Airbus is in discussions with airlines to provide its joint-venture company OnAir's on-board mobile telephony and internet services, following its approval by the European Commission's competition director general.
Offered as a standard option across Airbus's product range, the first customer flight is expected in Europe on a short-haul aircraft, which may be a retrofit or new build.
As well as mobile telephone calls, the service allows personal digital assistant and laptop use for reading and sending email and accessing corporate networks and the internet. Cabin crew have complete control of onboard telephony and can switch the system to text messages only during a flight's night phase. The service is switched off completely during landing and take-off. For telephone calls, users are billed by their own service providers with an international roaming tariff.
"It will also be available on Boeing aircraft once we have gained certification, probably later this year," says OnAir, which is part owned by air transport communications company Sita as well as Airbus.
Despite the move to offer the service, long-haul telephone use research is ongoing. OnAir expects to make an announcement later this year about the airlines and other partners involved in that research.
In related research, improved broadband services will be tested on an Airbus aircraft next year under the €12.6 million ($16.2 million) mobile wideband global link system project funded by the European Union's Sixth Framework research mechanism.
* George Cooper, formerly head of Sita's Airline Operations and Aircom services business unit, has been appointed as OnAir's chief executive.
ROB COPPINGER / LONDON
Source: Flight International
