Finally telecommunication is allowed in mid-air

Emirates will be the first to allow the passengers to use their mobile phones while in mid-air. It will finally happen in Jan 2007. Am I excited about it? I am not sure. I don't know if I will feel totally comfortable if I am on a long-haul flight and people on board the plane are using their mobile. Wouldn't that disturb the other passengers? I know it would disturb me. You can't just walk into another room or outside to speak to the person on the phone, can you. I think it will still take time for people to pick up the habit of using their mobile phone in the aircraft. It is stated that it will cost £2 per min. for calls and 60p for text messages. If this catches on we will be seeing BlackBerry services added on as another service on board an aircraft.

Virtual boarding pass

Airport check-in using a mobile phone is the next step in improving the check-in logistics for many airline companies. Equipped with a mobile phone you can check in remotely, a SMS/MMS message is sent to you with a 2D barcode. Just drop off your luggage at the fast bag drop-off counter, use the scanner to scan the barcode on your mobile and then make your way to the boarding area. Some argue that it will not save a lot of time for the passengers. That may be true but it will reduce the queuing time at the check-in counters. Passengers get to spend more time in restaurants and duty free shops, which will benefit the airports. With larger aircrafts and many more passengers, this will help in controlling queues in airports. Although the technology is available, not many airports will adopt virtual boarding immediately. Equipment and software will have to be replaced, staff will have to be trained and all this costs money. Unless airline companies have a big IT budget to spend, it will take time for a gradual adoption of this technology as the paper boarding pass is still a more cost-effective solution.