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Emirates announces inflight phone use The much-anticipated use of mobile phones in aircraft cabins is moving ahead with the announcement this month by Emirates that it will install a system to make and receive phone calls. Emirates expects to board the system on its 777s in January, with equipment supplied by AeroMobile at a cost to the airline of approximately US$27 million. As it seeks to install the system, Emirates attempted to assure potential passengers in its November 8 release that it would do everything possible to minimize disruption. “Emirates will fully utilize the capabilities of the system to ensure that passengers who wish to communicate can do so conveniently and discreetly while preserving the privacy of fellow travelers,” said the release. Among the steps the airline will take, will be to encourage passengers to switch phones to a silent or vibrate mode; give the cabin crew full control of the use of the system, allow calling only after the aircraft reaches cruise altitude; and limit the number of calls being made to five or six at a time. Like most airlines, Emirates has an inflight phone system that handles approximately 13,000 minutes of inflight calls every month. Through use of the AeroMobile system, passengers will still be charged per call for using their own phones and billed based on standard roaming charges. Calls will be allowed only on those systems that have the AeroMobile equipment.
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