Rather than powering down your smartphone or laptop when you board your next flight, try taking advantage of "Airplane Mode," a useful feature available on many portable electronic devices. Airplane Mode disables the wireless features of your cellphone, laptop or tablet in order to comply with airline regulations.

On most devices, Airplane Mode can be enabled within the "Settings" menu. In this mode, cellular networks — voice and data — are disabled, as are Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and near-field communication (NFC). However, devices can still be used in-flight to access previously downloaded content, such as movies, e-books and music.

While some find it frustrating that they can't use all of the features of their devices while onboard a flight, the reason for the wireless ban is allegedly a serious one. According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the radio frequency admitted by cellphones and other electronic devices can interfere with an airplane's equipment systems, including navigation and communication networks.  (From: livescience)