[Bhasi]

Several posts here mention using PCDPs, amps, etc on aeroplanes (or even airplanes), but I seem to always find myself flying with airlines that forbid all personal audio sources, and not just during take-off and landing.
I recently risked using a cheap pair of Sony noise-cancelling 'phones to listen to the inflight audio and video channels on an 11-hour JAL Tokyo-London flight but was slightly uneasy about whether I was really risking everyone else's safety too, as the instructions mentioned that certain airlines might not permit them.
So, what are other members' experiences? Do all airlines have rules and do they apply them consistently? And does anyone know whether such tiny devices really can interfere with navigational equipment? I know certain mobile phones can de-programme hospital life-support equipment (like ventilators), but do our toys pose anything like the same level of risks?

 

[chych]

Really, only electronics that have some sort of wireless capability can interfere with the navagational equipment, like cell phones... all of what they say about cd players are pure BS. Maybe when they think cd players have remotes, they think wireless? I dunno.

 

[HeadWired]

The rules inflight for European flag carriers are different from American carriers. Check with the airline before you go.

Whether or not normal personal electronics interfear with airplane navigation is debated and split right down the middle. So airlines take the cautious approach.

In the US, we can still use most personal electronic devices after take-off. (except GPS's and radios, etc.) I don't think anyone on head-fi has had any problems with somehting like a TA or small amp. I will be taking a trip in the next few weeks and be able to tell you more.

Anyone else on this?

 

[aeberbach]

A lot of people say that the risk of a CD player interfering with navigational systems is very low or even non-existant and they are right. What they are telling you is that you have to put your gear away and they are giving you a reason that most people will grudgingly accept.

What's the real reason? In any kind of turbulence or hard landing the aircraft cabin could suddenly become filled with many small, hard electronic missiles - the point is not to have them turned off, but to have them safely stowed away. They can't say that, because the last thing they want you to think about is the possibility of anything going wrong. Also people would not believe that it is a risk, just as nobody believes that they will fly through the windscreen without a seatbelt in an auto collision.

As for not being allowed to listen with your own headphones, I extend my middle finger to that rule. I've never encountered it except for those greedy American domestic carriers that want to rent headsets at $4 per flight.

 

[citroeniste]

Lufthansa, Austrian, Emirates, BA, and Swissair explicitly allow PCDP's now. No experience with other airlines, though.

There should be no problem using portable electronic equipment aboard a fight, INCLUDING cell phones (didn't 9/11 teach everyone that?) but possibly not including GPS systems. As for the phones, Conde Nast Traveler did an expose on that about three years ago. In a nutshell, the ban on cells is because it funnels money into AirFones. When I need to talk to someone aboard a flight, I go to the lavatory, rather than paying megabucks for the AirFone, which itself these days is just a GSM mobile phone!

I fly often (I seem to be at Wien-Schwechat at least once every three weeks), and I used to always take a CD player. Now, I take an MP3 player. If I want to m

Quote:

Originally posted by Bhasi Several posts here mention using PCDPs, amps, etc on aeroplanes (or even airplanes), but I seem to always find myself flying with airlines that forbid all personal audio sources, and not just during take-off and landing. I recently risked using a cheap pair of Sony noise-cancelling 'phones to listen to the inflight audio and video channels on an 11-hour JAL Tokyo-London flight but was slightly uneasy about whether I was really risking everyone else's safety too, as the instructions mentioned that certain airlines might not permit them. So, what are other members' experiences? Do all airlines have rules and do they apply them consistently? And does anyone know whether such tiny devices really can interfere with navigational equipment? I know certain mobile phones can de-programme hospital life-support equipment (like ventilators), but do our toys pose anything like the same level of risks?