As I was travelling from LA to Chicago last weekend after my seminar aboard my favcrite airline (American), I was pleased to find that we could now use cell phones before reaching the gate. At O'Hare this may mean up to one hour or more that one can use a cell phone.
American has a fond tendency of arriving at O'Hare 15 to 30 minutes early only to taxi on the runways because a gate is not available, and then taking another 20 minutes to get to the gate.
So I am delighted that I can fire up my cell phone and use it as a modem to download my e-mail and also call the person who is picking me up at the airport.
USA Today July 25, 2003