To Text or Not To Text in Flight. Is Line2 the Answer?
Many airline passengers forget to turn their cell phones off in flight, or maybe obstinately refuse to.
And yet there isn’t a singe instance in which an “on” cell phone has been responsible for an airline accident, though Wikipedia predictably suggests it’s somehow possible.
But, mobile phone use is still not generally allowed on planes.
Emirates and Malaysia airlines do allow them in certified aircraft using AeroMobile technology, however the real block to in-flight cell phone usage seems to be social, not aeronautic.
Passenger resistance to fellow passengers loudly yakking on their cell phones is very high. But so’s the need to communicate in the air.
This is a perfect opportunity for Line2, a service that lets passengers stay in text contact with their friends, families and colleagues at 32,000 feet in the air, without ever having to shout into a phone.
Line2, a VOiP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) adds a second number to a user’s cell phone that works over WiFi, 3G or Cellular networks.
Peter Sisson, the founder and CEO of Toktumi, (“talk to me”), the hosted PBX (private branch exchange) service company that created Line2, says that Line2 texts and voice are “ indistinguishable from traditional SMS text capabilities offered by the major cellular carriers.”
Line2 received accolades from the New York Times , Entrepreneur and other heavy-hitters, with Mashable calling the service “potentially revolutionary.”
But the question that no one seems to answer, is will the airlines allow the use of the cell phone in flight even for texting purposes?
TMCnet,com in an article called “Join the Mile High Club” boldly states that Line2 “has just made the in-flight experience more productive, relaxing and enjoyable with the latest version of Line2”
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