MOST travellers are opposed to the use of mobile phones on airplanes but would not mind striking up a chat with their seatmates, a survey released to AFP on Monday showed.

The survey by global market research firm Synovate also showed that many travellers would rather look for cheaper flights than curtail their travel plans due to rising costs.

Customers in five Asian markets - Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand - were surveyed along with those in eight other countries: Brazil, Britain, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States.

The survey, carried out in July through e-mail, telephone and face-to-face interviews, involved 13,000 respondents of which 6,900 said they had travelled by air, according to Synovate.

Asked whether the use of mobile phones should be barred on planes, 77 per cent of those who had flown agreed, Synovate said, adding 'the idea of listening to all those conversations in a confined space is too much for most people.'

More than 90 per cent of travellers in Taiwan, Thailand and Hong Kong agreed, while there was also 'pretty high' approval in Britain, France and1 Germany.

Least likely to agree were respondents from the UAE, at 47 per cent, and Egypt, where 48 per cent said mobile phones should be barred on planes.

The European Commission in Apr opened the way for air passengers to talk or send text messages during flights, announcing measures to harmonise the technical and licensing requirements for using mobile phones aboard aircraft.

While the survey found that respondents were averse to talking on mobile phones, 57 per cent of those who had flown said they enjoyed making conversation with their seatmates.

Filipinos and Malaysians were the most likely to chat with their neighbours, while Thais, Taiwanese and Hong Kongers were the least likely, according to the Synovate survey. -- AFP