Cruising Altitude is a weekly column about air travel. Have a suggestion for a future topic? Fill out the form or email me at the address at the bottom of this page.
British Airways started allowing passengers to make video calls during flights on March 19. Not all progress is good, readers.
To be clear: I don’t fault British Airways for doing this. Airlines need to give passengers the amenities they want, and if technology allows for this level of onboard connectivity, there’s no reason for companies to withhold.
But more broadly, this is a sad move for all of us. Not just because I still think of airplanes as one of the last places where a person can truly disconnect for a few hours, but also because I’m not confident that people will be respectful about it.
I live in New York City, and as it is, I see plenty of people making FaceTime calls on public transit or in other shared spaces without their headphones. I think I’d find it even more annoying if I were stuck in a metal tube with them for hours on end.
