Emirates Airlines First To Allow In-Flight Mobile Calls

Emirates will become the first airline to allow passengers to make mobile phone calls on its flights. The airline has invested $27 million to fit the fleet with equipment supplied by AeroMobile, which will allow passengers' cell phones to operate at their minimum power setting, thereby allowing their safe use.

Emirates expects to launch the service on one of its Boeing 777 planes as early as January 2007. The news comes just months after Ryanair announced it planned to launch a similar service in mid-2007 - subject to regulatory approval.

"We believe that the ability to communicate efficiently, easily and safely when on board flights will become an essential feature of business and leisure travel," said AeroMobile president David Poltorak .

"We are currently talking to a number of other airlines about extending the service to their fleets." The Sussex-based company believes the in-flight mobile calls market could deliver revenues of as much as £1.5bn by 2010.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group said: "As the world leader in innovation for our customers, 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.

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

"Our customers are already making more than 6,000 calls a month from our in-seat phones, so we will be making life easier for those for whom staying in touch using their mobile phone has become an indispensable part of their everyday lives. Our research tells us our customers would appreciate the option of staying in touch in this way."

Cabin crew will also be able to control the system at any time, and select operating modes appropriate for certain flights - such as selecting text only operation mode for overnight flights.

Read Also:
Emirates And Aeromobile Calls World First For In-Flight Mobile Phone Use (Emirates Airlines Press)
Emirates 'to debut mobile calls' (BBC News)
Emirates Airline to Debut Cell Phone Calls (ABC News)