British Airways Latest to Offer In-Flight Mobile

 British Airways have confirmed they will be offering limited mobile communication services from Autumn this year, initially only aboard the London City to New York JFK flight in business class.  They join the test runs completed by BMI and a commitment from Ryanair on the subject of in-flight mobile phone calls, but all seem still to be waiting for approval by European regulators.

Interestingly, BA will not be allowing you to actually make a phone call, instead users will rely on SMS, email and the Internet to keep in touch on the plane.  This can only be seen as a good thing as no one wants their journey disturbed by the endless ringing of a phone, however, British Airways have said they would introduce voice calls if the demand was there.

Emirates became the first airline to offer in-flight mobile calls in March last year, charging a hefty £2 per minute!  According to the Daily Telegraph, a survey conducted by the newspaper revealed 85% of their Travel section readers would not use an airline offering the service.  As long as voice calls are not involved, Internet in the sky sounds good to us!