More than three-quarters of British travellers would use mobile-enabled internet access to check emails, browse the internet or update Facebook or Twitter status mid-flight, a poll of 2,000 consumers has found.
Research carried out by mobile operator Aeromobile found that more than half would send texts and a quarter would use instant messaging. Only 17 per cent would make a call inflight.
Research company One Poll did not ask those surveyed if they would pay for these services.
Almost half of people questioned said they expect inflight mobile connectivity to become standard in the next few years and over a third believe an airline with an inflight mobile service is cutting edge.
Kevin Rogers, Aeromobile chief executive, said the research reflected the company's own experience.
He said: "In 2013, we saw close to an 80 per cent increase in the number of travellers using their mobile phones in the aircraft cabin and data usage on our network went up ten-fold. We also saw a 50 per cent increase in SMS traffic."
An identical poll carried out in Germany found 66 per cent would use phones in-flight if given the option.
Gary Noakes
