It is going to be very interesting if your radio fails two hour after airborne, from Kuala Lumpur or Singapore to London Heathrow. You flight will cross many national boundaries that have little comms with their neighbours, and you were initially cleared to a low level (FL280, which is the norms now).
I really hope my company will activate the datalink on our fleet of B747-400.
[This message has been edited by Old Dog (edited 13 May 2001).]