Using electronics on Planes

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ubernoob

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#152453 27-Sep-2014 08:08

This may be of interest to some of you jet setters out there

http://mashable.com/2014/09/26/phone-calls-european-flights/

:-)

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#1138601 27-Sep-2014 08:51

On the Air NZ A320 you can now use a kindle and phone in airplane mode for the whole flight, including take off and landing. I don't think you can on the Boeings, at least not yet.

sbiddle

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#1138603 27-Sep-2014 08:58

It's really just expanding on the FAA ruling because many people won't even bother putting devices in flights mode anyway.

In the real world it means very little, without onboard cell capable gear you get virtually no coverage inside a plane anyway since antennas are not pointed towards the sky.

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#1138605 27-Sep-2014 08:59

timmmay: On the Air NZ A320 you can now use a kindle and phone in airplane mode for the whole flight, including take off and landing. I don't think you can on the Boeings, at least not yet.

Air NZ haven't bothered applying for certification for the 733's because they're all being replaced in their fleet by next year.

Zippity

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#1138612 27-Sep-2014 09:28

Here is an interesting video on installing Wi-Fi on a modern jet.

Geektastic

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#1138617 27-Sep-2014 09:40

I've used wifi on Emirates and on Air NZ too.

I still maintain that if it was as dangerous as they make out then things like phones etc would have been banned by now.

freitasm

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#1138627 27-Sep-2014 09:47

Note the article is not about making phone calls, but about using electronics gate to gate. The author expanded that into "OMG we will be able to make phone calls" when in reality you can't because there is no way to get cell reception up in the sky after a certain altitude.

Air NZ is already doing it, QANTAS is already doing it, with the difference they ask to keep devices in aeroplane mode - the immediate benefit to you is that it will save battery life seeing there's no signal to pickup anyway...

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sbiddle

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#1138628 27-Sep-2014 09:51

Geektastic: I've used wifi on Emirates and on Air NZ too.

I still maintain that if it was as dangerous as they make out then things like phones etc would have been banned by now.

Air NZ don't have onboard WiFi so I can't imagine your speeds were very good!

nakedmolerat

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#1138629 27-Sep-2014 09:54

By the end of 10 hr flight to Singapore, your phone will get hot and battery is flat due to continous searching for network.

coffeebaron

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#1138648 27-Sep-2014 10:47

nakedmolerat: By the end of 10 hr flight to Singapore, your phone will get hot and battery is flat due to continous searching for network.

The next terrorist attack: plane downed by overheated exploding mobile phones!

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#1138662 27-Sep-2014 10:59

The author has neglected to mention services like aeromobile which allow on-board roaming.

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#1138667 27-Sep-2014 11:18

sbiddle:
Geektastic: I've used wifi on Emirates and on Air NZ too.

I still maintain that if it was as dangerous as they make out then things like phones etc would have been banned by now.

Air NZ don't have onboard WiFi so I can't imagine your speeds were very good!

Actually at least one of their planes does. It was one of the new black ones.

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#1138681 27-Sep-2014 11:37

There is no onboard wifi on Air NZ aircraft. There is a picocell installed on some domestic aircraft which uses cellular connections to the aircraft and then a satellite connection to the ground. These were disabled over a year ago due to low uptake.

My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.

afe66

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#1138695 27-Sep-2014 12:08

No info about the ATR or the BombairersBombairers either.
ANZ will probably only certify the A320 in its domestic fleet, which is annoying for me because I flybthem more often than the A320.

A.

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#1138713 27-Sep-2014 12:28

afe66: No info about the ATR or the BombairersBombairers either.
ANZ will probably only certify the A320 in its domestic fleet, which is annoying for me because I flybthem more often than the A320.

A.

Probably dependent on whether a cheap STC can be picked up for the Q and the ATR. As they are going to be around longer term it would be good to get them certified. As other operators certify their fleets it becomes easier to add the NZ aircraft to an existing STC.

The 737 and 767 exit the fleet next year which is why they have been left out of the fleet.

My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.

sbiddle

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#1138723 27-Sep-2014 12:41

Are NZ deployed DOmestic A320's with OnAir which was only ever available for Vodafone customers (as Telecom or 2degrees didn't have roaming agreements). This only offered mobile usage and mobile data over GPRS, and didn't offer WiFi. The service got pulled about 18 months ago due to a lack of use.

Air NZ's 77W and 789 fleet have all come prewired for WiFi and there was a lot of talk last year that Air NZ were looking at onboard WiFi for these aircraft. Panasonic launched coverage in the Pacific area and built a ground station in Adelaide to cover this region but Air NZ have so far not announced anything.

With the launch of Ka band satellites at present and imminent launch of Ku band kit I now wouldn't expect Air NZ to do anything for at least the next year as their is no point committing to Ku band when Ka offers a better solution.

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