Plane talking

Adjust font size:

LONDON, England (CNN) -- It's the issue that is dividing air passengers -- should we be able to use mobile phones on flights?

Ryanair announced in August that it will be installing a system to allow its passengers to use mobile phones on its planes from the middle of next year.

Now Emirates have said they will be the first airline to offer in-flight mobile phone use when it kits out one of it's Boeing 777s in January next year. Emirates point to the success of their in-seat phones - passengers make more than 6,000 calls a month from them -- as a strong indication that the technology is wanted.

It has agreed a deal with AeroMobile to provide the technology that will enable passengers to make calls on board at regular international roaming rates. The calls will be linked to the ground using the Immarsat satellite system that is already installed on the airline's planes.

The Dubai-based airline has signed a $27m deal that will extend to its whole fleet. The onboard technology will limit the number of calls made at the same time to five calls, the same as the carrier's existing in-seat phones.

There are plans to add GPRS data and internet capability when the onbord communications system is updated in 2007, allowing the use of BlackBerrys, Treos and internet access from laptops.

"We are delighted to offer the choice of mobile phone use to passengers who would like to make contact with friends, family or colleagues while flying with us," said Emirates chairman and chief executive, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

"The option of mobile phone use will be available under guidelines that recognise and respect the privacy of all our customers."

However a number of recent surveys have found that calls from mobile phones on flights are about as welcome as the person behind you kicking your seat.

Last year Skytrax found that 89 percent of the 682,456 airline passengers surveyed were strongly opposed to the use of in-air mobile phones for anything other than e-mailing or texting.

Likewise a poll conducted by the International Airline Passengers Association of over 1000 people found that "only half would find it useful to make and receive calls during a flight."

Unsurprisingly the two competing companies that are pioneering the technology, AeroMobile and OnAir, have found the opposite point of view.

"From the research that we've done it's clearly something that people want, particularly if you're travelling on business," George Cooper, CEO of OnAir told CNN.

"There is a minority of people who say they won't use their mobile phone, and of course if you don't want to use it on the flight, don't switch it on. That's one of the ways to avoid the office contacting you. But the vast majority of people, 75 to 80 percent, do want to use it."

Being contacted by the office is not the main reason for most people's reservation of the system, an invasion of personal space is.

A 2005 survey conducted by Monarch airlines found being stuck next to someone talking on their mobile would be the biggest in-flight irritation after its passengers behind the person behind kicking their seat or the person in front reclining their seat.

OnAir's system uses a mini GSM base station installed on the aircraft that transmits a signal to the mobile phones on the plane at a very low level. By transmitting at such a low power level it avoids interfering with the avionics of the plane -- one of the main concerns about such a system.

It also means the plane will not interfere with the mobile phone networks on the ground as it passes overhead. Unlike AeroMobile, OnAir's system is designed to handle 14 calls at once.

"It is only really through use that we will be able to determine how many people will be making calls on a flight. If people's pattern of use show that more than 14 are making calls at the same time all that needs to be done is add another piece of hardware, the signal itself does not need to be boosted," said Cooper.

In a further indication that mobile phones will soon be a feature of air travel, Airbus will be replacing all the no-smoking signs with no-mobile phone signs on the planes that adopt the service.

Qantas will be trialling AeroMobile on one of its planes in February, while bmi, Air France and Portugal's TAP will be testing OnAir's service.

Watch Business Traveller this weekend for more on keeping in touch while in the air. Show times: Thursday, Nov 16, 13:30, 17:30 (all times GMT).

Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more.

---

• Missing teen spent 11 days on NYC subways
• From Asian pop star to 'Ninja Assassin'
• U.S. won't join landmine ban
• Facebook paves way for IPO
• The other Amanda Knox

• Irish PM to quit over payments scandal
• NATO chief: Afghan troop increase likely
• Militants hunted as calm retuns to Basra
• Pressure on Bush to skip Olympics
• BA sending misplaced T5 baggage to Milan

• Recruiting suicide bombers (2:50)
• London was lucky (2:36)
• Cars in London rigged as bombs (3:48)
• Second explosives-packed car foun (2:32)
• Soviet culture returns (3:47)