Virgin Atlantic To Be The First Full Mobile Flight

[Wendy]

Virgin Atlantic is set to become the first company in the UK to allow full mobile access on its flights, but only on a specific aircraft. The first outing will be on the new Airbus A330, where passengers will be able to access the Internet, text and call without incurring any penalty.

There will still be the traditional caveat that no devices can be used during take-off or landing, but throughout the flight, passengers can do as they like. Due to American regulations and the service provider, AeroMobile, this functionality will be switched off within 400KM of the US. Considering the first flight to allow this functionality will be London to New York, expect to draw your call or web access to a close, when entering the final leg of the journey.

Only basic web access will be available throughout the flight (GPRS), which of course won't be enough for video viewing, but it should have enough bandwidth for basic Google searchers and the odd tweet.

Until now, no flight has offered web, calling and text functionality, though a British airways flight between London and New York has allowed texting, for some time.

Virgin Atlantic's COO has confirmed that in 2014, when the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is launched, full Wi-Fi access will be made available to passengers.

[Wendy]

I suppose it had to come, but I can't say I'm very pleased about it. Can you imagine what it will be like with phones beeping with text messages or people shouting to be heard on the phone.

Nope, not impressed at all

[lozzy]

I don't agree with this, I'm not to worried about emailing or texting in flight as people could have they device set to silent, but phones calls shouldn't be allowed.


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[Keith]

Yeah I think this is going to be a bad thing for a lot of people.

For me, 9 hours without Internet is excrutiating. I've tried to see it as a welcome break but I just feel so cut off and it's SO unnatural to me.

I'd also say as to people chatting on the phone or whatever, it's no different than people talking loudly to each other, their kids screaming and then crying etc.

honestly, if I can use the Internet as a diversion from those around me on a 9 hour flight, hurrah!

[Britchick]

Yay to the Internet, nay to the phone calls!

[Kate]

Now im not a good flyer and its going to take me a very long time to feel comfortable with people using phones on a plane after being told for yeeeears that you cant!!

[Dawn]

I don't like it.

[Tink]

My first thought as, "Yay! No more wasted hours of flight time." Then I remembered I don't fly for a living any longer. I like the idea in theory. I'm sure the airlines will come up with some sort of regulations regarding phone calls.

[Keith]

Now im not a good flyer and its going to take me a very long time to feel comfortable with people using phones on a plane after being told for yeeeears that you cant!!

Don't worry about it, seriously, it was never a real problem anyway. Always makes me laugh when they rush over and tell someone to turn off a gameboy in case it brings the plane down (although they're still hanging onto the not during take off/landing stuff).

I think the official line on this is that the way they'll be enabling the technology is using a mini-cell tower (pico cell) in the plane itself and so cell phones will have to use a lot less power to talk to that than they would be trying to call out to a cell tower on the ground which they wouldnt get to. So the difference between a cell phone shouting trying to get to a cell signal and whispering to get to one on the plane itself.

Either way, it won't be a problem

[Dawn]

I still don't like it. I've never really got the whole idea of how planes stay up in the sky and now there's all these added radiowaves skittering about the cabin.

Nope. Don't like it.