The final barrier to a flood of in-flight chatter was lifted last week when the EU approved the use of mobile phones on aircraft. Airlines can now legally allow passengers to use their mobile phones during flights in Europe, though at this stage, only three companies – BMI, Air France and TAP Air Portugal – have systems in place to introduce the service. Now that the technology has been approved, however, the airborne telecoms manufacturer OnAir expects other carriers to follow.
Air France passengers will be able to use the service from next month, and BMI says it will begin tests on short-haul flights towards the end of the year. “We’ll be trialling the system to see how it sits with our passengers,” said BMI. “If the service works, and our passengers like it, we’ll look at fitting the technology throughout the fleet.”
Ryanair won’t be far behind. The airline has ordered the system and expects to offer in-flight calling by the end of the year. And British Airways, which formerly expressed horror at the notion, may also join the chattering classes.
“We’ve got an open mind on the matter at the moment,” the airline said. “It’s a possibility for European short-haul, but we would draw the line at long-haul.”
OnAir says that 80% of passengers like the idea of being able to use phones on aircraft, but it clearly didn’t ask any Sunday Times readers, whose reactions to the announcement ranged from the fatalistic – “Terrible news, but inevitable,” sighed Peter Churchill, from London – to the defiant – “No problem, I’ll just avoid the airlines offering the service,” declared Brian Gould, from Norfolk.
Three glimmers of hope remain. First, babbling cabins can be silenced at the flick of a switch – cabin crew have the option of selecting a “voice-off” mode that limits communications to text messaging and e-mail services.
Second, the US government has imposed an indefinite ban on the use of mobiles in aircraft – meaning that transatlantic flights will remain phone-free zones.
And third, at least in-flight conversations are likely to be brief. Dialling from an aircraft cabin could be as expensive as phoning a television quiz show, with calls expected to average about £1.25 a minute.
