Telecom in-flight roaming

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Behodar

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Topic # 60893 5-May-2010 10:00

You can now use your phone on some international flights, although it's incredibly expensive. Details here. Coincidentally, I'm going to be on two of these "compatible" flights next month :)

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Reply # 326796 5-May-2010 10:39

$40/MB!

$1/min incoming calls isn't too bad

allstarnz

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Reply # 326800 5-May-2010 10:50

wonder if Vodafone will follow suite.

freitasm

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Reply # 326804 5-May-2010 10:54

Note the current flights are all on Emirates and Malaysia Airlines.

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simon14

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Reply # 326807 5-May-2010 10:59

$13 for outbound calls and $1 for inbound calls.

Hmm, if i needed to make a call, i'd send a text at 80c and ask the other party to call me.

Have a good old chin wag for 10 minutes and it'll only cost $10.

What planes really need is cheap wifi.

Vodafone could fire back and partner with Air NZ.

freitasm

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Reply # 326811 5-May-2010 11:05

simon14: Vodafone could fire back and partner with Air NZ.

Which would require Air NZ to retrofit planes with the GSM microcells required for this to work, sign up with a satellite provider, etc, etc... None of which is a cost I can see the airline going for now, seeing they are a lot more interested in enhancing their in-flight experience with better seats, etc.

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sbiddle

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Reply # 326812 5-May-2010 11:09

I've heard rumors that Air NZ are certainly very interested in this system and may be close to announcing something.

The Aeromobile system used by these airlines i a tie in with Panasonic who supply the IFE on Air NZ's A320's and will also feature on there new 777-300's.

Is there anybody who's flown on Emirates (or Qantas when they had their trials) in the past couple of years noticed many people making voice calls at all?

vinnieg

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Reply # 326843 5-May-2010 11:55

simon14: $13 for outbound calls and $1 for inbound calls.

Hmm, if i needed to make a call, i'd send a text at 80c and ask the other party to call me.

Have a good old chin wag for 10 minutes and it'll only cost $10.

What planes really need is cheap wifi.

Vodafone could fire back and partner with Air NZ.

+1, I'm expecting this in the new Air NZ planes, I know it's available in a lot of the domestic and some longhaul airliners in the US. STill in the early phases though, and I think Skype calls are blocked. apparently for security reasons, but MSN isn't

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vinnieg

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Reply # 326844 5-May-2010 11:56

http://www.seatguru.com/ also says that Emirates have started putting in Wifi in a couple of their planes, guess a retrofit might be an option for the rest :)

Would definitely sway me, Wifi vs inflight entertainment/laptop with movies/vids only, would love to check my email on a longhaul

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Behodar

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Reply # 326846 5-May-2010 11:58

simon14: $13 for outbound calls and $1 for inbound calls.

Hmm, if i needed to make a call, i'd send a text at 80c and ask the other party to call me.

Quite ridiculous, isn't it?

Anyway, I'll probably be tempted to log into MSN at some point during my flight (14 hours...) so it'll be interesting to see how well it runs (although not for long periods if I don't want a bill that costs more than the plane tickets!)

HiJinx

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Reply # 326982 5-May-2010 17:15

simon14: What planes really need is cheap wifi.

I was on the Inaugural flight of a Qantas A380 not long ago and it had WiFi.

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PenultimateHop

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Reply # 326996 5-May-2010 17:43

sbiddle: Is there anybody who's flown on Emirates (or Qantas when they had their trials) in the past couple of years noticed many people making voice calls at all?

Not really. I've tried it for the novelty value, and occasionally send SMS from aircraft which can handle it (QF A380s, etc).

The Qantas trial was on a single 767 on the CityFlyer routes in 2006/2007 - I flew it a couple of times and it was pretty handy to be able to use my BlackBerry, but I don't recall ever seeing anyone making calls.

sbiddle

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Reply # 327060 5-May-2010 19:33

PenultimateHop:
sbiddle: Is there anybody who's flown on Emirates (or Qantas when they had their trials) in the past couple of years noticed many people making voice calls at all?

Not really. I've tried it for the novelty value, and occasionally send SMS from aircraft which can handle it (QF A380s, etc).

The Qantas trial was on a single 767 on the CityFlyer routes in 2006/2007 - I flew it a couple of times and it was pretty handy to be able to use my BlackBerry, but I don't recall ever seeing anyone making calls.

I didn't think Qantas had the service running in their A380's - isn't it just seatback SMS?

sbiddle

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Reply # 327061 5-May-2010 19:37

vinnieg: http://www.seatguru.com/ also says that Emirates have started putting in Wifi in a couple of their planes, guess a retrofit might be an option for the rest :)

Would definitely sway me, Wifi vs inflight entertainment/laptop with movies/vids only, would love to check my email on a longhaul

Lufthansa had WiFi in 2003 and by ~2005 had this in virtually every plane. It was pulled when Boeing (who were the major financial backer of Conexion) pulled the plug due to exceptionally poor demand. Google will be your friend if you want prices but it was a two tier system depending on the flight and wasn't particularly expensive.

Lufthansa are now relaunching this again.

PenultimateHop

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Reply # 327076 5-May-2010 20:11

sbiddle: I didn't think Qantas had the service running in their A380's - isn't it just seatback SMS?

Yes - sorry I was unclear. Seat-back SMS on the QF offerings (and Emirates, as well).

I haven't seen WiFi on any QF plane... or IFE based Internet, either.

Johnk

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Reply # 327078 5-May-2010 20:17

Just a question, can anyone shed light on why text msgs are only 140 characters instead of the normal 160?

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