Like it or loathe it, Virgin has become the first British carrier to offer access to mobile phone calls on its new A330 aircraft, with plans to extend the service to its B747s.
The carrier says it will have 20 aircraft fitted with the Aeromobile technology by the end of 2012, including B747s currently undergoing a £50 million refurbishment programme (for more details see online news April 4).
The carrier recently launched the ability to make and receive mobile phone calls on board its new three-class Airbus A330 aircraft, which also features Virgin’s revamped Upper Class offering (for a review of the seat on the carrier’s London to New York route click here).
Passengers in all cabins are able to make and receive phone calls, as well as send and receive text messages, and access email and the internet via GPRS.
Customers will be charged according to their provider’s international roaming rates, and note that at present agreements have only been signed with O2 and Vodafone, so passengers signed to other networks cannot currently use the service.
Passengers will not be allowed to make calls during take-off and landing, and American law requires that the service be disabled when aircraft are within 250 miles of US airspace.
When reviewing the new A330 Upper Class seat earlier this month, Business Traveller’s Tom Otley was told by a flight attendant that calls would be permitted on night flights, but that passengers (in the Upper Class cabin at least) would be asked to move to the galley area if they were doing so.
British Airways offers OnAir mobile phone technology on its A318 Club World City flights between London City and New York, but phone calls are currently disabled, with only emails and text messages being allowed to be made and received.
For more information visit virginatlantic.com.
Report by Mark Caswell
