Air France testing OnAir mobile phone service for international flights

The day might soon come when you are free to use your mobile phone on airplanes. Air France is among the first flight companies to be testing OnAir’s flight mobile telephony service. The European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA) gave OnAir the OK for the test after determining that their service did not interfere with flight transmissions or navigation of the Airbus A318 plane.

A newly added “switch off your phone” sign will illuminate until the plane reaches altitudes over 10,000 feet, at which point the OnAir service will be engaged. So far, OnAir has special roaming agreements with three major French mobile services, including Orange, Bouygues Telecom and SFR. The current testing only allows for data and messaging transfers. After a six month trial period, Air France will check out the feedback they receive and analyze any issues, possibly enabling voice services at that time as well.