jimntx
Veteran
(And, we f/as will be expected to referee who's talking so loud that everyone else on their cell phones can't hear. And, it will really get fun on evening flights when people are trying to sleep.)
Mobile calls allowed on half of all airlines by 2008
Along with internet and email access at 30,000 feet...
By Andy McCue
Business Traveler Guide
Published: Wednesday 1 November 2006
Almost half of all airlines plan to offer in-flight mobile phone
connectivity for passengers by the end of 2008.
The figures in the annual Airline IT Trends survey show an appetite
for a range of in-flight passenger communications, with 59 per cent
of airlines also planning to offer internet and email access by the
end of 2008.
The in-flight use of mobile phones by passengers on short-haul
airlines in Europe is expected to be approved by telecoms regulators
by the end of this year and UK airline BMI has already signed up for
trials of a satellite-based technology for in-flight mobile calls
next year, along with Air France, Portugal's TAP and Ryanair.
Airbus is already planning to replace the out-dated illuminated 'no
smoking' signs above passenger seats with 'no mobiles' to prevent
their use during take-off and landing.
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Make your voice heard - take our latest poll
The Airline IT Trends survey also highlights the increasing adoption
of self-service technology for passengers. Online check-in is now
being used by 42 per cent of airlines and this is expected to
increase to almost three-quarters (72 per cent) by the end of next
year.
There has also been a huge rise in online bookings. A third of
airline tickets worldwide are now sold online, compared with just 20
per cent last year, and 72 per cent of those tickets were sold
through the airlines' own websites. The percentage of airlines
issuing e-tickets has also doubled in the last year to 59 per cent,
and this is expected to rise further to almost 80 per cent by next
year.
Behind all this is a move to IP connectivity. More than 80 per cent
of airline locations now have IP connectivity, and this is predicted
to rise to 93 per cent within two years. Almost 80 per cent of
airline systems are also IP-enabled and this is expected to rise to
87 per cent by the end of 2008.
Paul Coby, chairman of airline industry IT body SITA and CIO of
British Airways, said airlines are on course to be the world's first
fully web-enabled industry.
The survey is conducted among the world's top 200 airlines by SITA
and Airline Business magazine.
Mobile calls allowed on half of all airlines by 2008
Along with internet and email access at 30,000 feet...
By Andy McCue
Business Traveler Guide
Published: Wednesday 1 November 2006
Almost half of all airlines plan to offer in-flight mobile phone
connectivity for passengers by the end of 2008.
The figures in the annual Airline IT Trends survey show an appetite
for a range of in-flight passenger communications, with 59 per cent
of airlines also planning to offer internet and email access by the
end of 2008.
The in-flight use of mobile phones by passengers on short-haul
airlines in Europe is expected to be approved by telecoms regulators
by the end of this year and UK airline BMI has already signed up for
trials of a satellite-based technology for in-flight mobile calls
next year, along with Air France, Portugal's TAP and Ryanair.
Airbus is already planning to replace the out-dated illuminated 'no
smoking' signs above passenger seats with 'no mobiles' to prevent
their use during take-off and landing.
Got two seconds?
Make your voice heard - take our latest poll
The Airline IT Trends survey also highlights the increasing adoption
of self-service technology for passengers. Online check-in is now
being used by 42 per cent of airlines and this is expected to
increase to almost three-quarters (72 per cent) by the end of next
year.
There has also been a huge rise in online bookings. A third of
airline tickets worldwide are now sold online, compared with just 20
per cent last year, and 72 per cent of those tickets were sold
through the airlines' own websites. The percentage of airlines
issuing e-tickets has also doubled in the last year to 59 per cent,
and this is expected to rise further to almost 80 per cent by next
year.
Behind all this is a move to IP connectivity. More than 80 per cent
of airline locations now have IP connectivity, and this is predicted
to rise to 93 per cent within two years. Almost 80 per cent of
airline systems are also IP-enabled and this is expected to rise to
87 per cent by the end of 2008.
Paul Coby, chairman of airline industry IT body SITA and CIO of
British Airways, said airlines are on course to be the world's first
fully web-enabled industry.
The survey is conducted among the world's top 200 airlines by SITA
and Airline Business magazine.
