Qantas and Ryanair Adding In-Flight Calling

[Darius Wey]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/dyn/au/publicaffairs/details?ArticleID=2006/aug06/Q3469' target='_blank'>http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/dy...006/aug06/Q3469</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Qantas said it would introduce new technology from early 2007, which will enable customers to make and receive emails, SMS and calls via their own mobile phone or personal electronic devices such as Blackberrys. Qantas Group General Manager of Customer Product and Services, Ms Lesley Grant, said the airline would evaluate the technology over a three-month period on a Boeing 767 aircraft operating on Australian domestic routes. "Qantas will be one of the first airlines in the world to offer this service." Ms Grant said Qantas' research indicated that customers were increasingly demanding the same range of services in the air as those available on the ground... Qantas has teamed with Telstra, Panasonic Avionics Corporation and AeroMobile in the evaluation, to bring about a solution that will allow appropriate communication devices to be safely used inflight and not interfere with the ground network."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20060831-qantas.jpg" /><br /><br />So much for the "don't use your cellphone on the plane" argument. Both Qantas (Australian-based) and Ryanair (European-based) are gearing up to allow in-flight calling using personal handsets. I'll be making a domestic flight early next year, so assuming I'm on one of the evaluation flights, I'll get a chance to try it out. Your thoughts on in-flight calling? Pros? Cons?

[BevHoward]

Emails, SMS, MM exchanges, ok...

voice calls? sorry, my feelings are that callers in any confined spaces should "get a room"

Cabins are a close, closed, confined and captive space and cell calls intrude on the space of everyone within hearing range.

It's one more reason not to fly.

[freitasm]

Auckland - San Francisco: 12 hours. Trying to sleep while a chatter box can't keep the mouth shut, talking about the stupidiest things in the world: eternity!

:roll:

[ctmagnus]

Who's Ryan, and who sold him an airline?

[daS]

So much for the "don't use your cellphone on the plane" argument.
In my previous life I designed equipment for testing aircraft wiring systems. I can assure you that cell phones do not interfere with aircraft systems. The issue has always been an FCC requirement in that the cellular network was not designed to deal with hand-offs at 600mph. Also, when you are in the air, your signal forms a "cone" that covers many cells on the ground - greatly reducing the ability of the cellular system to support users on the ground. If there is a "micro-cell" located on the aircraft, then your phone will reduce it's power output to communicate with the local cell - thus eliminating the interference with the cells on the ground.

So from a technical side, this can work. But more importantly, our friend Bev is 100% right when he says this is really an issue of socially acceptable behavior (or in this case, the lack there of. :roll: ) My only hope is that the price that the airlines will charge for you to use their microcell (think "roaming fee") will be so high that the idea will flop like all the other "AirPhone" systems. :lol:

[cromdubh]

cant you hear it now.....Hi I'm on the plane, will be there in 3 hours...of course, love you too honeyduckybunny...

Or the blow by blow account of how their s**t of a boyfriend/girlfriend said this and that.....

[Tierran]

Not that talking on the phone is any different than talking to the person next to you...

[byrnefm]

Who's Ryan, and who sold him an airline?
Ryanair is a low-fares airline that operates in Europe, who are primarily based in the UK / Ireland. Their service is a very basic one- you have to pay for everything on top of the flight, even for each item of luggage you check in! However, their fares are very low - a return flight from Dublin to London (an hour's flight each way) usually costs me no more than US$80 - including taxes! :)

[PDANEWBIE]

cant you hear it now.....Hi I'm on the plane, will be there in 3 hours...of course, love you too honeyduckybunny...

Or the blow by blow account of how their s**t of a boyfriend/girlfriend said this and that.....

Or the results of a colonoscopy just before that lovely airplane food is being served!
:evil:

I agree electronic useage is okay if its kept personal when it translates to voice (where some cell phone users yell into their phones) I still think it crosses a line.

[DaleReeck]

Hmmm. That looks like an Airbus 380, that new double decker. It has Quantas markings and though they are going to be one of the first to get the new plane, I thought deliveries were still a year away. Unless they are just testing an already painted plane.

[aroma]

I will not, as long as I can possibly avoid it, fly on a flight that allows passengers to send/receive cell phone calls from their seats.\\

As is, I can't hardly stand to sit next to someone at their desk or at lunch while they're chating away on their Cell, let alone 1" from me.

