Poll: 50% Oppose, 45% Favor Allowing Cell Phone Calls During Flights

As Ed Krayewski
noted earlier
 and CNN
reports
 today, “The Federal Communications Commission
voted 3-2 Thursday to consider lifting its ban on in-flight cell
phone use. On the same day, the federal Department of
Transportation and three members of Congress took steps to block
those calls.”

The latest Reason-Rupe
poll
 finds 45 percent of Americans are in favor of
allowing cell phone calls during flights, with 50 percent opposed.
This level of support is considerably higher than the AP-GfK and Quinnipiac polls
this week. AP-Gfk found 19 percent favor allowing passengers to use
their cell phones to make calls on planes, 48 percent oppose, and
30 percent don’t have an opinion. Quinnipiac found 30 percent favor
and 59 percent oppose such a policy.

However, these questions do not make clear whether Americans
want the government to ban their fellow passengers from talking on
cell phones during commercial flights, or if they think that
decision should be left to the individual airlines. What is clear
is that Americans are not enthusiastic about listening to
neighboring passengers’ cell phone conversations during
flights.

Differences in age significantly impact support for a policy
change. 56 percent of Americans under 35 favor allowing people make
calls on flights while 41 percent are opposed.   In
contrast 60 percent of those over 55 years old oppose allowing cell
phone calls on flights while 33 percent are in favor.

Slim majorities of Republicans and independents oppose their
fellow passengers making cell phone calls, and Democrats are evenly
divided. Among Republicans who don’t identify as tea party
supporters, 57 percent oppose and 39 percent favor allowing cell
phone calls on flights, while tea party supporters are evenly
divided.

Nationwide telephone poll conducted Dec 4-8 2013 interviewed
1011 adults on both mobile (506) and landline (505) phones, with a
margin of error +/- 3.7%. Princeton Survey Research Associates
International executed the nationwide Reason-Rupe survey. Columns
may not add up to 100% due to rounding. Full poll results,
detailed tables, and methodology found here. Sign
up for notifications of new releases of the Reason-Rupe
poll here.

from Hit & Run http://reason.com/blog/2013/12/12/reason-rupe-poll-45-oppose-50-favor-allo
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