Airbus gets Euro approval for in-flight calling system

The FAA's still hemming and hawing over how to handle the rather controversial issue of in-flight mobile phone use, but that hasn't stopped Europe's Airbus from pushing the issue on its home turf. Having already signed agreements with Ryanair and Qantas to provide service through its OnAir subsidiary, the company's been testing equipment to enable the use of GSM handsets for some time; the European Aviation Safety Agency's apparently pretty satisfied with how those tests have been coming along, too, having just blessed the system for commercial use. European travelers worried that this development is going to lead to a rash of incessant yappers on domestic flights can take some solace in the knowledge that flight attendants will be able to "manage" the service, even shutting off voice entirely while leaving SMS and data active. Look for OnAir service to drop initially on short flights in Western Europe, though Airbus intends to take it global -- if the FAA's cool with it, anyway.

[Via WirelessInfo.com]

[CharlieX @ Jun 19th 2007 5:24PM]

So exactly how much does that overinflated airbag next to you need to yap before the stewardess shuts down the service for everyone? Or do you just have to sit and suffer because you got stuck next to the only yapper on the plane?

So I can play music over my laptop's speakers at a volume equaling their's? Or maybe just pass heinous gas the whole time. You invade my space, I invade yours.

I'm sorry, but in general, especially back in coach, and especially in the USA, something like this would probably turn out bad for us folk who like a little bubble of relative quiet.

[Rick @ Jun 19th 2007 5:27PM]

Yeah, this ought to lead to better international relations as Pierre punches Salvador in the family paella because he can't stop reminiscing loudly about his rendezvous with Adi while on a break from Ute. Not to mention Sven's passive aggressive elbows when Siegfried starts blabbing on and on about ausländerfeindlichkeit to his new Professor (and love interest) Gerhardt. Ach, du lieber zeit!

Oh, and don't get me started about Trudie. She was so fat in Gymnasium! Oh... and then....

[Jumbie @ Jun 19th 2007 5:27PM]

They'd better give everyone a parachute cause I forsee lots of people being tossed out of the plane when they annoy the crap out of everyone around them.

Okay, that's obviously not gonna happen for practical and safety reasons but do they realize just how obnoxious many people can be on their phones?

As if those tiny, little seats and being jammed in their like penned cattle doesn't make flying bad enough.

[Jumbie @ Jun 19th 2007 5:29PM]

Ooops, the last sentence should be THERE not their.

[dcpmark @ Jun 19th 2007 5:30PM]

"even shutting off voice entirely while leaving SMS and data active"


Ummm....can you say VoIP?

[Big @ Jun 19th 2007 5:30PM]

ITs very simple to solve this issue.

JUST MAKE IT VERY, VERY EXPENSIVE.

Air phone's have been available on flights forever.
Last time I flew to China on JAL they had a phone for every single seat attached to the media system.

BUT NOBODY USES THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE TOO EXPENSIVE.

When you swipe that credit card and know you are going to pay $2 a minutes + LONG DISTANCE+ TOLLS and FEES you are not going to sit and yap about bullshit all flight long.

All the airlines have to do is force fliers to pay extravagantly to use the system and you will get two possibilities:

#1 People will use it for EMERGENCY ONLY or
#2 Only the rich (or business users) will use it regularly (and most likely they are in 1st Class anyway).

[Ozbone @ Jun 19th 2007 5:40PM]

Airbus, eh ? So what is it with this company ?! First they want me to sit elbow-to-elbow with a mere 500 other souls on this atrocity called the A380 ... and now they want to enable them to all talk on their cell phones ?!? I'm thinking this can't be a very customer friendly outfit. I'm also thinking I'll be looking to fly on a Boeing ... Boeing.

[Mr. B @ Jun 19th 2007 5:45PM]

How exactly is this a "controversial issue?" Is there not broad agreement that this would be incredibly annoying? Who is fighting for cell phone use on airplanes?

[Jumbie @ Jun 19th 2007 5:51PM]

When in doubt blame Paris Hilton. (joke)

But yeah, who on earth is lobbying for this except maybe the airlines and carriers themselves in order to increase revenues?

Maybe it's that obnoxious guy in the line behind you at the bank? Or the woman who shares her conversation with the entire restaurant because we all need to hear how Aunt Sally is doing and how the bunions on her feet hurt...

[derek @ Jun 19th 2007 6:04PM]

if anyone sits next to me and starts talking on the phone... I'm gonna throw them out the window

[Miles @ Jun 19th 2007 6:13PM]

why would it be so very annoying to let people use there phones on a plane? If I regularly travel with the TGV (train) since it's on the ground u can use ur cellphone all the time never really had any problems with overly loud people.

