I can't wait for the next ground delay or long taxi due to weather somewhere to get a smartass with a freakin i-phone shoving it in my face saying "It's NOT raining there... SEE!" Too late...already happened to me.
We push back, get advised of a ground stop in MEM due to storms in the area. Go to the penalty box and wait. My Captain does the lecture over the PA... not one minute later, we get dinged from the F/A "Some guy with an IPhone says the weather is good, and wants to know what the real reason is for the delay. Is something wrong with the plane?"
I want to tell this clown what he can do with his IdiotPhone - but the Captain does it even better. He gets on the PA and makes the following announcement :
"If the passenger with the IPhone would be kind enough to use it to check the weather at our alternate, calculate our fuel burn due to being rerouted around the storms, call the dispatcher to arrange our release, and then make a phone call to the nearest Air Traffic Control center to arrange our timely departure amongst the other aircraft carrying passengers with IPhones, then we will be more than happy to depart. Please ring your call button to advise the Flight Attendant and your fellow passengers when you deem it ready and responsible for this multi-million dollar aircraft and its 84 passengers to safely leave."
Needless to say, the pax was pretty embarrassed. The F/A later told us the rest of the plane was outright laughing at this dude.
The issue here is not the use of an iPhone. As a computer nerd and a pilot, I would use the crap out of one. The issue is trying to use it to second guess the captain of a commercial flight. Geez.
