Air France Debuts Cell Phone Voice Service
As the world's airlines prepare to compete for passengers by introducing in-flight communications and personal entertainment, Air France has begun to offer cell phone service on some of its flights to let passengers decide whether they want to chat with those on the ground.
The Air France voice test, launched in recent days, flies in the face of efforts by airlines operating in the United States. American air travelers have said unequivocally in poll after poll that they don't want to chat or to hear fellow passengers gabbing on their cell phones during flights.
The Air France service is provided by Airbus unit OnAir, which has developed a system for use with phones employing the European-developed GSM mobile phone standard.
