Mobile phones on Virgin Atlantic flights

Somewhat controversially, the use of mobile phones on planes was first sanctioned back in 2008. And whilst it never really took off (excuse the pun!), Virgin Atlantic is rolling it out over its entire fleet over the next three years, starting with flights out of Gatwick and Manchester in May. Whilst on a day-to-day basis (and some might argue on a minute-to-minute basis) we couldn’t be without mobile phones, it seems that the general public don’t want phones to be used during flights. It seems the mobile craze in the skies hasn’t really taken off and whilst we use our phones for the Internet on the train and in restaurants to check Facebook or Tweet where we are, it’s not something we want to do 30,000 feet up! A 2011 survey by Fly.com revealed that less than 5% of passengers actually want mobiles to be allowed in our skies! The Fly.com survey of 1,300 frequent travellers, also revealed: 30% of travellers would actually be put off flying with an airline if mobile phones were allowed Objections included constant interruption from email alerts and social networking and people speaking very loudly whilst on them Passengers would not want to pay more than £5 per flight for Internet access Less than 1% of passengers would pay £10 per flight for Internet access. In February 2009, Ryanair was one of the first to allow mobile phone usage on their aircraft but quickly reversed that decision. Now mobile phones are not allowed to be used on their aircraft in flight. British Airways llows mobile use for its Business Class passengers flying between London City and New York but not for voice calls, just for texts, emails and Internet usage. bmi and Qantas launched similar text and data usage trials. Emirates offers the full use of mobile phones on selected services, via the AeroMobile facility. Several years ago, a Telegraph Travel petition saw 7,000 signatures expressing concerns over mobile phones being used on flights, regarding security and safety issues, not to mention the irritation of listening to fellow passengers on the phone! Speaking about the survey, Aaron Ritoper, General Manager of Fly.com, said: “These results really highlight the perception UK travellers have that connectivity on flights could be more of an interference than an enhancement. We believe this perception will change as services are introduced, given that people already enjoy wireless connectivity when commuting by train.” Cheap Gatwick Parking