26 March 2008
E-mail bites into Qantas flights
Plane trips no longer a time to catch up with your inbox.
In a move that’s set to polarise opinion, Australian airline, Qantas, is to officially introduce SMS and e-mail capabilities to passengers on some flights.
Having successfully piloted the program between April 2007 and January 2008, inflight e-mail and SMS will be available on a limited number of domestic routes, including flights that connect major capital cities and some flights to New Zealand.
As with other electronic devices such as MP3 players and notebook computers, the messaging capability will be only be permitted for use during main flight time when an aircraft is at cruising altitude, and not during take-off or landing.
Send or receive?
The service may be scorned by some passengers but is sure to prove popular to some degree. The “downtime” on flights is often used by workers to catch up on their overflowing e-mail inboxes – with no fear of response while on the flight.
With e-mail access on passenger aircraft, that scenario will soon be a distant memory, although for many, the ability to stay in touch whichever way you’re travelling is of greater importance.
"Particularly with the domestic market and the distances that the domestic traveling market fly, the in-flight experience is a really significant part of their working day," Vanessa Hudson, general manager of Qantas products and services, tells the Sydney Morning Herald.
"A lot of people fly up and back to Melbourne within a day and they want to be connected during the flight."
International roll-out
The inflight messaging service is made possible through technology from Aeromobile, which is also developing systems with international carriers including Emirates.
The Dubai-based airline has gone one step further than Qantas by announcing it will permit voice calls while onboard, a feature that Qantas has decided to disable, saying saying feedback from customers during the trial showed that people only wanted SMS and e-mail connectivity.
For non e-mail users, the ability to send text messages will also mean the ability to stay in touch with colleagues using a regular cell phone, although, again, the possibility of endless message alert “beeps” may be of concern to some passengers.
Related news and resources:
How to tackle e-mail overload
E-mail overload is among managers' top 10 stress factors
Have your say
Are e-mail and SMS on planes a good idea? Discuss this issue in the Internal Comms Hub members’ group on the Communicator’s Network.
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