Apr
9
Airlines allowing cellphone use in Europe?
Filed Under Knowledge, Technology, Travel
According to the USA Today story Ability to use cellphones in flight gets closer in Europe by Barbara De Lollis…
“April 9, 2008 - European regulators have dropped the ban on in-flight cellphone calls, but passengers’ ability to chat will depend on which airline they fly.
European Union regulators on Monday loosened the rules on cellphone service, a satellite-based technology that can be turned on by a captain at about 10,000 feet. It also can be turned off at any time.
The ban remains in place in the United States, so U.S. airlines aren’t affected.
Air France last week became the first international airline to offer mobile service as part of a six-month test to gauge customer response.
Other carriers, however, are shying away from the feature, saying that passengers don’t want chatter and ring tones invading their space.
Deciding whether to offer the service rests in the hands of the airlines within the 27-country EU.
British Airways is in the early stages of researching cellphone use, says Michele Kropf, an airline spokeswoman.
“We’ve done some preliminary surveying of passengers,” she says. “What they feel about it is key in our decision.”
On April 2, Air France began allowing voice calls on 123-passenger Airbus A318 flights after a three-month test of data calls since December. The technology allows up to 12 cellphone calls to be made simultaneously.
Air France plans to complete testing of both data-only and voice cellphone calls in mid-June and will make a decision sometime afterward, says Marina Tymen, a spokeswoman for Air France.
So far, the data-only calls have been popular with passengers, but they’re still measuring cellphone calls, she says.”
