Aircraft

Middle Eastern carrier Emirates has put into service its first Boeing 777-300 equipped with the AeroMobile in-flight phone service, following its introduction on a number of Airbus jets in its fleet.

The Dubai-based carrier claimed the first authorised in-flight mobile voice call in March after an A340-300 was fitted with the system, developed by an Arinc-Telenor joint venture.

Introduction on the 777 brings to 10 the number of aircraft in Emirates’ fleet which have the capability. Other equipped aircraft include A340-500s and A330-200s.

“There has been overwhelmingly positive feedback since the service launched in March, with 40-60% of passengers switching on their phones on flights where the service is available,” says AeroMobile chief Bjorn-Taale Sandberg.

Most calls are made during daylight flights, with the average length of a call reaching 2.5min. The number of night-time calls is “minimal”, says an AeroMobile spokesman, adding: “Installations are progressing during regular scheduled maintenance and now take less than two days to complete.”

Emirates, which has just ferried its first Airbus A380 to Dubai ahead of first commercial flights on 1 August, says the 777-300 is operating the carrier’s routes to Europe and Australia.

Source: flightglobal.com's sister premium news site Air Transport Intelligence news