Emirates permits world's first in-flight cellphone call, plane doesn't crash

Like it or not, a new era has dawned. More than a year later than anticipated, Emirates says that the world's first authorized cellphone call was made by a passenger during an Airbus A340 flight between Dubai and Casablanca. Once the aircraft reached cruising altitude, passengers were permitted to make and receive both calls and text messages. Emirates plans to fit additional aircraft with the interference-blocking AeroMobile system later this year while adding BlackBerry and "other data services." To keep the annoyance factor to a minimum, the flight crew requests passengers to silence their ringers and will shut off the in-flight service when appropriate. For example, during long-haul, red-eye flights or breaking celebrity scandals on TMZ... we hope.

[Thanks, Jonathan F and Andrew B.]

[blake Jeffery @ Mar 21st 2008 3:40AM]

woahhh finally!, i can message my friends on planes yea!!!

[trekkie @ Mar 21st 2008 3:55AM]

I really don't want to be on a trans-pacific flight with some moron yapping on their cellphone for hours on end sitting beside me... SMS is fine, but voice...

[Zaf @ Mar 21st 2008 7:55AM]

Thats so true

[Michael LaFramboise @ Mar 21st 2008 4:51AM]

http://www.phonejammer.com/ ...maybe?

[rav0 @ Mar 21st 2008 5:16AM]

You have a problem with voice? Take note that you may end up seated next to "some moron who is yapping away" to their friend in the next seat, having a phone has nothing to do with it.

[Reader @ Mar 21st 2008 6:08AM]

Thank god for my Shures, everyone on the plane can be on their cellphones for all I care.

[jimmy @ Mar 21st 2008 7:52AM]

DITTO! Shure E5C FTW!

[BowserUSC @ Mar 22nd 2008 6:20PM]

Agreed. I fly cross country from New York to LA. I can just imagine all the annoying spoiled girls who are constantly going to be yapping on their cell phone in a high pitch and whiny voice. God help me if I have to listen to them, I may just bring the whole plane down and end the misery.

[Artiom @ Mar 21st 2008 4:40AM]

... can you play doom during the flight?

[mushrooshi @ Mar 21st 2008 4:46AM]

OMG OMG IM FOURTH !!!!!111shift+1!!!!!!1!!one!!!shift+one!!!

Will it blend? Does it give me cancer? OOOO btw im 4th. Also, Apple rules MS sucks. MS rules apple sucks. Linux pwnz u all. Linux sucks.

[Michael LaFramboise @ Mar 21st 2008 4:50AM]

mushrooshi, you forgot to ask at how much fps Crysis can run

[mushrooshi @ Mar 21st 2008 5:15AM]

stfu mac user.

OS X owns ur face.

[BowserUSC @ Mar 22nd 2008 6:14PM]

why do you think that is so funny?

[Duncan @ Mar 21st 2008 4:47AM]

Emirates YAWN. They are so not the first. AF has been offering mobile phone usage on their Dedicate services onboard the A319LR for a while now.

[IndiaTech @ Mar 21st 2008 4:55AM]

Stupid move Emirates. I mean look at Oceanic Air. They tried and look what happened!!!

[mymaclife @ Mar 21st 2008 6:14AM]

"what does this button on my cellphone do?" BOOM!!!

Great idea!

[rayza563 @ Mar 21st 2008 7:03AM]

Anyone actually realise the caption.. 'elo rick' bitches CASABLANCA! ! ! ! ! !. One of the greatest western movies of all time.

[Jeremy K. @ Mar 21st 2008 12:24PM]

Yes.

[Fernando @ Mar 21st 2008 3:54PM]

I lol'd at the picture too, figured more people would get the reference in the comments.

[navamske @ Mar 21st 2008 8:53AM]

You say Dubai, I say hello

[ZeitgeistXIII @ Mar 21st 2008 9:59AM]

Well here comes the "cell" and "non-cell" sections if they are smart lol.

[Shazzer @ Mar 21st 2008 9:57AM]

I'm with trekkie on this one. This is going to be a nightmare if it's not limited in some way. Having to listen to one side of strangers' phone conversations is a special kind of torture.

