then feigns surprise (including vocal expression usually) that the device is on
- the ‘blatant’ – the person that turns their phone on quite clearly in view of people, and often has all the alert noises set the highest, so the whole plane can hear. Often takes a call if one comes in, often starts making them too
The question is now, what do we do with them? Should we put up with them? Or should they be dealt with harshly for flouting the airline’s safety rules? For what it’s worth, I vote the latter!
Ben