Business

Saturday March 28, 2009

Airlines look at new phone devices for the long haul

By LEONG HUNG YEE and LEE KIAN SEONG


FRUSTRATED that you can’t make cell phone calls during flights? Here’s some good news – the use of cell phones on board commercial aircraft is gradually becoming more acceptable during flight hours. In fact, several airlines have already allowed it and more are expected to follow suit.

Mobile phones were previously banned from use in aircraft as it is generally perceived as a potential hazard; there is the fear that such electronic devices can interfere with aircraft systems.

A Sepang-based pilot said if someone uses their mobile phone, the aircrafts Hertzian waves may be interrupted and the communication between the pilot and the air traffic management tower might be unclear.

“During take-off and landing, there is a high level of communication taking place so an interruption is more serious. To ensure the safety of the passengers and aircraft, we always advise passengers to turn off their mobile phones,” he says.

However, with the advent of technology, this may no longer be an issue or so, some quarters seem to think.

A passenger enjoying her conversation on her own mobile phone on a flight powered by AeroMobile in-flight mobile phone services.

To cater to the strong demand among frequent fliers, several airlines have already introduced and allowed the use of mobile phones on flight.

The latest airline to join the bandwagon is Malaysia Airlines (MAS). The airline teamed up with AeroMobile Ltd, the world’s leading in-flight mobile phone operator, to become the first air carrier in Asia to offer in-flight mobile phone and data services.

The AeroMobile systems enables in-flight voice calls and text messages. Currently, AeroMobile services are available on one MAS Boeing 777-200 aircraft, which would serve MAS flights covering selected European routes, Australia, and across the Asian region including China and Japan.

MAS says the introduction of the services enables passengers on its flights to safely use their own Blackberry-type devices and mobile phones to send and receive e-mails and text messages, and to make and receive voice calls.

Commercial director Datuk Rashid Khan says MAS continuously invests in technology while looking at innovative ways to enhance its products and services to meet the global demand and customer expectations.

“We are delighted to be strategically aligned with Maxis Communications Bhd and AeroMobile to offer the latest passenger communications technology on board our aircraft.

“This is one of the inflight service comforts that we are introducing on a trial basis for our customers as a Five Star value carrier and we expect these new capabilities to further enhance the high-quality customer service that our passengers have come to expect from MAS,” he says.

MAS’ cabin crew is being trained to guide passengers on the need to be mindful of other passengers’ preferences at certain times. For example, during night flights, passengers are encouraged to switch their phones to silent or vibrate mode.

MAS says Maxis postpaid customers will be able to make and receive voice calls at RM15 per minute, or send and receive data at RM100 per megabyte. Users will be charged RM3 for each SMS sent while receiving SMSes is free of charge.

Maxis anticipates that as the service develops, rates will progressively fall. Its postpaid customers will be billed on their regular monthly phone bills as with any other international roaming call.

As an introductory promotion, Maxis is offering SMS at RM2 from now until April 15.

AeroMobile usage patterns on MAS indicated that there was a preference for texting and data usage among frequent and business travellers.

AeroMobile chief commercial officer Peter Tuggey tells StarBizWeek that he expects more airlines to install the in-flight mobile phone: “With MAS leading the way, we expect to see our service become widely available in the future and are already in talks with other airlines in the region.”

As it stands now, with AeroMobile, passengers have Internet access via cellular devices such as Blackberry’s and other GPRS enabled devices.

AeroMobile, in partnership with Panasonic is also able to provide the aviation industries most advanced and comprehensive package of connectivity services including: Live TV and broadband Internet services based upon a Wi-Fi backbone.

Tuggey points out that Emirates has been successfully using the system for the past year and Qantas has also undertaken a successful trial and was due to roll out the system in its fleet later this year.

Budget carrier, AirAsia Bhd is also in the midst of launching its in-flight mobile phone services. The airline will partner OnAir, a provider of air transport focused applications to roll-out its offerings.

Chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes tells StarBiz: “We will introduce a mobile phone on-board system which enables passengers to make voice calls, send or receive SMS and MMS and GPRS Data. The service will be available during flight when the aircraft is 4,000m above ground.”

“(But) for now we are only working on providing flight cellphone service only,” he adds.

An OnAir spokesperson confirmed that AirAsia fleets would be installed with its in-flight mobile phone communication service.

OnAir said it also had agreements with AirAsia to install its technology and service on their Airbus A320 this year and AirAsia X’s Airbus A330 next year.

In 2007, OnAir introduced onboard mobile telephony services, allowing passengers to use their own mobile phones to make and receive calls, send and receive text and multimedia messages as well as to exchange data over GPRS. This year, passengers will be able to use their own laptops to access the Internet and corporate networks inflight, OnAir said.

“A growing number of airlines either currently offer inflight communications services or plan to offer these in the near future.

“In fact, according to a 2008 survey sponsored by Airline Business and SITA (aviation IT specialist), 42% to 44% of European airlines plan to offer some form of onboard mobile telephony with in the next one to two years,” he adds.

To date, OnAir mobile service has been used on more than 2,000 flights to 74 cities in 34 countries in Europe and the Middle East, and will soon be in use in Asia and Latin America.

AeroMobile and OnAir are currently the two main players in in-flight mobile phone services. The former’s clients comprises Emirates, Qantas, V Australia and Saudi Arabian Airlines. OnAir’s clients includes AirAsia and its AirAsia X subsidiary, Airblue of Pakistan, Middle Eastern carrier Jazeera Airways, Kingfisher of India, Oman Air, Royal Jordanian, Shenzhen Airlines of China and new Kuwait premium carrier Wataniya.

Although some airlines have yet to provide the in-flight mobile services, these airlines offers satellite phone or other in-flights communication method.

Cathay Pacific Airways’ product manager Alex McGowan says its passengers currently have the option of making calls via personal satellite handset phones or wall-mounted satellite phones.

“The charges were at a flat rate of US$8.80 per minute or part thereof, payable by most major credit cards,” he says.

McGowan says laptop usage was allowed during flights currently and its flights were equipped to provide in-flight laptop power.

“This is being progressively introduced across the board and the service is available to all passengers in First and Business Class and on a shared basis in Economy Class,” he adds.

Meanwhile, Etihad Airways country manager Malaysia Adam Phillips says its in-seat satellite phone services was part of the company’s commitment to its guests for their use.

“We cannot deny that in-flight mobile service is gaining popularity globally with the success of the series of trials and test put on this service to ensure that it does not compromise security,” he says, adding that this is an option that Etihad Airways would explore should there be substantial demand in the near future.

A Singapore Airlines spokesperson contacted by StarBiz says the usage levels for Singapore Airlines’ KrisFone, a personal in-seat inflight telephone was moderate to low.

“Some business travellers use it for essentials such as conference calls and interviews. Some leisure travellers seem to enjoy the novelty of making a brief call to family or friends to say hello from the air.

“A call is charged at US$5.90 for the first minute, and subsequent six second blocks are charged at US$0.59 per block,” says the official, adding that the airline is currently evaluating the implementation of other in-flight connectivity services, but has no firm plans at the moment.

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