Mid-air mobiles? Think not.
Australian business travellers are happy to be able to leave their mobile phones switched off when flying, despite moves in Europe to extend their reach to aircraft in mid-flight, according to corporate travel specialist FCm Travel Solutions.
Two European airlines are to trial a mid-air mobile phone service next year, but FCm Travel Solutions said there was no clamour from Australian corporates for Qantas or Virgin to join them.
“Quite the opposite: I think the prevailing view is that it’s quite nice to be able to switch the phone off and focus on other things,” said Rob Dell, FCm Travel Solutions Commercial Director Asia Pacific.
“I don’t see any business advantage for an airline in Australia in offering mid-air mobile use. We haven’t detected any business advantage for Qantas over Virgin in allowing their passengers to use their mobile phones once the aircraft has landed and come to a stop, although I can see that this can be useful in some situations, where people are being met off the aircraft, for instance.”
Mr Dell said privacy would also be an issue for business people speaking on mobiles when there may be a competitor eavesdropping nearby.
Mr Dell’s comments are supported by the results of a recent survey which found that 89 per cent of air travellers do not want mobiles on planes, rising to 93 per cent among the over 50s.
British carrier BMI (formerly British Midland Airlines Ltd.) and TAP-Air Portugal have announced their intention to be among the world’s first to offer in-flight mobile phone services, which are currently banned on existing aircraft for fear of interference with aircraft radio navigation systems.
They would use a new system of on-board base stations which is said to dramatically reduce the electronic output from mobile phones, rendering them safe to use on board.
Cabin staff would be able to de-activate the system during times of rest, however the organisation representing flight attendants says its members are concerned that use of phones in-flight could spark “air rage” incidents.
Graham Muldoon
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