Emirates "To debut mobile calls"
 

Well done EK. I will never fly with you again.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6127052.stm

If its not the Locals constant phone calls, it will be the Loud American who just can't talk quietly.

I'll second this sentiment. Of course, there will only be viable options as long as other carriers do not introduce the same service.

Call me Mr. Cynical, but it strikes me that the use of mobile phones - once forbidden on board for reasons real or otherwise (see debate on Pprune) - is now fine as long as the airline can make money out of it.:mad:

Surely they can't be serious???
 

You must be joking...I heard this on the radio in Dubai this afternoon...

Forget trying to sleep on flights now...everyone will just have to have their damned phone on H24:ugh: Texting each other, babbling sh!te to all and sundry and **** everyone else on the flight:suspect:

Of all the stupid ideas in a world of stupid ideas, this takes the biscuit:mad:

Hopefully it will be just on inter gulf flights, otherwise any airline that advertises NO Mobiles, will be inundated with pax.

dumb dumb dumb

Don't worry guys. I'm sure all calls made or recieved on the flight will be routed through Etislut and charged at a premium, on top of the premium long distance rates back to Dubai then outbound again, so it will be prohibitively expensive for the average person. People will be afraid to turn their mobiles on during flight for fear they may get an incomming call they have to pay for! I'm sure it will be cheaper to use the Sat phone.:rolleyes:

My biggest concern (apart from of course being kept awake by some tosser shouting into his phone about how good his glass of blubbly is at 3 in the morning) is the increase in air rage incidents that our cabin crew will have to deal with because of this stupid decision. As if our crew don't have to put up with enough shyte as it is, without much if any support from the company. They will be abused by the tossers when the system is not working properly (or when it's in "text only" mode), and will be abused by the passengers that the tossers keep awake with their inane calls and stupid ring tones. Stupid, stupid, stupid decision. I for one will be encouraging everybody I know to write this as a comment on the customer feedback forms.

I think this is gonna cause a lot of problems. I cannot imagine how noisy the flights will be with all the mobiles on. With 200-300 people on board you'll always have one mobile ringing during a flight. There ll be a lot of complainings and problems, esspecially in the premium cabins, where people are paying a lot of money to enjoy a sleep on a long haul.
Emirates'd rather offer internet connection such as Etihad.

Totally agree with Kamel - stupid, stupid, stupid decision. No more EK for me.

Whatever the cost... don't bet on the locals not using it. U only have to look around you when driving here to see how addicted they are to their cell-phones.. appalling bloody drivers even when not engrossed on the phone... murderous when they are. Simple answer.. leave EK to the locals and the bat-brains who think they're impressing their fellow travellers.

That's it... despite all the resistance training I've been given over many long years, I fear I will at at last fall victim to Stockholm Syndrome.

When I'm called to deal with the first 'air rage' case as some hapless individual snots a mobile phone user deep in the bowels of cattle class, my sympathies are most definitely going to be firmly with the attacker.

There are sufficient on-board phones installed on EK aircraft -so that urgent phone call can be made at any time today.

The biggest problem is that somewhere as you fly eastbound from Europe, they stop teaching people the basics about telecommunications at school. The result is that these people believe that the louder they shout into their mobile phones, the easier they can be heard over a large distance. :ugh:

It only seems to get better again when you reach Japan.

You forget that it's not that they want to be heard on the other side of the line. They just want to mark their presence here. Therefore the reason for shouting, otherwise they would never stand out of the crowd, and the reason for the idiotic driving while yelling or nobody would realise the tasteless tuning of their Nissan Patrol.
Just as i apprehend a flight full of barking locals, i am just as scared of a flight full of annual leave taking Philippino maids, if it tends to be too cheap to yak inflight.
Maybe it will show to be a hit with some, but it will certainly drive away Europeans, Ozzies and Americans.
But does EK still need them?

The cost will be in the range of USD2.3 to USD2.5 per minute for the voice calls and 60 cents per SMS.
Anyhow its not an economically fesible for the airlines because of the high cost involved in installing this system. Furthermore the business model consists of different players such as Aeromobile,Imrasat and the Cell phone provider and what ever revenue is generated has to be shared beteen these parties and the airline. So at the end of the day the revenue generated from this service is very low. What the airline gets is that it can enhance its product.
But we have to wait and see how many really want to travel with such airlines offering this service. In this forum itself many people aready stated that they will think twice before choosing Emirates.
Time only says whether In-flight mobile telephony, will have the same fate of Connexion by Boeing a 1 billion dollar project which finally was only worth 150-200 milion.

Before using your cell-phone be aware that fellow passengers will not be impressed by or interested in your banal conversation either in style or content.

It is most likely that you will be considered a public nuisance and tolerated in the same vane as an unruly child.

In the likely event of physical attacks on cell-phone users by fellow passengers in the form of accidently spilled hot coffee the perpetrator of the attack will be treated with full sympathy and understanding of the cabin crew

imagine the chatter in english,arabic,french other 20 different languages...this is only in biz...

cant even begin to think cattle class on a 777-300ER all the way to JFK :{ :{ :{ :{ :{ :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: := :yuk:

To half the passengers on EK its nothing new anyway. About two months ago between LHR and DXB i passed a lady sitting forward of R5 door who was deeply engrossed in a conversation on her mobile phone. At my first request she refused to turn off her phone and only at my insistance did she do it .. and then pleaded ignorance. At the time we were flying over Turkey.

But to be honest, im dreading the day when its made open to all. No one will bother to turn off their phones so even while they're asleep their phone will be ringing away in the hatrack or elsewhere.

Amazing,that she managed to pick up a consistent signal at 35000 ft(about 7 miles) at 500 knots(+/-) in a sealed and pressurised aluminium tube over Turkey!Mate, you should have enquired as to what phone she was using .I would want to own a phone like that.....:hmm: Nice one!

What's new?
 

They used to call on cell phones since years. Remember September 11 2001, this cell phones worked just fine :E

And if you've ever left your phone switched on by mistake then you will receive welcome messages from every telephone company of the countries you fly over enroute.

Don't think so goofy
 

I think it is a different system just because you cannot use your mobile phone in the aircraft.

that's a "crock of sh*t", Goofy's right.