Five airlines operating in Europe testing use of mobile phones in-flight

Five airlines operating in Europe are currently carrying out trials on use of mobile phone in-flight.

A survey of 14 international airlines, conducted by Times Online Travel, found that while 5 airlines have already “taken the plunge,” most other carriers are “taking the wait-and-see approach, with only one declaring an outright ban.”

The website timesonline.co.uk has reported that the 5 airlines that are either testing usage of mobile phone onboard or have launched the service are Air France, Ryanair, Bmi, SAS, and Emirates.

(Air France, one of the largest airlines in the woirld, is based in Paris, France, and is a subsidiary of Air France-KLM Group. Ryanair is an Irish airline with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, and its biggest operational base at London Stansted Airport in the United Kingdom. Ryanair is also Europe’s largest low-cost carrier. Bmi, the second largest airline at London Heathrow, operates services in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa, the United States, and the Caribbean. Emirates Airline, a subsidiary of the Emirates Group, is based in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, and is the seventh largest airline in the world in terms of international passengers carried).

Qatar Airways, based in Doha and the flag carrier airline of Qatar, installed the technology across its fleet, but later cancelled plans for in-flight mobile phone calls after research showed that 80% of customers do not want it, the Times Online Travel survey showed.

The developments over use of mobile phone in-flight are taking place despite widespread resistance from travellers.

According to a survey conducted recently, 54% of people questioned were against allowing use of mobile phone onboard.

The survey carried out by Moneysupermarket.com found that “the top mobile phone annoyance was people who talk too loudly on the phone, something that would be amplified in the confines of an aircraft cabin.”

The website timesonline.co.uk quoted an analyst as commenting on the results of the survey conducted by Moneysupermarket.com: “People want a relaxing, hassle-free journey and whether they are on a short-haul flight or long-haul flight, they shouldn’t have to listen to someone talk non-stop on their phone.”

Here is what the Times Online Travel survey found what some of the airlines are doing vis-à-vis mobile phone calls onboard:

Air France: At present testing OnAir mobile phone technology on one Airbus A318 aircraft, which flies within Europe. Air France claims to be the first airline to test in-flight mobile phone usage on international flights. Tests started in December 2007 with text messages and emails only and was extended to voice calls from mid-April 2008, and will run until June/July 2008. The trial includes questionnaires that are distributed among passengers to gauge reaction to the service. The results from this survey will influence whether the service is continued beyond the summer of 2008. So far, over 80% of passengers of Air France has favoured the text and email services. Results of the reaction to the voice calls will be collated in the summer of 2008.

Air Malta: No plans to allow mobile phone calls in-flight.

American Airlines: No plans to allow mobile phone calls in-flight because of current US Federal Communication Commission regulations that ban the use of mobile phones in-flight. American Airlines is currently testing technology on selected domestic US flights that allows customers to use data features of wi-fi-enabled phones and PDA devices. This is for text data only, not spoken calls.

British Airways: Currently does not allow customers to use mobile phones in-flight in case they interfere with the aircraft’s avionics.