Delta Says No to Cellphone Calls In-Flight

Dec. 18, 2013— -- Federal regulations may soon allow the use of cellphones to make in-flight calls, but one airline is taking a definitive stance against it.

In a memo issued to Delta Air Lines 80,000 employees, CEO Richard Anderson said the airline would not allow cellular calls or Internet-based voice communications onboard Delta or Delta Connection flights, calling them a "disruption to the travel experience."

Citing customer research and direct feedback, Anderson's memo said "the ability to make voice calls onboard would detract from – not enhance – their experience." Flight crews were also "definitively not in favor" of voice calls onboard.

But text messaging is not off the table -- far from it. Delta said if the Federal Communications Commission lifts its ban on cellular use in flight, Delta will "move quickly to enable customers to use text, email and other silent data transmission services gate to gate."

Permission to make cellphone calls in flight is one issue; whether people will take advantage of it if and when the ban is lifted is another. ABC News has reported that on foreign carriers that allow passengers to make voice calls, the cost can go as high as $3 per minute.

ABC News' Scott Shulman contributed to this report.