NEWS
US budget airline JetBlue is considering an in-flight text messaging service but does not want noisy mobile phone calls on its aircraft.
David Neeleman, founder and chief executive of JetBlue, said text communications could prove attractive but agrees with the misgivings of many US airline executives about the on-board use of mobiles for voice calls.
A spokeswoman for JetBlue told silicon.com in-flight text messaging could happen in the near future and said if the company allows mobiles on its flights then they will only be used as "silent options" - meaning passengers would be allowed to send and receive text messages and listen to voicemails but incoming and outgoing calls would be barred.
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The movement to make mile-high mobiles a reality is gathering pace at other airlines too - Ryanair is planning to allow mobile access on all its flights by mid-2007 and Australian national carrier Qantas has been given the green light to start an in-flight mobile trial of SMS and email.
Air France was due to launch an in-flight mobile service last month but was forced to delay it until the summer. It will now kick-off a six-month mobile trial - including data services and voice calls - in July.
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1. anonymous
On board calling from seat back and other wired phones was never widely used, despite being around for years. In flight internet has proved a dead duck. The same will be true of in flight mobile provision, and for all the same reasons - too expensive, too indiscreet in such crowded conditions and too intrusive. Apply a sense check airlines - don't waste your time and our money implementing it.
Texting might just work (probably not so much in the US where it is only just coming into use - largely by teens) because it is at least (a) discreet (b) might be a reasonable price. Even so, I doubt mass usage will take off (pun pun).
If airlines want to do something useful - make the fundamental service better - eg more spacious and comfortable seats. Travellers are not stupid. Nobody is going to choose their flight on the basis of being able to text while in the air! But they might just pay a bit more for not being treated like a sardine.
Ryanair, masters of extracting cash from customers, will simply make sure that this is another way of adding a profitable, is small revenue stream. They are also sharp enough to remove it swiftly if this is not the case!
2. anonymous
You can text on a JetBlue flight if you can find one that actually takes off!