During business trips, you need to be fully in touch with your colleagues, assistant or collaborators. But when you are on long flights, it becomes difficult as when the plane is about to take off, the airline announces to put the mobiles on airplane mode. So what can be done to tackle such situations? Can you text on a plane? Or you have to cut off from the business dealing or messaging till the flight ends? All such situations can affect your daily chores but what can you do in other ways? Is there any method to stay in touch with the world when you are in the clouds?
If you are thinking about the same questions, let’s dive into the details to find out the best possible answers.
Can You Text On a Plane?
Long story short the answer to the most frequent question is yes. You can text on a plane but not with cellular data. There are many other ways to connect with your fellows except the cellular data. The Wi-Fi connection provided by the airline allows you to use social media messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, or Snapchat.
Now the question may arise in your mind about why I can’t message using cellular data. FAA( Federal Aviation Administration) states that the cellular connection on a plane miss guide or interrupts pilot connections used for communication with traffic controllers. Here is the official statement that the FAA has provided regarding using cellular connections on a plane.
The FCC and FAA ban cell phones for airborne use because its signals could interfere with critical aircraft instruments. Devices must be used in airplane mode or with the cellular connection disabled. You may use the WiFi connection on your device if the plane has an installed WiFi system and the airline allows its use.
-FAA Website
Can you use your phone on a plane?
Yes, surely mobile phones are allowed to be used on a plane even though they’re in airplane mode. You can still use it to play games, read books, watch movies or take pictures. But if you want to use social media apps, you need to connect with Wi-Fi provided by the airlines. All the airlines don’t offer Wi-Fi facilities so you have to check before boarding if you need to stay connected with people.
Can you call on a plane?
Although many airlines allow you to text on a plane, phone calls are not allowed. Phone calls are mainly avoided so that fellow passengers don’t get disturbed. Even the internet service provided by the airlines only allows you to send messages not videos or photos. Usually, the internet is provided in airlines when the plane is at the height of 1000ft just to keep the passengers attentive during take-off and landing.
So shortly you can use mobile messaging apps but can’t make a phone call on a flight. Even though some passengers are not in the right to allow phone calls on a plane as they think, they need relaxation and comfort zones during flight.
Can You Text On a Plane without Wi-Fi?
As we have mentioned above all the airways and their restrictions on using Wi-Fi facilities. There are some that don’t offer internet so to tackle such a situation you have to buy Wi-Fi services before boarding. Without Wi-Fi, you are not able to send or receive messages.
You have to visit the airline’s website, look for the cheaper web services and buy them according to your need. The one benefit of buying the service before boarding is that it will save you dollars as you have to pay half of the price of the actual price on the flight.
Can You Text On a Plane with iPhone?
On the flight, when you turn on airplane mode, it means you are disabling your phone to connect with cellular data or Wi-Fi. The only way to send or receive messages on a plane is by using the airline’s provided internet service. There is no other option to communicate except through the airline’s Wi-Fi facility.
Can you text on a plane with data?
No, you can’t msg or call using the mobile data because of the FCC restrictions. As we have discussed above, data connections are avoided on a plane to keep the flight’s connection with the controller room secure. The cellular data can misguide or interrupt the communication between the controller room and the plane.
Which airlines allow you to connect with the internet service?
Usually, all the airlines provide internet facilities to travelers but there are some cheap domestic airlines that don’t offer this service. In international airlines, Alaska, Delta and Southwest permit you to use the internet for free to text your loved ones.
There’s a plus point for the T- mobile users, as they get internet service quickly if the airline’s internet provider is Gogo. The American and United airlines use Gogo so you can text on these airlines without any hassle. But you have to be a T- mobile customer to avail the Wi-Fi facility on these airways.
Frontier and Hawaiian airlines have no Wi-Fi service, so you can’t be in touch with the world.
Air Canada and British Airways have a paid net facility. But you don’t have to pay on all the Canadian airlines.
JetBlue and Qantas offer free Wi-Fi on most domestic airlines.
The only thing you have to keep in mind is that you can only text by using the airline’s provided internet. You can’t use cellular data to communicate with the world.
Why do you need to put your phone in airplane mode while traveling?
The main purpose to keep cell phones on airplane mode is to avoid cellular connection to avoid any disturbance in flight signals. But there are other advantages as well. Airplane mode keeps your phone battery safe so you don’t need to charge it quickly or bring power banks with you.
In airplane mode, most of the apps on mobile are not connected to use the power for notifications or calls. So it’s not only important for a safe flight but also to keep your battery secure.
Conclusion
Can you text on a plane? Things become quite simple now as we have discussed all the aspects in detail. We also provide you with the info about the airlines that offer internet services or not. All you need to do is check the Wi-Fi facility before boarding. In case, airlines don’t provide the service, buy it by checking their website.
