Are you eager to chatter away on your cellphone at 35,000 feet in the air or listen to your seatmate do the same? Not so fast. More people oppose this idea than support it, according to a survey by the US Department of Transportation.

The numbers, based on a survey taken in November: 45.2 percent of US residents surveyed think cellphones should definitely or probably be barred from cabins; 39.7 percent think they’re definitely or probably OK if they don’t interfere with aircraft communications; and 15 percent aren’t sure.

Like it or not, several international airlines are moving to equip their planes for cellphone use. US flights are a different story, because government regulators, saying cellphones might interfere with ground or air communications, are balking at giving the go-ahead.

Jane Engle