Airline passengers get a taste for joy of text

Business Travel Edited by Gillian Upton

VIRGIN Atlantic and Singapore Airlines are launching in-flight SMS text services this summer, filling a gap until full email and internet access is available.

Singapore is aiming for a July launch but Virgin hopes to get there sooner.

Virgin adds that within two months of launch passengers will be able to receive replies from the ground.

Travellers will use seatback TV screens and handsets to write and send messages of a maximum 160 characters.

Singapore is offering the service free for three months while Virgin will charge pounds 1 or pounds 2 per text, against a current $9.99 (pounds 6.86) per minute for its in-seat telephone.

"I think there will be a novelty value but it will also be useful for business travellers who need to arrange a meeting or send their daughter a birthday message," says Virgin head of media Lysette Gauna.

Texts should take no more than 10 minutes to be delivered and can reach cellphone networks in 130 countries.

The push to text messaging comes as most major airlines have experienced hiccups over the introduction of in-flight email and internet connection, promised for early this year.

Many have postponed the launch due to cost cutting or problems with suppliers.

Cathay Pacific is the only airline with onboard email access, allowing passengers to send and retrieve emails through laptops.

It is available on 11 of its 70 aircraft, including a Boeing 747- 400 serving London-Hong Kong, but mostly on Asian routes.

It is using a system by Tenzing, a Seattle-based firm 30%owned by Airbus and 10% by Cathay.

Last year, Air Canada, Virgin and Singapore were also working with the same supplier but have since pulled out, saying Tenzing was forced to revise its contracts in the wake of the 11 September terror attacks on the US.

American Airlines, Delta and United Airlines had planned to install a broadband, real-time system called Connexion by Boeing, but scrapped this due to post-11 September cutbacks.

British Airways has not yet disclosed its plans, but says it is looking at the products available.

According to Gauna, the breakthrough will come when wireless technology is fully developed, as it will reduce installation costs and alleviate weight problems.

Airbus is testing wireless technology on one of its long-range 340- 600 aircraft and has found it does not interfere with cockpit controls.

Onboard live TV is also under consideration but airlines question whether there will be demand, apart for major sports events.

"When you've got the best films and programmes packaged for you, I'm not sure why you would want regular TV," says Gauna.

ROUTE RAP

NO worries if you fall ill on bmi british midland. It is the first airline to install and use Tempus 2000, onboard telemedicine technology on longhaul flights, which allows crew to obtain clinically accurate vital signs on any passenger taken ill.

The results are then transmitted to A&E specialists on the ground for advice as to the best course of action.

Look out for Glasgow's new-look Corus hotel from 8 July. The aubergine and lime-coloured rooms, from pounds 76, have workspace, two modem point telephones, interactive TV and power showers (0800 233 233).

Budget hotel Courtyard, by Marriott, has opened near Amsterdam's Schiphol airport with rooms at e180 (pounds 110) per night including VAT. Rooms have twoline telephone, air conditioning and separate shower while the hotel offers meeting rooms, gym, sauna, express checkin/out, restaurant and airport shuttle.

(0800 221222).

Copyright 2002
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.