We heard early on that the plane was brought up to 45,000 which would have rendered all passenger unconcious or worse ... so I think that is the best explanation why NO phone calls were made.
For those who want to read a bit more about the passenger cell phones pinging ...
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/14/tech/mobile/phones-in-flight/index.html
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http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/18/travel/malaysia-airlines-no-phone-calls/
This article cites when some passengers from 9/11 planes were able to contact cell towers. I think one of the biggest things we have to remember is that a third world economy like Malaysia just doesn't have the population density & as many commercial conveniences that the USA does.
I think someone mentioned earlier on this thread that a plane's speed is much faster ... about 500 (km or miles ?)
MH370 had only 10 passengers in business class who were:
seat#01C Malaysia M @48 Chong Ling Tan
seat#02A China M @49 Fuxiang Gan
occ=deputy director of the international liaison office of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions
seat#02D Malaysia F @33 Mei Ling Ch'ng
She was on her way back to Pennsylvania, where she had been working as an engineer at a chemical plant.
seat#02K New Zealand M @39 Paul Weeks
He left his wife & 2 sons at their Australian residence to take a mining job in Mongolia.
seat#03A China F @51 Guiju Yue
She spent 14 years working in Angang Steel Company before she got a job for an investment firm. She Worked with Qi Zhang, another passenger on the plane. They went to Malaysia for a business trip.
seat#03K Russia M @43 Nikolai(h) Brodski
He was on his way home after a trip to Bali, Indonesia. occ=scuba diving instructor & father of 2 & a member of the tight-knit Jewish community in the Siberian city of Irkutsk.
seat#04A Canada F @37 Xiaomo Bai
She & her husband Muktesh Mukherjee were returning from vacation in Vietnam to their Beijing home & 2 sons.
seat#04C Canada M @42 Muktesh MUKHERJEE
He was the grandson of politican in India. He & his wife Xiaomo Bai lived in Chicago & Montreal before settling in Beijing. They were returning home from a Vietnam vacation.
seat#04J Malaysia M @33 Mohamad Sofuan Ibrahim
He was scheduled to report for duty at Malaysia's Ministry of International Trade & Industry branch in Beijing. He took a picture with his mother before boarding the flight.
seat#04K China F @27 Qiao Xing