Bill would ban in-flight voice calls

Legislation that would privatize air-traffic control would also ban in-flight phone calls, require airlines to reimburse luggage fees to passengers if bags arrive late, and change how new aircraft are approved.

It's a long list for a bill — to be introduced Wednesday by Pennsylvania's Republican Congressman Bill Shuster — ostensibly meant to reform how air traffic is handled. The Federal Aviation Administration is currently in charge of air traffic, but Shuster's bill gives control to a new nonprofit.

The nonprofit would be funded by fees that would replace airline taxes.

In recent years, Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland and the UK have all moved air traffic to semi-private control.

"I believe that what we are doing is taking this organization out of a bureaucracy that doesn’t manage the costs well," said Shuster, who is chairman of the U.S. House's Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. "Taking it out, I think, you can have a much more efficient corporation."

While the air traffic control changes would cause huge changes in governance, the regulations relating to passengers would likely be most obvious to consumers.

Banning in-flight phone calls has been discussed more and more as airlines offer in-flight connectivity. So far, however, the dystopian future where everyone is chattering away on their cellphone on every flight has not been realized.

Legislation may be beside the point as people — especially younger generations — are deciding for themselves that they prefer texting to talking.

The bill is not without opposition. Senator Thad Cochran, a Mississippi Republican, and Representative Hal Rogers, a Kentucky Republican, argue the solution to air traffic problems is not "less oversight and less accountability," according to Bloomberg.

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