Malaysia Airlines to allow cell phones on flights

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Malaysia Airlines on Tuesday unveiled a new service allowing passengers to make and receive calls on their mobile phones while in air on some routes.
Passengers can also send and receive text messages, and use their Blackberry-type devices to send and receive e-mails, Malaysia Airlines, or MAS, said in a statement.
It said the airline teamed up with AeroMobile, a British company, to become the first Asian carrier to offer in-flight mobile phone and data services via satellite with passengers using their own equipment.
Customers can now safely use their mobile phone or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) during the flight without affecting the aircraft systems and ground telecommunication networks, the statement said.
The service is currently available on a single Boeing 777-200 aircraft, which flies on different days to selected European, Australian and Asian destinations including China and Japan, said the statement. The system will be installed on all wide-bodied aircraft in the MAS fleet by next year if it proves to be successful, said MAS chief executive Idris Jala.
“This is one of the in-flight service comforts that we are introducing on a trial basis for our customers,” he said. “With this facility, we definitely have a competitive edge and firmly believe that both our business and leisure passengers will very much welcome this new service,” he added. Users will be billed on their regular phone bills by their own service providers as with any other international roaming call.
Passengers will be encouraged to switch their phones to silent or vibrate mode when using them in the aircraft, said the statement.

source: the International Herald Tribune

People who read this also read...

  • Mobile phones take off on Ryanair posted on 20 February 2009

    Ryanair today allowed passengers to use their mobile phones on board its aircraft. Despite most airlines banning voice calls, and polls showing passengers against the idea, customers onboard 20 Ryanair planes can now call somebody at 35,000ft. The planes are mainly based in Dublin. But Ryanair says...
    Read More

  • Air New Zealand will be offering inflight mobile text and email services posted on 31 May 2010

    Air New Zealand‘s new Boeing 777-300 aircraft will have mobile phone and data capability. The first aircraft is due for delivery in November this year. The introduction of the new service will enable Air New Zealand’s customers to use their iPhone, Blackberry and GSM mobile phones to send and...
    Read More

  • Push to let passengers use mobiles during flights posted on 18 October 2008

    The end-of-flight clamour for mobile phones is set to subside thanks to a government move to allow passengers to use their phones during flights. The Australian Communications and Media Authority wants to allow airlines to install mobile phone transmission equipment in planes, based on a nine-month trial...
    Read More

  • Air France and Amadeus to test a new boarding solution using mobile phones posted on 20 April 2009

    Air France and Amadeus to test a new boarding solution using mobile phones. Amadeus and IER have announced a joint partnership with Nice Côte d’Azur Airport and Air France to launch a project called Pass and Fly. This new initiative will enable members of Nice Airport’s passenger programme, Club...
    Read More

  • Specially designed ‘jammers’ can allow mobile use on flights posted on 22 October 2008

    The Government agency that controls telecommunication in Australia has proposed allowing air passengers to use mobiles on aeroplanes. The proposal from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) came after a recent 18-month trial showed that specially designed systems could be used without...
    Read More

2 Comments »

  1. [...] Malaysia Airlines on Tuesday unveiled a new service allowing passengers to make and receive calls on their mobile phones while in air on some routes. Passengers can also send and receive text messages, and use their Blackberry-type … Read more [...]

    comment-bottom
  2. [...] Malaysia Airlines to allow cell phones on flightsMalaysia Airlines on Tuesday unveiled a new service allowing passengers to make and receive calls on their mobile phones while in air on some routes. Passengers can also send and receive text messages, and use their Blackberry-type … [...]

    comment-bottom

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment

Get Adobe Flash playerPlugin by wpburn.com wordpress themes