Norwegian Air rolling out in-flight phone use, internet access

Passengers on Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA will soon have something to talk about... literally. The company is joining the growing ranks of airlines that allow mobile phone and / or wireless internet service on flights. According to the Scandinavian airline, the new features will be offered sometime later this year, and will be provided by a new subsidiary, Norwegian AS. Now, if only they'd allow smoking again.

[James @ Jan 16th 2008 12:44AM]

YEAH!!! I quit smoking, but I wish I was old enough to go smoke in the back of the plane with all the other people when it was legal... they looked like they all had stories to tell...

[Brandon @ Jan 16th 2008 12:48AM]

"Remember that time I got cancer?"

[Nathan @ Jan 16th 2008 12:53AM]

Takk!! Jeg vil visitt Norge! igjen... lol.. just another reason to visit Norway!

[rawhead @ Jan 19th 2008 12:55AM]

You're kidding about the smoking bit, right?

While I used to be a pack a day smoker, and I used to smoke in the back seat in planes when it was still allowed, and I do think the current demonization of smoking in our society is twisted (no smoking in clubs/bars? WTF?) , in retrospect, smoking in the confined space that is the airplane economy area was just a bad, bad idea for non-smokers. Heck, I was happy when they made planes and trains smoke-free even before I quit smoking.

The only way I would embrace smoking on planes again is if they come up with awesome new gadgetry to completely suck out the second-hand smoke as it emits from your cigarette/mouth, so as to have zero effect on surrounding ppl. Or they incorporate vacuum chambered smoking areas inside planes ;)

[Garst @ Jan 16th 2008 6:53AM]

It'd be funny if airlines put a balcony on plane for smokers. I know it'd probably never work, but at least it'd weed out the morons in society. I also find it funny that there are place that have "cages" outside for smokers. It was funny when I walked by one, and one of the guys inside said he felt like an animal on exhibit at the zoo. I'm glad I never started smoking or using any other tobacco/nitatine product.

[Jakob @ Jan 16th 2008 1:12AM]

What about the rest of Scandinavia? Screw them, Norway has the oil :P

[Isindil @ Jan 16th 2008 1:13AM]

Heh, that's kinda neat, at least if you consider I'm Norwegian. Looking forward to try it out.

[Jake @ Jan 16th 2008 1:19AM]

Now, if only they'd allow smoking again...

...I would never fly on their planes!!! Even if they had ALL of the tech goodies (Wi-Fi, GSM/3G, etc)

[Shawin @ Jan 16th 2008 2:09AM]

They should provide free macbook Airs in flight to use internet lol.

[hkpuipui99 @ Jan 16th 2008 2:25AM]

Great. Now I have something to entertain me when the giddy b**ch next to me gossip on the phone for a 15-hour flight.

[Gorjan @ Jan 16th 2008 2:46AM]

You don't have to. Their longest flight is 4 hrs. :-)

But I have my doubts this will work out. It's like being stuck in an elevator with someone talking on the phone for 4 hrs. It would drive me to insanity.
Luckly I don't fly too much with them, as I usually fly with SAS. Better service, newer planes!

[ethana2 @ Jan 16th 2008 3:38AM]

If you don't have noise canceling headphones by now....

[Gorjan @ Jan 16th 2008 3:47AM]

Noise-cancelling earphones are too big and unpractical (extra batteries), so I use in-ear phones.

[Andrew @ Jan 17th 2008 3:53PM]

Gorjan, you know that Norwegian made of one the worlds largest purchases of Boeings last year? The SAS fleet is old compared with Norwegian. And SAS *is* contemplating a massive purchase to renew their aging fleet. Meanwhile Norwegian will be getting their brand new planes some time next year.

[peter @ Jan 16th 2008 3:01AM]

wifi cool.. but why phones? It was one of a few places you could actually relax.. and now I'll be hearing all those ring tones again. Luckily, smoking will never be allowed again I think :)

[hemmy @ Jan 16th 2008 3:23AM]

Se til helvete og kom dere vekk! Det er ikke en bikkje, det er en slags ting! Det imiterer en bikkje, det er ikke virkelig! KOM DERE VEKK IDIOTER!!!

Just having fun with some broken norwegian in our pop culture :)

[Jakob @ Jan 16th 2008 3:29AM]

Ikke godt nogle forstår dig? :P

[jamesmac @ Jan 16th 2008 5:58AM]

Forferdelig! Terrible, terrible news! It wont be the businessmen using their phones onboard... It will be the 14 year olds ringing their friends to tell them that they can ring them from a plane... Isn't it so COOOOOL... And now try ringing me, my new ring tone is so COOOOOOOL... And did you hear that Gunnar kissed Ragnhild last night? So COOOOOOOOOL... ARGHHHHHHH!!!!!

[John @ Jan 16th 2008 9:59AM]

amen to that. If it was up to me, there'd be cell-phone jammers on all forms of medium-to-long-distance public transit (aka any public transit outside of short, daily commuting). In fact, I'd personally love cell phones to be jammed on all forms of public transit, but that might be going to far for most people's taste.

[Idan Gazit @ Jan 16th 2008 7:43AM]

Yeah, because smoking inside a confined space with other passengers for any length of time is a GREAT idea. Real witty.

If the joke had actual humor value I wouldn't have wasted my time commenting, but really -- "if they'd only allow smoking again?"

Cigarette smoke is poison. It is poison that you force on everybody around you, and if you're stuck on an airplace for X hours then you're forcing it on all of the passengers who are with you.

Probably should've chosen your words more wisely, bub.

[insertAlias @ Jan 16th 2008 11:27AM]

Damn, who pissed in your cornflakes this morning? It was obviously a joke, not meant to be taken seriously. And whats worse is that you recognized that it was a joke and still replied to it like it was serious.

Chill out. Stress is a poison too.

[Jonny @ Jan 16th 2008 12:21PM]

@insertalias

word

[Jeff A @ Jan 16th 2008 9:06AM]

http://www.cubana.cu/html/ingles/informacion_e02.html

There is still at least one airline that still lets you puff it up while flying.

[Walter @ Jan 16th 2008 11:12AM]

No jokes about planes wearing red condoms yet?

Sad.

[Ipaq3115 @ Jan 16th 2008 12:45PM]

Is that the silver surfer on the back of the plane?

[Andrew @ Jan 17th 2008 3:56PM]

Norwegian Air Shuttle has portraits of famous Norwegians on their planes. I can't tell who that is - but some of the other aircraft have people like Grieg (composer), Ibsen ("A Dolls House") and Munch ("The Scream").

[dosguy @ Jan 16th 2008 4:42PM]

I meant it when I said it before, and I mean it now. I will dance on the grave of the first SOB tossed out at 30,000 feet for yacking on a cell-phone. Man, woman, OR child!

[Arthur Nonamiss @ Jan 16th 2008 5:05PM]

What kind of plane is it?

Oh, it's a big pretty white plane with red stripes, curtains in the windows and wheels and it looks like a big Tylenol!

[Andrew @ Jan 17th 2008 3:58PM]

It's a standard Boeing 737.

[Arthur Nonamiss @ Jan 22nd 2008 2:22PM]

You missed the joke entirely. You need to brush up on your 1980's disaster film parodies. :)

[Liam @ Jan 16th 2008 9:18PM]

There's actually a German airline currently in the process of starting up a smoking-allowed airline. The airline is called Smokers International Airline, or SMINTair. The airline claims it will use air-conditioning technology that will make the air quality even better than on regular flights. You can check them out at http://smintair.com/

However it looks like a new German law banning smoking on public transportation might put Smintair in jeopardy.