Planes to offer mobile connectivity

Air France hopes to be one of the first airlines to offer a commercial mobile phone service on short-haul European and north African flights.

Travellers on the new Airbus A318 service will be able to enjoy in-flight mobile connectivity from March to September 2007 when Air France will conduct a commercial test with its technology partners Airbus SAS and Sita, it was announced yesterday.

Passengers will be able to experience a range of communication services including mobile phone connection, email and the internet thanks to a technology system called OnAir which emulates a mobile network inside the plane.

British Airline BMI and TAP-Air Portugal are also experimenting with the OnAir technology.

Air France will conduct a survey of passengers using the service and depending on their feedback will decide whether to extend the service to other aircraft.

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