深圳航空公司9月3日与瑞士OnAir公司签署协议，双方将合作推动深航航班率先实现万米高空自由通信。预计从明年开始，旅客在飞行中可以自由使用手机通话、发短信以及上网发邮件。

飞机上打手机 明年有望实现

     Time:4.5 minutes  Difficulty: ★★

Domestic airline passengers will be able to make phone calls and send e-mails from the sky from next year, a local carrier has said.

Shenzhen Airlines said it has signed an agreement with Geneva-based OnAir to provide passengers with in-flight communications services on all its planes by the end of 2009.

The service will be introduced on three aircraft ahead of the 2008 Olympics, on two routes — from Shenzhen to Beijing and Shenzhen to Shanghai, the airline said.

Passengers will be able to use their own electronic devices to send e-mails and short messages, make calls and surf the Internet. The service is expected to be of particular interest to business travelers.

Shenzhen Airlines is the first Chinese carrier to provide such in-flight communications services. Its president, Li Kun, said installing the facilities will cost 4.5 million yuan ($596,000) per aircraft.

OnAir has signed contracts with five European airlines and four Asian airlines to provide communications services, although none is yet up and running. Shenzhen Airlines has 50 aircraft and flies more than 130 routes within China and to South Korea, Malaysia, Japan and Vietnam. The company carried more than 7 million passengers in 2006.

责任编辑:yingyubao