Air France-KLM, Europe’s largest airline, announced it is trialling in-flight use of mobile phones, enabling passengers to send and receive text messages, e-mail and photos. The next stage of the trial will allow travelers to make and receive voice calls.
The service has been introduced this week onboard an Air France A318 operating on short-haul routes in Europe. Air France said it would examine feedback and comments from passengers to determine whether to introduce mobile services on all flights.
The Air France trial will employ services developed by OnAir, an onboard mobile and Internet communications system jointly launched by aircraft manufacturer Airbus and travel communications provider SITA.
After a passenger’s mobile handset connects to a miniature cellular network installed inside the aircraft, data and calls are transmitted to a nearby satellite, routed to a ground station and then passed along to the traveler’s network provider. According to OnAir, the system avoids interference with aircraft avionics and ground communications networks.
According to the report, costs for using the service show up on the customers’ home telephone bill and are comparable to those rates for normal international cellphone calls.
The Air France trial is the first use of a mobile telephony system on international flights, although Qantas has been trialling for several months in the Australian domestic market a rival system developed by AeroMobile, a joint venture between Arinc and Telenor.
It will be curious to see which US airline is the first to move here. Any guesses?
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