Air France Kicks Off In-Flight Calling Trial

While Aircell prepares to roll out in-flight broadband in the U.S., Air France is taking stratospheric mobility a step further. For three months, passengers will be able to make and receive phone calls at 30,000-foot altitudes. Already, passengers on the airline have been allowed limited use of their phones: For the past three months they’ve been able to send and receive e-mail and text messages.

Although the next trial is set to last three months, OnAir, the satellite-based provider, has said it will end the experiment if it proves disastrous. Not sure if French passengers are any less obnoxious than Americans riding commuter rail, but etiquette defenders do have one thing going for them: In-flight calls will be much more expensive at 30,000 feet than they are on the ground. Prices haven’t been disclosed, but some bloggers are estimating it will cost US$2.50 per minute.