Mobile phone access popular among Emirates and Air France passengers

It appears as though initial fears about the impact of mobile phone use aboard Emirates and select Air France flights have been unfounded. According to a recent poll, passengers on both airlines do not seem to mind if their seatmates use their phones to make calls or send text messages, mainly because those who choose to take advantage of this service are doing so in a responsible manner.

Statistics show the average length of a telephone conversation while aboard planes is only around two and a half minutes and the vast majority of these calls are made during day-time, rather than overnight flights. As such, the feared nuisance of having passengers using their cellular phones to engage in lengthy and potentially disruptive conversations on planes has not reflected the tamer reality of in-flight mobile communication technology.  AeroMobile, the company which provides communication technology services to Emirates, noted that the introductory period of mobile phone use on 10 airplanes has been “overwhelmingly positive.” Approximately 50 percent of passengers on these flights decided to use their mobile phone after take-off and prior to landing.

While both Emirates and Air France have thus far tested this new service on a handful of flights, there are plans to extend this new facility to the rest of the fleet, and Ryanair-one of Europe’s largest low cost carriers-is looking into allowing passengers to use mobile technology as well. Yet at a rate of $2.50 per minute and $0.50 per text message, few passengers engage in lengthy telephone chats while in the air, and this may be one reason why this new service has not been disruptive. Yet most analysts expect that an increasing number of airlines will decide to make mobile communication available on flights, as it can serve as a very lucrative way of raising ancillary revenue for the company.

Thank you to the Economist for the initial report.

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