Aircraft

The German government last month cleared the use of the AeroMobile and OnAir mobile phone services aboard airliners, subject to airworthiness approval by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). But two of the nation’s leading carriers are in no hurry to make use of their new freedom.

Lufthansa and low-fare operator Air Berlin both say that their passengers oppose inflight cellular voice services and that they have no plans to offer the capability to passengers. Data services – email and Internet for Lufthansa, text messaging and email for Air Berlin – are on the cards, however. 

“We have surveyed our customers and the overwhelming majority are against onboard mobiles,” says Lufthansa spokesman Michael Lamberty. For Air Berlin, Alexandra Muller says mobile voice would be “an annoyance, especially on night flights.”

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