FlightAttendant
Latest
Court tosses lawsuit seeking gadget ban during takeoff and landing
Next time you absolutely need to be on the phone while your plane's landing or taking off, make sure to give a silent thanks to the United States Court of Appeals. A Washington DC appeal court has thrown out a lawsuit challenging the FAA's 2013 decision to allow passengers to use gadgets during all phases of flight. That lawsuit was filed in 2014 by the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), which accused the FAA of failing to follow standard procedure before issuing its ruling. The union complained that passengers now barely pay attention to pre-flight safety demos, because they're glued to their gadgets. It also argued that electronic devices could become projectiles during turbulence.
United Airlines attendants will get the iPhone 6 Plus to help you mid-flight
Now that Apple finally has a large smartphone, it's venturing into places that were previously off-limits. Case in point: United has announced that all of its 23,000 "mainline" flight attendants will get the iPhone 6 Plus in the second quarter of 2015. Staff will initially use the supersized handset to check email and manuals (typically on the ground) as well as handle your mid-flight headphone and snack purchases. The airline isn't stopping there, however. Future upgrades will let crews report cabin problems, and there are promises of more "customer-focused tools" to help you out. United isn't the first American carrier to use giant phones in the air, but its iPhone plans could still do a lot to make your next flight go smoothly.
