=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/n/a/2005/02/15/internatio= nal/i085537S09.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, February 15, 2005 (AP) Cell Phone Use Coming for Airbus Fliers By BRADLEY S. KLAPPER, Associated Press Writer (02-15) 11:05 PST GENEVA, Switzerland (AP) -- European aeronautics giant Airbus SAS signed a deal Tuesday that will gi= ve customers of its new superjumbo A380 planes the option of installing voice and data systems that will let passengers make calls using their own cell phones. The systems, which could also be fitted on other models from Airbus and Boeing Co., will also give passengers Internet access using their own laptops. Airbus's deal is with Geneva-based OnAir, a newly formed joint venture between Airbus and Netherlands-based I.T. company SITA Information Networking Computing. Many hurdles remain before passengers will be able to talk in-flight. OnAir believes it is close to getting European approval from telecom regulators, though Airbus will need more time to get aircraft certification. And U.S. approval is not likely for some time: The Federal Communications Commission is concerned that cell phone use in an airplane might interfere with cell phone use on the ground, while the Federal Aviation Administration worries that airborne cell phone calls could interfere with a plane's navigation and electrical systems. The FCC only recently agreed to consider ending the ban, and the FAA won= 't make any decisions until it gets back results from a study it commissioned, sometime next year. Airlines will also have to buy into the system. OnAir Chief Executive George Cooper would not offer specifics on sales, insisting only that European and Asian companies, as well as some American airlines, have shown interest. Are passengers ready to sit through a flight next to someone gabbing on the phone? Cooper suggested airlines might have to introduce new seating plans, the way they used to have smoking sections before all U.S. flights banned smoking. Crews also will be able to switch the voice system off when the aircraft enters its local night and the blinds go down. Mobile service could be disconnected, while still allowing text services, he said. Cooper said that once some airlines offer the service, passengers will demand that others, too. "We think it's likely that the day will come when, if you don't have thi= s, you may actually not get some of those passengers," he said. Users of mobile phones with roaming capability will be able to make and receive calls using a base station within the airplane, which will use GSM technology, the main European system. But most users will not be able to use the phones in North America and Asia, where GSM isn't as dominant. OnAir hopes to keep prices competitive, with international calls at $2.00 to $2.50 per minute. A text message should cost about 50 cents to send or receive. Prices for Internet access will be higher: about $15 per flight for basic services such as e-mail and $30 for a more comprehensive service, Cooper said. Seattle-based Connexion, a rival provider backed by Boeing, offers a similar Internet service on some long-haul Lufthansa flights, allowing passengers to log on using their own laptops at comparable rates ranging from $9.95 for 30 minutes to $29.95 for flights longer than six hours. Other Connexion customers include All Nippon Airways and Scandinavian Airlines. ___ On the Net: http://onair.aero ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2005 AP