[jgrnt1]

Not that talking on the phone is any different than talking to the person next to you...

I have to disagree. Have you ever been sitting in a doctor's or hospital's waiting room having a conversation with the person next to you, when somebody across the room makes or receives a call? There is a tremendous difference in the volume level of the people talking. I think it is psychological -- when you are sitting next to somebody, you naturally lower your voice....well, except for my kids ("Use your inside voice, please, son"). When most people are on the phone, it's as if they are trying to make sure they are heard five hundred miles away by the person on the other end of the phone. If everyone on a phone talked as softly as they would if the other party was sitting next to them, I would have no problem with phones in most places, but this is not reality.

Also, what about the ring tones? Are they going to mandate vibrate only for flights? Even if they did, how many would comply? Every day, it seems like ring tones are getting louder and more annoying, as if people are showing off what their phone can do. One of the people at my office has a phone that shouts "Answer the phone!" repeatedly until he answers. My phone is always set to vibrate, so it won't get noticed, but most people purposely make their ring tone loud to get noticed. If your phone is in a computer bag or purse, then it probably needs to ring, but it still should be only loud enough for you to notice it.

If we could depend on common courtesy prevailing on an airplane, I would have no trouble with allowing phone use. However, in this day and age -- the "me" generation -- we will never get common courtesy from all, or even the majority.

I don't think most airlines are thinking about this when they make a decision about cell phone use. They are looking at a potential revenue stream and couldn't care less about the comfort of their passengers.

[Paragon]

I'm not so sure this is going to be as bad as many of us think. This service is not going to be cheap. We have had cellular/satellite phones on planes for several years now...the ones in the back of the seat where you slide your credit card in to activate them. It sounds like this service is going to run at about the same cost. Hardly anyone used them before, I doubt many will now either......I hope. ;)

Dave

[tom dunne]

I read somewhere recently that part of the implementation includes a setting that allows only data (i.e. sms/email) to be used. So for example if the flight is overnight, the crew can flick a switch so that people won't be able to make voice calls, but can text/email. I presume also crew will only be too well aware of the annoyance factor of being crammed in at 32,000 and having numerous conversations ongoing.

Another thing to note is that in Europe, Ryanair's flights are typically short-haul (no more than 2-3 hours). Still, I can see how annoying it could get.

[SHC]

Not that talking on the phone is any different than talking to the person next to you...
Oh yes it is!
For some reason people on mobiles talk loud and stupid, its just more irritating, that might be my subjective view.
"hey honey on the train, just coming into the station" So what!!!
Like the rest of us don't know?
I'm flying London to Los Angeles next year, the last thing I want for 11 hours is someone talking utter drivel loudly. Bah Humbug!

Ps Just going to put mu asbestos boiler suit on - just in case you understand

[Darius Wey]

Hmmm. That looks like an Airbus 380, that new double decker. It has Quantas markings and though they are going to be one of the first to get the new plane, I thought deliveries were still a year away. Unless they are just testing an already painted plane.

If memory serves correctly, they were testing and showing off an already-painted plane. It was doing the "rounds" across Australia, and some neighbouring countries.

[Darius Wey]

Hardly anyone used them before, I doubt many will now either......I hope. ;)

Past experience would tell me that most probably wouldn't even know about the existence of such a service, even if they had a use for it. So I'm guessing that will keep chatter to a minimum too. ;)

[xdev]

yea, when they flew the a380 test plane for route proving tests they painted it in the local customer's colours. for example when it was in singapore it was in singapore airlines colours.

well, i think calling is going to be prohibitively expensive for a 3 hour call lol....if the current airphone charges are anything to go by

[Paragon]

Hardly anyone used them before, I doubt many will now either......I hope. ;)

Past experience would tell me that most probably wouldn't even know about the existence of such a service, ;)

Actually, no that's not quite true, Darius, at least not here in Canada. Air Canada who used the satphone service had the phones embedded in the back of the seat, so they were right in front of for the whole flight. The only time I ever saw one in use was when I had to use one myself to locate a display booth that was supposed to be in Vancouver, which I was on my way to setup. :)

Dave

[Darius Wey]

Actually, no that's not quite true, Darius, at least not here in Canada. Air Canada who used the satphone service had the phones embedded in the back of the seat, so they were right in front of for the whole flight. The only time I ever saw one in use was when I had to use one myself to locate a display booth that was supposed to be in Vancouver, which I was on my way to setup. :)

