Jaunted

Air France Wants Passengers to Talk More

4/04/2008 at 10:05 AM
Tags: Cell Phones, Airlines, In-Flight WiFi (all tags)

While on the American side of the Atlantic, the popular opinion is that the last thing plane passengers want is for their neighbor to be allowed to chat away on a cell phone, over in Europe they've been considering the idea more seriously. And now the opportunity has arrived, with Air France.

They've already had a three-month trial of in-flight text messaging, and this week Air France has started to allow passengers to make cell phone calls while they're in the air. Their theory is that they'll give it a go and see how passengers react, before deciding whether or not they'll limit things to a text message only service.

If you're still worried about cell phone use causing your plane to crash, don't worry too much: The dangers are apparently all on landing and the Air France service is only activated about 9,800 feet. The system allows unlimited SMSs to fly through the air and up to six passengers will be able to make phone calls at once. So for a noisier-than-usual flight, check out Air France soon. Call us when you do.

Related Stories:
· Air France Tests In-Flight Mobile Phone Service [IHT]
· In-Flight Wi-Fi: No Phones for You [Jaunted]
· Cell Phones Still a Danger in the Air [Jaunted]

[Photo: Gastev]