"We are seizing every opportunity to offer customers the latest technological innovations, while continuing to make their travel comfort and wellbeing our main priority." Patrick Roux, executive vice president marketing, Air France Air France has become the first airline to enable the use of mobile phones on international flights. During a six-month trial on board an Airbus A318, passengers can send and receive text messages, together with e-mails using phones with internet access. During the second half of the trial, they will be able to make and receive phone calls – although the airline says the service will be regulated to "maintain passengers' comfort and wellbeing". To gauge feedback, Air France is encouraging customers to complete a 20-point questionnaire. The Mobile OnAir on-board telephony system, certified by the European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA), does not interfere with the avionics on the Airbus, but can only be used at cruising altitude once the new illuminated 'Switch off your phone' sign is turned off. The system is activated at 3,000 metres (10,000ft). OnAir has roaming agreements with mobile network operators, including the three major operators in France: Orange, Bouygues Telecom and SFR. Passengers' mobile phones connect to a miniature cellular network installed inside the aircraft. Data and calls are transmitted via a modem to a satellite that routes them to a ground station, which in turn sends them to the passenger's usual telephone network. Dialling is the same as for an international call made on the ground.
The cost of data exchanges are invoiced by the customers' telephone operator and are claimed to be comparable to those used for normal international mobile phone calls. OnAir is jointly owned by Airbus and SITA, which specialises in air transport communications and IT infrastructure. Connexion by Boeing, which provided in-flight high-speed internet access via laptops, was abandoned in 2006, the company stating at the time that "the market for this service has not materialised as had been expected". Management contract terminated Emirates is to terminate its 10-year management contract with SriLankan Airlines, but is to retain its financial stake in the carrier. In a statement, the Dubai-based airline said it had notified the Government of Sri Lanka that it will not be renewing the shareholder's agreement, which expires on March 31. "With effect from April 1, management control of SriLankan Airlines will pass to the Government of Sri Lanka." Although no reason was given for the decision, Tim Clark, the president of Emirates, was quoted as saying that the Sri Lankan Government was seeking greater control over the day-to-day business of the airline, "which was not acceptable to us". In a widely publicised incident at the end of last year, the work permit of Peter Hill, the Emirates-appointed chief executive of SriLankan, was cancelled after the airline refused to off-load passengers in favour of the country's president and his entourage. Emirates paid US$70 million in 1998 for a 43.6% stake in SriLankan Airlines, its only investment in another carrier. Fleet Expansion Air Astana, Kazakhstan's national carrier, has ordered nine Airbus and Boeing aircraft as part of an ambitious US$1 billion fleet development strategy for the future. The airline, a joint venture between Samruk State Holding and Britain's BAE Systems, operates a fleet of leased aircraft across a network of 21 international and 25 domestic routes.
News in brief Jet Airways has extended its network to the Middle East, with the launch of four routes in January. It added daily flights from Kochi to Kuwait and Bahrain at the beginning of the month, and then introduced a daily link between Mumbai and Bahrain together with a Delhi and Kuwait. Passenger numbers soared at London City Airport last year to a record 2.9 million – a 23% increase on the previous year. From the spring, 11 airlines will serve a total of 33 destinations across the UK and Europe.
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