I commute to work by train 30 minutes each way, and if it weren't for the existence of a "quiet car" where cellphone use is forbidden, I would probably have multiple convictions for assault and battery by now.

SMS is fine as long as the phone is set to silent/vibrate, but voice service should remain off limits for the comfort of everybody onboard.

[SirWalksAlot @ Mar 21st 2008 9:59AM]

First?

Didn't the people on the hijacked planes on September 11, 2001 make calls from their cell phones? Or am I missing something?

[Katarn @ Mar 21st 2008 11:13AM]

Hence first "authorized"

[a ham sandwich @ Mar 21st 2008 11:54AM]

"september eleventh two thousand and one"? who are you? rudy guiliani?

jk. i keed. i keed.

[lee @ Mar 21st 2008 11:14AM]

Didn't he say 'Elo, Meester Rick'? The implication is that HB lost the girl...

[Sauerkraut @ Mar 21st 2008 12:08PM]

Mythbusters proved cell phones don't do anything on planes, they just don't want people yapping and they'd have to test out every cell phone not just one to see if it makes it crash (new cell phones everday) would cost $$$

[av8or @ Mar 21st 2008 12:30PM]

that highly limited 'experiment' mythbusters did hardly comes close to every possible combination of equipment and avionics arrangements possible in modern commercial air travel. this is the worst idea ever, allowing cell usage is not a good idea, no one is that important that they need to be in contact constantly. if they were, they'd be flying on a private jet with a sat phone.

[Sauerkraut @ Mar 21st 2008 12:44PM]

yea but they had researched it I'm sure before making that conclusion, they cn't fit everything in the show

[Allen @ Mar 21st 2008 1:53PM]

I agree that SMS and email should be allowed, but no voice.

[Greggy_SD @ Mar 25th 2008 12:21AM]

"World's first authorized cellphone call..." That's complete BS. Qualcomm did an in-flight demo with American Airlines nearly 4 years ago. Full authorization from the FAA and FCC. There was an MD-80 full of reporters and executives making voice calls and sending SMS messages from their own phones while the plane was flying over Texas. RF coverage within the cabin was provided by a picocell, which used the Globalstar LEO network as the backhaul to move user traffic to and from the ground. Pretty much the same architecture Emirates is using...

[Bluejay & Cardinal @ Mar 21st 2008 3:36PM]

it's not the FAA that keeps u from using ur phone it's the FCC not cause of crashing or blowing up the plane because your going 400 mph to 600 mph and a cell tower every 5 or so miles airplane stuff is shielded for 1 thing i fly alot and i bring my cell BUT w/ no ext booster u might get 1 bar w/ it u get five or more it's also better to use an anolog phone i also bla bla bla stupid fight atendet P.A Please turn off all electronics bla bla bla NO WERE IT SAYS BY LAW U CAN"T USE THEM

[maan_e @ Mar 21st 2008 5:27PM]

It's about time!

[maanco @ Mar 24th 2008 12:01AM]

It's ABOUT TIME!

[MJZimmer88 @ Mar 23rd 2008 11:03AM]

Can you hear me now? No? Shit... stupid altitude gettin' all up in my grill yo.

[MJZimmer88 @ Mar 23rd 2008 11:03AM]

Can you hear me now? No? Shit... stupid altitude gettin' all up in my grill yo.

[Damien Davison @ Mar 24th 2008 9:00PM]

So confused. Wasn't this the first? Isn't this old news? This article even mentions the planned Emirates testing?

http://www.smh.com.au/news/mobiles--handhelds/green-light-for-inflight-mobile-trial/2007/04/18/1176696904629.html

[Kevin Fox @ Mar 25th 2008 5:46PM]

Silly youngsters. Cellphone calls on planes were completely okay in the US until 1991, and later in other parts. Emirates may the the first to permit since the ban, but they can hardly lay claim to the first in-flight call. For that matter a bunch of 9/11 passengers made phone calls in the air, as well as the annoying guy next to me on JetBlue a few months ago.