Oh, I wasn't talking about the old embedded phone service. I was thinking more the new in-flight calling service being discussed here. It's up to the airlines and carriers to advertise heavily about the existence of a "hidden" service such as this for people to know about it. Business users might take note of it, but I'd say the average Joe wouldn't. I could be making a wild assumption, though. ;)

[Paragon]

Oh, I wasn't talking about the old embedded phone service. I was thinking more the new in-flight calling service being discussed here. It's up to the airlines and carriers to advertise heavily about the existence of a "hidden" service such as this for people to know about it. Business users might take note of it, but I'd say the average Joe wouldn't. I could be making a wild assumption, though. ;)

Oh, yeah, we can only hope that not many people will be aware of the service, and the few who do notice also take note of the high cost. :)

I'd be curious to know, has there been any mention of how this will work? Do you need to sign on to the service in some way? What happens if you just leave your phone on, buried in your carry on (assuming you are still allowed carry on ;)) which is buried in an overhead compartment, will it ring and keep ringing away while you try to find it?

Dale Coffing has a very funny story of sitting in a plane. He has a custom ring tone of his daughter yelling "Daddy answer the phone." He forgot to turn off his phone. A red faced Dale had to figure out which bag was yelling at him. Once he did that he then had to figure out which phone was on. Anyone who knows Dale, knows that it could be one of dozens he might have in a bag at any given time. Before he was finished he had more than just his daughter yelling at him. :)

Dave

[Brad Adrian]

Does anybody know about the pricing structure of this? I would assume there's going to be some form of surcharge, and I hope it's plenty high so everybody isn't tempted to use the service.

The noise on planes is so high that anybody making a voice call is forced to yell -- to the chagrin of fellow travellers. But, if the surcharge is high enough, it'll keep casual calling down. I think allowing voice calls is a big mistake, and I'd deliberately avoid flights or airlines that allow them.

That said, allowing messaging is a terrific idea. It lets people communicate quietly, and I can think of dozens of times I would have loved to send somebody an SMS to let them know that I was going to be circling the airport for another 90 minutes.

My prediction: allowing voice calling will be a bust, but text-based messaging will be a huge success. The only thing that might change this would be if they also incorporate technology a la the "Get Smart" show: a "cone of silence" that drops down from the overhead bin!

[Damion Chaplin]

Oh, I wasn't talking about the old embedded phone service. I was thinking more the new in-flight calling service being discussed here. It's up to the airlines and carriers to advertise heavily about the existence of a "hidden" service such as this for people to know about it. Business users might take note of it, but I'd say the average Joe wouldn't. I could be making a wild assumption, though. ;)

I think as soon as the average Joe sees said business user using it, he'll say, "Hey, I didn't know I could do that" and next thing you know everyone's doing it. I see a lot of spoiled kids these days (a relative term I know) and this is just the type of service that rich parents would gladly shell out for to keep their kids from running through the isles...

Yay. :roll:

[tom dunne]

Does anybody know about the pricing structure of this? I would assume there's going to be some form of surcharge, and I hope it's plenty high so everybody isn't tempted to use the service.

A Ryanair representative speaking on Irish national radio yesterday (Thursday 31st) said that the charges would be "inline with current roaming charges". Given that the airline is now charging for everything bar the seatbelt, you can be sure it will carry a hefty premium.

[PDANEWBIE]

Business users might take note of it, but I'd say the average Joe wouldn't. I could be making a wild assumption, though.

I am sorry but I fly very rarely and the minute I saw someone chatting away on a cell phone in flight I woultd take notice of that and I am the type of person that doesn't pay attention to anything. Something as widely known about not using a cell phone on a plane won't be left unobserved long when people start whipping them out on planes.

The main reason those seat phones aren't used as often is directly relational to the cost of the phone itself. Depeneding on if they charge for this service or not AND how much will probably be the determining factor of how annoyed I will get with other passengers.

[pjtrader]

It's bad enough that there isn't enough leg and elbow room on a plane anymore, now they want me to have to listen to someone's cell phone conversation too?

Let's see - shall we have "cell phone seating" and "non-cell phone seating" arrangements?

[Darius Wey]

Let's see - shall we have "cell phone seating" and "non-cell phone seating" arrangements?

Dedicated seating area vs. luggage compartment? :P