• Only after the plane has landed and exited the active runway.A United crew member will notify customers when it is safe to use cell phones.
• While the plane is parked at the gate with the entry door open, consistent with United’s previous policy.
• During extended ground holds at the captain's discretion, consistent with United’s previous policy.

There will be no changes to the policy on United’s international flights or United Express flights at this time; current departure policy for mainline U.S. domestic or international flights will not change, either.  The use of cell phones is not allowed during flight per the U.S. Federal Communications Commission rules.

“While we were not the first to institute this policy change, United undertook this effort with the goal of providing a single policy applicable to all of our existing fleet types,” said Peggy Dedo, vice president of engineering and technical support for United Airlines.  “This required considerable testing, research and analysis of the interaction of cell phones with aircraft communication systems which, when completed, proved the policy change was safe.”

Recent testing by United’s Engineering division of cell phones on board United aircraft, indicated that it is safe to use cell phones while the plane is taxiing to the gate.

United and United Express operate more than 3,300 flights a day on a route network that spans the globe.  News releases and other information about United can be found at the company’s web site at www.united.com.

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