Lufthansa will roll-out its inflight mobile phone service across its entire long-haul fleet of over 100 aircraft this year.
The move will allow the airline's passengers to use their own mobile devices to text and browse online at 30,000ft.
The German carrier already has the Lufthansa Flynet system, a collaboration with GSM service provider Aeromobile, installed on eight A330s.
And today Boeing delivered to Lufthansa in Frankfurt the first B747-8 to be fully line-fitted with Aeromobile.
Aeromobile allows passengers to roam just as they would abroad and to stay connected during long-haul flights.
It has roaming agreements with more than 240 mobile phone operators worldwide, including German networks T-Mobile, Vodafone, e-Plus and O2 Germany and EE, O2, Vodafone and Three in the UK.
Kevin Rogers, Aeromobile's CEO, said: "It's great news that Lufthansa will be rolling out Aeromobile connectivity on their entire fleet this year.
"We know that passengers are keen to keep their mobile phones on inflight and Lufthansa clearly recognises the value of offering this service.
"The service will give travellers the flexibility to use their mobile devices as much or as little as they like during a flight, whether it's to send an SMS to a loved one, keep on top of emails or update their Facebook status."
Earlier today, Ryanair announced that its passengers can now use personal electronic devices for the entire duration of their flight (see news, February 6).
Graham Smith