[Stan Winstone @ Jun 19th 2007 6:15PM]

Well the cell phone companies are salivating, that's 2-10 hours of time when you could be using your phone and paying a fat roaming charge you won't realize until weeks later when you get your bill. And you can bet the percentage they're offering nearly bankrupt airlines is incredibly hard to resist. Benefit to the consumer- absolute zero. Below zero....

[Maneki Neko @ Jun 19th 2007 6:50PM]

It really weirds me out how otherwise really techie and pro-freedom people like the Engadget editors and readers (as a whole) get all Luddite and government-interventionist when cell phones on planes comes up.

Sure, it'd be annoying if you're seated next to someone really annoying talking on the phone on a plane, that sucks. But there's no reason for the government to be involved banning it unless they legitimately thinks it's a safety issue. Let the market decide, if there's a big enough demand, there will no cell phone sections or planes. If there isn't a demand for it besides a vocal minority of people like those on this site, then do you really think the government should be involved banning talking on planes on behalf of your pet peeve when the rest of the people all prefer to be able to talk in flight?

[Mr. B @ Jun 19th 2007 9:10PM]

That's a perfectly valid point. I'm for a ban but also support minimal government. The FAA has a rather broad mandate and could easily say preveting annoyance among the passengers promotes safety. Even if the FAA allows this, however, the airlines should have the good sense to do the right thing.

[rickane58 @ Jun 19th 2007 6:51PM]

For one, the government can't pass laws governing cell-phone use on planes based solely on annoyance, that is just ludicrous. It should be up to the flight company to decide there policy on this issue, which is what is being done here. The pilots/ stewardess' get to make a decision on a flight-by-flight basis, not a blanket rule. This is the way moer things need to be run

[Ian Jardine @ Jun 19th 2007 6:55PM]

I would try NEVER to fly on any airline which allows cell phone use. Most people are annoyingingly loud on their 'phones as it is and on a plane it would get ugly!

[Jumbie @ Jun 19th 2007 7:09PM]

Not to mention that jet engines aren't exactly quiet.

They're going to talk even more loudly.

[Philipp @ Jun 19th 2007 7:21PM]

I don´t understand why you would like to stop technological progress within airplanes. It´s not really the technology which makes the problems, but the people who use it.
As for our train system in Germany I can say that we have different coaches for people who wants to enjoy quiet and those who wants to talk. It works great.
Something similar should be considered for those GSM enabled planes.
On the other hand I wouldn't be more annoyed by a somebody making a call next to me than I would be by a school class or some girls chatting and laughing. At least for the phone call one could be sure, that it won´t last long, because it will be very expensive.
I am pretty sure 10min. of talk are more expensive with Ryanair than 2hrs. of flying!!!

[Tony @ Jun 19th 2007 7:35PM]

People are getting really weird about this. Wherever I see this come up, so many people seem to be passionate that the air should remain a cellphone-free zone, for the simple reason that they find cellphones annoying.

Yes, cellphones are annoying, but they are annoying everywhere. Why are planes sacrosanct? What sort of "peace" would these people be disrupting? Airplanes are extremely loud, not to mention uncomfortable.

Anyway, there are already myriad legal ways the person sitting next to you can and will annoy you: talking to you, talking to others, sitting with their kneed spread into your space, smelling bad, snoring, etc. On a flight this past spring the woman directly behind me was carrying on a conversation with the person directly in front of me. I would much rather she'd been on the phone.

[Brian @ Jun 19th 2007 8:01PM]

To hell with that! I'm glad I don't fly that (those?) airline(s).

Maybe in business class... but coach and first class? "STFU!"

[kballs @ Jun 19th 2007 9:42PM]

How many of you would love to play games, read ebooks, etc. on your phone without having flight attendants telling you to put it away? Even phones with "flight mode", because attendants can't be bothered with learning WTF that means, so they'll make you turn it off and put it away anyway.

I think most would agree:
talking on phone in plane == bad/annoying
playing games, reading, etc. on phone in plane == good

...and how many laptops now come with built-in EVDO/UMTS? How are flight attendants going to deal with that? They won't, all of those people will go unnoticed just because of the form factor.

[Alex Killby @ Jun 19th 2007 11:17PM]

This is a great idea! Unless signals start to interfere with flight equipment, Data and text service should remain on Mobile Phones, unless the airline is going to provide some sort of alternative free service through their "system".