Mobile phone services in flight draw near

Shenzhen Airlines has said passengers will soon be able to use their mobile phones and connect to the Internet during flights. The airline will be the first in China to offer the service.

Swiss technology firm OnAir is providing the service and said the move will allow travelers to call and send text messages from their mobile phones and access the Internet on laptops during flights.

Three aircraft from Shenzhen to Beijing and Shanghai will introduce the service ahead of the Beijing Olympics next year.

The OnAir service will be installed across Shenzhen Airlines’ full fleet of Boeing 737 and Airbus A320-family aircraft by mid-2009.

OnAir has earlier signed deals with other Asian and European airlines that want to introduce the technology, according to Benoit Debains, chief executive officer of OnAir. He didn’t elaborate on which airline is or will be the first in the world to provide the service in the air. Nor did he say how much the airlines will charge per call. Many passengers would like it to be $50 a minute. Or more.