Posted on Tue, Apr. 8, 2008
BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Union opened the way yesterday for air travelers to use mobile phones to talk or send text or e-mail messages on planes throughout Europe's airspace.
Midair service may be available as soon as this year on some airlines for passengers using European GSM technology. The United States and many other countries bar mobile devices in the air because of concern they could disrupt a plane's instruments.
Under the plan approved yesterday, cell phone users could make and receive calls through an onboard base station. They will be allowed to turn their phones on after the plane reaches 10,000 feet, when other electronic devices such as portable music players and laptops are permitted.
But a host of issues remains, including the cost of midflight phone service and the backlash from those who dread the thought of being trapped for hours listening to one-sided conversations.
"In-flight mobile-phone services can be a very interesting new service, especially for those business travelers who need to be ready to communicate wherever they are," said Viviane Reding, the EU's telecommunications commissioner. "However, if consumers receive shock phone bills, the service will not take off."
The European Commission, the EU's executive body, said it would monitor pricing.
The EU also urged airlines to set in-flight phone etiquette.
"Almost everybody will want to use this service. We hope that also some people will still use the aircraft as a moment of tranquillity and not disturb other passengers," EU spokesman Martin Selmayr said.
Several airlines, including Air France-KLM S.A., have already launched a trial of in-flight mobile-phone services on some European routes.
Germany's Lufthansa, however, said yesterday that it did not want to introduce the service because its surveys showed that a large majority of customers were against it, spokesman Jan Baerwalde said.
