United We Stand...Or really?
Yesterday morning I was on United 779 from LAX to JFK and I just awoke from what seemed to be a 20 minute nap. After rubbing my eyes and a snap back to reality I thought I was just awakening from a weird dream almost getting arrested by the FCC. But there was a much bigger moral of the story to be learned.
After I awoke, I looked at the time, did the math, and realized my girlfriend was just about to board the plane from Paris to Brazil. Thank you technology and America, there was wifi on my flight so I could talk to her. I signed into my GoGo Inflight account and I was connected with Maria over WhatsApp. We started right where we left off, laughing and teasing each other.
Maria had to board the plane soon. With technology today I put two and two together and found out that I could CALL Maria using WhatsApp because of it’s new feature over wifi. I immediately called and we continued our conversation. Seconds later, the flight attendant, Jose was eyeing me down. Jose marched right over and, so that the surrounding people could hear, said, “Hang up your call! That is against the law. You are NOT allowed to make a call on the flight. That is a national security issue, FCC issue, and I am going to have to report this.”
That instant, I noticed that people around me overheard. Now, I'm no politian, but I have some experience dealing with threating situations; and all I could do was act like a political figure. Because flight attendants have authority, I wanted to respect everyone involved and not cause a catastrophe. I then said, “I respect how you’ve taken this seriously and into protocol, and I will comply with whatever you need. However, I did not know that this was a big issue, let alone a FCC or security issue. I was doing it on WhatsApp and calling over United's wifi.
Jose just looked at me. So I continued, “Where might I see a warning about no making calls? I did not know this was a big thing.” Jose frantically said, “It’s all over the papers and the news. Everyone knows it’s against the law! You should have known this!” I said, “I’m sorry I don’t read the paper anymore. Respectfully, does United have any warning signs, pamphlet, or where else might I have seen this?” Jose said, “Yes, it’s all over the news.” I said, "I try and watch the Today’s Show every morning and I haven't seen warnings about calling over the airline's wifi using WhatsApp--it's a new feature.” Maria was still on the line and fortunately heard everything. Jose demanded I hang up the call and, showing Jose on my iPhone, I pushed "End." I hung up the call on WhatsApp and Jose went to report this to the pilot and ground control. I had only a couple minutes left to text Maria before she was boarding. I told Maria to message my mother and tell her what was happening just to be sure this matter doesn't blow up, no pun intended. Jose came back shortly after and said he had notified the pilot and the pilot had notified security, so that I would have security waiting for me at the gate. Calmly, I acknowledged and we parted.
We hadn’t even flown half way across the nation and I could feel the awkward energy between the other people in the surrounding seats. Now, I bring this to attention not to defame United, nor to call out Jose, WhatsApp or anyone else involved, but to bring change in how we customize technology and old fashion "protocol" moving forward. I mean, wouldn’t you have handled this issue differently if you were in Jose’s shoes? I would have, definitely, being a practicing politician, not because this happened to me, but for the security, privacy, and safety of the people on the plane in the surrounding seats of which Jose’s voice could be heard. The least he could do was tell me to hang up the call and politely ask me to follow him to the back of the plane to give me the “talk” and still follow through with the protocol of notifying security on the ground.
When the plane landed, I expected someone to be waiting for me at the gate. No security personnel. Jose did not follow through with what he said, or maybe United didn’t feel that this was a big security threat; or maybe when the pilot notified security on the ground, they looked me up on Google/Facebook/Instagram and found I wouldn’t harm a fly. Whatever the case was, I didn't walk away in handcuffs, but I was ready to defend myself respectfully so, for I understood the issue at hand and I realized I would have been dealing with the big guns of national security.
Maybe we could set some new rules and regulations in the future. WhatsApp is crying for change in better international communication for families. Business friendly flights are now bringing on wifi to communicate up in the air. In the 1980's and 1990's we could swipe our credit cards and pick up an analogue phone and dial $10 a minute-- that's how we have some recordings from the flights...scary to think.
Next time I'm on a flight, in two weeks to be exact, I plan on being at my dear friend's wedding and putting down my phone in designated areas, especially on the plane. But that isn't the lesson here. Moral of the story, stay calm even if the authoritative figure is being a dick. It's kind of like being a politian. Imagine what Hillary Clinton must go through, with all do respect.
