People love to opine.  Be it online freedom or the environment, the American people have a lot to say and are eager to say it to anyone who will listen. 

One contentious issue is the ban of cell phones on planes.  The FAA recently nixed usage on planes, yet again, silencing rumors that it might allow use.  While WiFi is available on some planes, cell phone calls are not.

So what does the American public think?  In the new survey commissioned by Yahoo and Harris Interactive, a total of 2,030 adults ages 18+ were surveyed, of whom, 1,778 were mobile phone owners who had flown in an airplanes in the past.  The results were rather conclusive, indicating that three out of four consumers (taken from the data of those who actually fly and owned mobile phones) agreed that no cell phone calls should be allowed on the plane.

More than half of consumers (60 percent) supported the use of silent features on the plane, though.  Of these consumers, 38 percent of people primarily wanted to use text messaging, 28 percent wanted to access email, and 29 percent just wanted to play games.

More interesting demographics come in the form of location.  The researchers found that people in the West gave the strongest support for a cell phone talking ban, while people in the South gave the weakest support.  In the West 83 percent of people supported the ban, followed by 72 percent in the Northeast, 73 percent in the Midwest, and the lowest figure 69 percent in the South.

Also of interest was the age breakdown on what silent features were desired.  Among 35-44 year olds a relatively large 43 percent of people want to check email on their mobile phone, the largest email percentage for any group.  Also noteworthy was that among 18-34 year olds 62 percent wanted to text, and 29 percent wanted to instant message.

If talking was allowed, two out of three (69 percent of) consumers agreed that a talking area in the airplane should be designated, where passengers can go to chat.  Interestingly older people supported a talking zone more than younger people. Among older consumers 76 percent of men and 73 percent of women supported the measure.  Among younger consumers only 64 percent, both male and female, supported the measure.

The survey was conducted between April 29 and May 1, 2008.  Its conductors weighted the data "as needed on the basis of region, age within gender, education, household income, and race/ethnicity" and "respondents' propensity to be online".  Like any survey, it is prone to multiple types of error as detailed in the press release, but by using weighting it tries to come as close to an ideal result as possible.