Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Qantas and Ryanair Adding In-Flight Calling
Posted by Darius Wey in "NEWS" @ 08:00 PM
"Qantas said it would introduce new technology from early 2007, which will enable customers to make and receive emails, SMS and calls via their own mobile phone or personal electronic devices such as Blackberrys. Qantas Group General Manager of Customer Product and Services, Ms Lesley Grant, said the airline would evaluate the technology over a three-month period on a Boeing 767 aircraft operating on Australian domestic routes. "Qantas will be one of the first airlines in the world to offer this service." Ms Grant said Qantas' research indicated that customers were increasingly demanding the same range of services in the air as those available on the ground... Qantas has teamed with Telstra, Panasonic Avionics Corporation and AeroMobile in the evaluation, to bring about a solution that will allow appropriate communication devices to be safely used inflight and not interfere with the ground network."
So much for the "don't use your cellphone on the plane" argument. Both Qantas (Australian-based) and Ryanair (European-based) are gearing up to allow in-flight calling using personal handsets. I'll be making a domestic flight early next year, so assuming I'm on one of the evaluation flights, I'll get a chance to try it out. Your thoughts on in-flight calling? Pros? Cons?
So much for the "don't use your cellphone on the plane" argument. Both Qantas (Australian-based) and Ryanair (European-based) are gearing up to allow in-flight calling using personal handsets. I'll be making a domestic flight early next year, so assuming I'm on one of the evaluation flights, I'll get a chance to try it out. Your thoughts on in-flight calling? Pros? Cons?
