Lufthansa to allow long-haul passengers to use mobiles
Lufthansa has confirmed it is to allow all long-haul passengers to use their mobiles to text and browse the internet from 30,000-feet later this year.
The airline, which already has eight aircraft with mobile connectivity, will roll out the service across its entire long-haul fleet of over 100 aircraft in 2014.
Using the AeroMobile network, the service is currently available on selected A330s flying from Munich and Frankfurt to North America and the Middle East.
AeroMobile’s services are also available on nine other airlines, including Virgin Atlantic, Etihad and Emirates.
The service is available to customers of more than 240 mobile phone operators worldwide, incuding Vodafone, T-Mobile, Three and 02.
Lufthansa said prices are typically similar to ‘rest of world’ terrestrial roaming rates. Customers can’t, at present, make voice calls but Lufthansa said it had not ruled this out.
"It’s great news that Lufthansa will be rolling out AeroMobile connectivity on their entire fleet this year; we know that passengers are keen to keep their mobile phones on inflight and Lufthansa clearly recognises the value of offering this service," said Kevin Rogers, CEO of AeroMobile.
"The service will give travellers the flexibility to use their mobile devices as much or as little as they like during a flight, whether it’s to send an SMS to a loved one, keep on top of emails or update their Facebook status."
This week Ryanair became the latest airline to allow passengers to use portable electronic devices, such as smartphones, tablets, e-readers, MP3 players and laptops, for the duration of their flight, including take off and landing.
Ryanair passenger must place devices in flight mode, so they can’t be used to go online, send texts or make calls and they can’t be used during safety briefings.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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