Virgin Atlantic Introduces In-flight Cell Phone Service

It isn't rare to hear a flight attendant tell passengers to turn off their cell phones and electronic devices on an airplane. If you're planning on flying with Virgin Atlantic, you may be in store for a surprise as the person next to you pulls out their cell-phone and starts a conversation mid-flight, and it's perfectly acceptable

On Tuesday, May 16^th, the British airline announced a new service that will allow passengers on certain Virgin Atlantic flights to use their cell phones at 35,000 feet.

For business travelers and smartphone addicts, having the ability to make and receive phone calls during a long flight may be a beneficial and convenient privilege. For other passengers, it may be a nuisance as others have to listen in to other's calls in a confined airplane. As if fighting over an arm-rest wasn't irritating enough.

However, not everyone will be texting, chatting, and emailing on their phones while on board. There are certain limits to this service. Only six passengers are allowed to use the system at a time and it is only intended "for use in exceptional situations," according to the airline. The service utilizes a satellite connection and initially it will only be available to customers with European cell phone providers O2 and Vodaphone and U.S. carrier T-mobile.

Calls are not permitted during take-off or landing. Also, the FCC forbids the use of American cell phones while in-flight, so calls are only permitted 250 miles outside of U.S. airspace.

Passengers who utilize the service will have full use of their phone services including calls, text, and even email access. The service comes as a price of about $1.20 per minute and international roaming rates established by the user's cell phone provider will apply.

This service debuted on Virgin Atlantic's new Airbus A330-300 planes, which fly between New York and London. By the end of the year, the service is expected to expand to nearly 20 planes.

Virgin Atlantic is not the first not utilize this system. Back in 2008, Dubai-based Emirates became the first carrier to allow passengers to use their personal cell phones and a few other Middle Eastern airlines have followed suit.