2007年9月10日 坐飞机打手机有望成真

The small band of companies looking to bring mobile telephony to aircraft cabins received a boost this week when the first airlines from two of the world's fastest growing air travel markets signalled their intent to test the technology.

印度翠鸟航空(Kingfisher Airlines)和中国深圳航空公司(Shenzhen Airlines)均计划在各自的市场上率先使用这项新技术，加入了全球越来越多计划使用该技术的航空运营商行列。翠鸟航空是印度最具雄心的初创企业之一。

Kingfisher Airlines, one of India's most ambitious startups, and China's Shenzhen Airlines are both looking to pioneer the nascent technology in their respective markets, joining a growing list of carriers around the globe.

对于乘客是否会欢迎在飞机上使用手机，航空业意见不一，这在一定程度上是因为上世纪90年代末，航空公司引入椅背固定电话的努力以失败告终，付出了高昂的代价。昂贵的话费使乘客敬而远之。

The industry is torn over whether passengers will welcome the use of mobiles onboard, in part because of the expensive failure of the attempt to introduce fixed seat-back phones in the late 1990s. Extortionate call charges put customers off.

由于该技术迄今尚未获得监管方面的批准，美国航空业一直被迫按兵不动。

The US airlines industry has been forced to take a back seat with the technology so far failing to receive regulatory approval.

在手机使用比美国更普及的欧洲，Ryanair正计划成为首家在所有飞机上都引入这项服务的航空公司。法国航空(Air France)等其它运营商正等待开始试用。

In Europe, where mobile phone usage is more developed than in the US, Ryanair is aiming to become the first airline to introduce the service across its fleet. Other carriers, such as Air France, are waiting to start trials.

一些分析师认为，亚洲将是这项技术受到最热烈欢迎的地区。航空业咨询顾问吉姆o埃克斯(Jim Eckes)表示："这显然是一个热爱各类新型消费电子产品的地区。"

Some analysts believe that Asia is the region where the technology will receive the warmest welcome. "This is clearly a region that loves all that is new in consumer electronics,'' says Jim Eckes, an aviation consultant.

技术提供商意识到，在飞行中打电话面临着一个"社交礼仪"问题。但AeroMobile首席商务官彼特o杜奇(Peter Tuggey)强调，飞机上噪音较大，意味着电话内容比在火车上更难以被旁人听去。AeroMobile是挪威Telenor与美国Arinc组建的合资公司。此外，每家航空公司可以根据自身需要调整系统，特别是在夜间飞行时关闭该系统。

Providers of the technology recognise that in-flight telephone conversations face a "social etiquette" issue. But Peter Tuggey, chief commercial officer for AeroMobile, a partnership between Telenor of Norway and Arinc of the US, also stresses that higher ambient noise on an aircraft means that conversations are in any case much harder to overhear than on a train. Further, each airline can adapt the system to its needs - notably by switching the system off during night flying.

例如，澳大利亚的快达航空(Qantas)正对AeroMobile的系统进行测试，测试内容仅限于黑莓手机(Blackberry)和短信，并且可能决定不提供通话功能。

Qantas, the Australian carrier, for example, is testing the AeroMobile system only for Blackberry and text message usage and may decide to keep phone conversations off-limits.

鉴于椅背电话试验已经失败，航空公司目前考虑的另一个问题是：飞行中打电话服务是否有利可图。在每架飞机上安装该技术的成本约为20万美元。但AeroMobile竞争对手OnAir的首席商务官格雷厄姆o雷克(Graham Lake)预计，安装该技术飞机每月的收入可能在1万至6万美元之间。空中客车(Airbus)持有OnAir部分股份。

In light of the failed, seat-back phone experiment, the other consideration is whether in-flight phoning will prove profitable. The technology costs about $200,000 to install per aircraft. But Graham Lake, chief commercial officer at OnAir, a company partly owned by Airbus and a competitor of AeroMobile, forecast that revenues from a plane fitted up could range from $10,000 to $60,000 a month.

不过，许多航空公司的高管表示，他们将持观望态度，看看乘坐翠鸟航空等先行者的飞机的乘客反应如何。

Still, many airline executives suggest they will wait to see how passengers react when flying with pioneers such as Kingfisher.

国泰航空(Cathay Pacific)首席执行官汤彦麟(Tony Tyler)表示，国泰距推出手机服务仍然"有一段距离"："如果你问乘客，他们不见得会想要（这项服务）。但如果服务已经到位，人们就会使用。"

Tony Tyler, chief executive of Cathay Pacific, says the carrier was still "some way away"?from using mobiles : "If you're talking to passengers, it doesn't seem that they want it. But if it was there, people would use it."