Airlines Set to Trial In-Flight Mobile

Air France's trial for passengers to send e-mails and text messages during flights will start in July, with calling to come later. BMI and Ryanair may follow

by Andy McCue

Air France will start a six-month trial for passengers to use their mobile phones to make calls and send emails and text messages during flights from July this year.

The airline had been due to launch the in-flight mobile service last month but has been forced to delay it until the summer due to regulatory certification for the on-board equipment taking longer than expected.

Air France will only be installing the system on one A318 Airbus short-haul aircraft - one of the smallest in its fleet.

For the first three months passengers will only be able to use the connectivity for data services, such as text messaging or sending emails from a BlackBerry or other device. For the last half of the trial passengers will also be able to use the voice service. This will be the first time anywhere in the world airline passengers will be allowed to make phone calls from their own mobile during a flight.

Air France said it is aware of the potential annoyance of in-flight mobile phone conversations and so, at the end of each flight during the trial, passengers will be given a questionnaire for feedback on the service.

An Air France spokeswoman told silicon.com: "After six months we will make our decision for the entire fleet."

The certification delays have also hit the in-flight mobile plans of BMI and Ryanair. UK airline BMI had been due to start a trial of the service by the end of last year but a spokesman for the airline admitted things had "gone quiet" on the plans.

He said: "We still intend to trial it although we don't have a confirmed date but it's likely it will be sometime this year."

No-frills airline Ryanair had been due to launch a trial this summer but will now only start installing the in-flight mobile equipment in the third quarter of this year.

A Ryanair spokeswoman said: "We are looking to launch it at the end of the year."

The in-flight mobile technology has been developed by OnAir, a joint venture between Airbus and airline industry IT body Sita. The on-board equipment incorporates technology from Tenzing, the company that pioneered in-flight email, while Inmarsat will be providing the satellite communications.

A pico cell located on board the Airbus aircraft will pick up mobile phone signals via a 'leaky cable' antenna running along the length of the plane. The signal is then converted, sent to a satellite and routed to the ground network. The service is expected to initially cost between $2.30 and $2.50 for making in-flight calls. For texts and emails, no formal pricing plan has been released by the airlines.

OnAir said it now expects final completion of the certification process for the equipment in May or June.

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