In-flight mobile phone calls activated in Turkish Airlines
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Turkish Airlines’ passengers can now attend to their mobile phone calls during the flight. As per the contract signed between Turkish Airlines and ¬Panasonic Avionics, Panasonic’s eX2 In-Flight Entertainment and Global Communications Suite powered by AeroMobile will be installed to enable the passengers to have a full complement of in-flight entertainment and communication options available at their fingertips.
According to Temel Kotil, President and Chief Executive Officer of Turkish Airlines, Panasonic’s eX2 and Global Communications Suite will give the ability to tailor passengers’ experiences with live broadcast TV, Wi-Fi access for laptops and PDAs, as well as the use of mobile phones.
Over one million airline passengers have now used AeroMobile services since inception. On some flights, passenger adoption rates are exceeding 40%.
Virgin to allow mobile calls next year
Virgin Atlantic will give passengers the capability to make in-flight mobile phone calls or text messages next year on a trial basis, a report said.
Virgin will become the third company to announce intentions to test on-board mobile telephony after Air France-KLM and Ryanair, said the Gulf News report.
Virgin spokesman Paul Charles said given some of the public’s aversion to in-flight calling, the airline has not decided whether to allow calls or just the sending of text messages.
Steve Ridgway, CEO, said he understood the sensitive nature of the service and believed peer pressure would prevent inappropriate use of the phones.
Before, calls from mobile phones disrupted flight navigation systems. But now, equipment is being developed to route calls to terrestrial networks without affecting an airplane’s sensitive electronic instruments.
Source- http://www.tradearabia.com/tanews/newsdetails_snTTN_article111336_cnt.html
