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196 Текст 4. Phones on a Plane By Kent German, CNET.com Over the past year there's been a lot of discussion about allowing cell phone use on airplanes. For the moment, cell phone use remains banned on flights, which leaves airplanes as one of the few places where you truly can be completely out of touch for a few hours. I admit I sort of like the feeling, but as more airlines float the idea of in-flight cell phone use, our quiet reality may change before too long. Person- ally, I'm not a fan of the concept. I'm not being a Luddite by any means; I just don't savor the idea of sharing a small space with people talking away on their phones. No matter what anyone says, talking on a cell phone is not like talking to the person next to you. Not only do people on a cell phone talk louder but their conversations always seem to be so dreary. And I don't think I'm alone here. Most of the people on our Make the Call forum answered with a resounding "No" when asked if phones should be allowed on airplane flights. Qantas takes the plunge. So how did this all get started? Last August, Qantas and Ryanair were two of the first airlines to announce they were considering allow- ing limited cell phone on their planes. Those announcements sparked a bit of hubbub but we didn't hear anything more until last April, when Qantas, Ryanair, and Emirates said they would implement programs sometime this year to allow text messaging only while onboard. In Qan- tas' case, it will select one Boeing 767 as the test aircraft for the three- month trial, which will apply only to domestic flights. If the trial is suc- cessful, and the airline determines that cell phones don't interfere with navigational and communications systems, Qantas may expand cell phone use to all its flights and aircraft. Shortly after the Qantas announcement, Air France announced its own trial program. It will allow passengers to use their mobiles while in the air for not only text messaging but also for making calls. Like Qan- tas, Air France will run the trial on just one aircraft (in this case a short-